Washington state lawmakers took a positive step this spring toward making sure public business is conducted in the open.
The state’s Open Public Meetings Act sets strict standards for the governing bodies of public agencies. With only narrow exceptions, discussions and decisions by public agencies must be open to the public.
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The D.C. Board of Medicine, which regulates doctors, nurses and other health professionals, has done just about everything possible that could violate the Open Meetings Act, failing to follow the statute in at least four distinct ways, according to the watchdog Open Government Office, an independent agency of D.C. government.
In a strongly worded opinion issued Thursday, the Office concluded the board misunderstood and misapplied the law and warned that the problems may have spread further in the parent agency, D.C. Department of Health.
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Read More… from D.C. Board of Medicine keeping the public in the dark
The penalties will be pricier for public officials who knowingly attend meetings in violation of Washington state’s open-meetings law.
The state’s Open Public Meetings Act requires all meetings of governing bodies of public agencies to be open to the public.
The law covers agencies, commissions, departments, education institutions, local governments, special purpose districts and state boards. Continue…
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Read More… from Higher fines OK’d for violating Washington’s open meetings law
The Prince George's County delegation in the Maryland House of Delegates will not meet Friday, but the Democratic caucus of that delegation will. The membership of the delegation and the caucus are precisely the same. The difference is that where delegation meetings are generally open to the public, party caucus meetings are not.
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Read More… from Maryland lawmakers use loophole to dodge open meetings law
Rejecting a practice commonly used by some government boards, the Iowa Supreme Court has ruled that private meetings can be illegal even when a majority of members aren't physically present.
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Read More… from Iowa Supreme Court: Open meetings law extends to public officials’ proxies
If an agenda for a special city council meeting doesn’t say that members will vote on something, are they allowed to vote anyway?
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Read More… from FOIA suit could affect meeting agendas in South Carolina
A bill that would allow two Colorado colleges’ governing boards to make decisions outside of public meetings is working its way through the Colorado Legislature, but it may see pushback from one of those colleges.
House Bill 1259 would allow the boards of trustees for Aims Community College and Colorado Mountain College to “meet” electronically, opening the door for meetings via web portal, email or any other digital platform through which the public would essentially be unable to attend.
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Read More… from Colorado colleges seek exemption to open meetings law
An obscure board overseeing state public records gave so little notice of a move to sharply limit electronic records that it appears to have violated the state's open meetings law, attorneys and open records advocates say.
The changes have already had an impact — they were used by Gov. Scott Walker's administration as a reason not to release records just one day after the action was quietly taken in August by the Public Records Board, which oversees the preservation and handling of government records.
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Read More… from Wisconsin board’s records action appears to have violated open meetings law
There have been quite a few accusations of government entities big and small violating Idaho’s open meeting laws recently.
That’s not a trend journalists like to see. Continue…
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The University of North Carolina system’s Board of Governors will meet Friday to hear a report on faculty compensation and take action on a legislative request – two weeks after giving controversial raises to chancellors in a lengthy closed session.
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Read More… from Lawmakers concerned about UNC system board’s closed meetings
