(B)

or by means of electronic equipment, to discuss or
act upon a matter over which the public body has
supervision, control, jurisdiction, or advisory
power.

"Public body" means any administrative, advisory,
executive, or legislative body of the state or
local political subdivision of the state, or any
other entity created by law, that expends or dis-
burses or is supported in whole or in part by
tax revenue or that advises or makes recommenda-
tions to any entity that expends or disburses or
is supported in whole or in part by tax revenue,
including but not limited to any board, commis-
sion, committee, subcommittee, or other subsidiary
thereof.

(C) "Quorum," unless otherwise defined by applicable
law, means a simple majority of the constituent
membership of a public body.

This section defines the levels of government and the types of meetings covered by the Act. Whenever a simple majority of any government body comes together "to discuss or act upon a matter," such a meeting is within its jurisdiction. The definitions cover meetings which discuss as well as act upon matters. Laws that apply only to meetings where official action is taken are easily sidestepped and avoided by the technique of discussing and deciding important questions in private, then holding a subsequent meeting to ratify, in effect, action already debated and decided upon behind closed doors.

Section 3. Open Meetings

Every meeting of all public bodies shall be open to the
public unless closed pursuant to sections 4 and 5 of
this Act.

This simply establishes the principle that every meeting is

open unless the statute specifically allows it to be closed. A school

45

46

board may go into executive session only for one of the reasons under section 6 and then only if a two-thirds majority so votes in open session.

Section 4. Closed Meetings

A public body may hold a meeting closed to the public upon an affirmative vote, taken at an open meeting for which notice has been given pursuant to section 6 of this Act, of two-thirds of its constituent members. A meeting closed to the public shall be limited to matters allowed to be exempted from discussion at open meetings by section 5 of this Act. The vote of each member on the question of holding a meeting closed to the public and the reason for holding such a meeting, by a citation to a subsection of section 6 of this Act, shall be recorded and entered into the minutes of the meeting. Nothing in this section or section 5 of this Act, shall be construed to require that any meeting be closed to the public..

The statute provides very stringent procedures to be applied before a meeting can be closed. Two-thirds rather than a simple majority of all the members of a public body must vote during an open session to close a meeting. The purpose of this is to make all votes and reasons for closing meetings a matter of public record and to prevent a two-thirds majority of a mere quorum from closing the meeting.

Section 5. Exceptions

(A) A public body may hold a meeting closed to the pub-
lic pursuant to section 4 of this Act for one or more
of the following reasons:

(1) discussion of the character, as opposed to the
professional competence, or physical or mental
health of a single individual provided that such
individual may require that such discussion be
held at an open meeting; and provided that nothing
in this subsection shall permit a meeting closed
to the public for discussion of the appointment
of a person to a public body;

(2) strategy sessions with respect to collective bargaining or litigation, when an open meeting would have a detrimental effect on the bargaining or

47

litigating position of the public body;

(3) discussion regarding the development of security personnel or devices; and

(4) investigative proceedings regarding allegations of criminal misconduct.

(B) This Act shall not apply to any chance meeting, or a
social meeting at which matters relating to official
business are not discussed. No chance meeting, social
meeting, or electronic communication shall be used in
circumvention of the spirit or requirements of this
Act to discuss or act upon a matter over which the pub-
lic body has supervision, control, jurisdiction, or
advisory power.

(C) This Act shall not apply to judicial proceedings, but
shall apply to a court or other judicial body while
exercising rule-making authority or while deliberating
or deciding upon the issuance of administrative orders.
(D) This Act shall not prohibit the removal of any person
or persons who willfully disrupt a meeting to the ex-
tent that orderly conduct of the meeting is seriously
compromised.

Only where a public body is discussing (1) the character or physical or mental health of a person other than candidates for appointments to a public body; (2) confidential collective bargaining and litigation matters; (3) deployment of security resources; and (4) criminal investigations of misconduct, may meetings be closed. This guarantees maximum public access while at the same time protects certain recognized governmental interests. Neither the mere presence of the agency's attorney nor the fact that the body is discussing personnel matters is a sufficient reason for closing a meeting.

The statute does not apply to informal gatherings unless business is discussed. Even then, a quorum must be present since the word "meeting" is defined as a quorum in Section 2. But it does apply

48

to electronic communications; conference telephone calls, for example. Thus, the model does not go as far as the Florida law as interpreted by that state's supreme court. An alternative, still falling short of the Florida position, would be to make the law applicable to any gathering or communication between members of a public body when held for the purpose of circumventing the open meetings requirement.

Then, the intent of the persons involved, as determined by the circumstances of their discussion would control. Clearly, such an intent standard would be difficult to apply in practice, but it would allow for after-thefact judicial review of activity that otherwise might undermine the law.

(A) All public bodies shall give written public notice of their regular meetings at the beginning of each calenThe notice shall include the dates, times,

dar year.

and places of such meetings.

(B) All public bodies shall give supplemental written pub-
lic notice of any regular, special, or rescheduled
meetings no later than 72 hours before the meeting.
The notice shall include the agenda, date, time, and
place of the meeting.

(C) Written public notice shall include, but need not be limited to:

(1) posting a copy of the notice at the principal of-
fice of the public body holding the meeting, or
if no such office exists, at the building in which
the meeting is to be held, and in at least three
other prominent places within the governmental
unit; and

(2) mailing a copy of the notice to any person who requests notice of such meeting, any such person shall be given notice of all special or rescheduled meetings in the same manner as is given to members of the public body.

In order for the public to be able to attend meetings, they

must know about them in advance. The statute does this by providing

49

that a public body shall announce a schedule of meetings each year and that any changes or additions to that schedule be made at least 72 hours in advance of the meeting. This may be accomplished by posting the notice in appropriate public places and by mailing them sufficiently in advance to any person who requests to be informed of the meetings.

Section 7. Minutes

(A) All public bodies shall keep written minutes of all of their meetings. Such minutes shall include, but need not be limited to:

(1) the date, time, and place of the meeting;

(2) the members of the public body recorded as either present or absent;

(3) the substance of all matters proposed, discussed, or decided, and, at the request of any member, a record, by individual member, of any votes taken; and

(4) any other information that any member of the public body requests be included or reflected in the minutes.

(B) The minutes shall be public records and shall be available within a reasonable time after the meeting except where such disclosures would be inconsistent with sections 4 and 5 of this Act.

(C) All or any part of a meeting of a public body may be
recorded by any person in attendance by means of a
tape recorder or any other means of sonic reproduction
except when a meeting is closed pursuant to sections 4
and 5 of this Act; provided that in so recording there
is no active interference with the conduct of the
meeting.

In order to provide a record of meetings, the statute pro

vides that minutes be made in a full and complete manner and that they

be made public documents except when the portion of the meeting to

which the minutes relate was closed pursuant to the statute.