Public bodies are generally decision-making bodies at any level of government. The definition includes all decision-making bodies of the state, its political subdivisions, and school districts that are created by law, including their committees and subcommittees. If it’s unclear whether an entity is a public body for purposes of the Open Meetings Act, a court will decide the issue based on several facts and circumstances, including the way the entity was created, the name or official title of the entity, the members of the entity, whether the entity makes decisions, and who the entity advises or to whom it reports.
A meeting is defined as any prearranged gathering of a public body by a majority of its members to discuss public business. A meeting can occur in a series of meetings, telephonically, or via video conference, text, tweet, email, or any other form of communication. A meeting does not have to be called a “meeting” for it to fall under the Open Meetings Act.
Some public bodies have statutory authority to meet by videoconference, teleconference, or other remote, electronic means. Under R.C. 121.221, public bodies whose members are not compensated for their position or elected by the general public can meet virtually, subject to specific restrictions and requirements. And some public bodies have statutes specific to them that allow meetings by video conference or other electronic means. As with all other provisions of the Open Meetings Act, public bodies should seek guidance from their legal counsel about how these laws apply to them.
Public bodies must provide advance notice to the public of when and where each meeting will take place and, in the case of special meetings, the specific topics that the public body will discuss. Every public body must establish, by rule, a reasonable method for notifying the public in advance of meetings.
A public body must take full and accurate minutes of all meetings and make these minutes available to the public. A public body does not have to take minutes in executive sessions. Minutes must be promptly prepared, filed, and made available for public inspection. Minutes don’t have to be a verbatim transcript of the meeting but must include enough facts and information for the public to understand the public body’s decisions. Minutes are public records, and thus a public body must follow all the requirements of the Public Records Act if there is a request for meeting minutes.
Executive sessions are the only portions of meetings that are closed to the public. A public body cannot vote or take official action during an executive session. A public body must follow a specific procedure to convene an executive session and can convene only for specific reasons.
To convene an executive session, the public body must first have a roll-call vote, followed by a motion and a second, and then a vote to adjourn by a majority of a quorum of the public body. The roll-call vote must be recorded in the minutes.
Importantly, a public body can convene in an executive session to discuss only nine specific topics, which are listed in the Open Meetings Act. The topic(s) that the public body will discuss during executive session must be put in the minutes, and the public body cannot discuss any topic other than those put into the record.
If a person believes that a public body violated the Open Meetings Act, he or she can file an injunction action against the public body. An injunction action essentially asks the court to order the public body to comply with the Open Meetings Act. The action must be filed with the court of common pleas that has jurisdiction over the location of the meeting at issue.
If the court finds that the public body violated the Open Meetings Act, the court shall order the public body to pay a fine of $500 to the filing party for each violation found. The court must also award all court costs and reasonable attorney fees. The public body’s action at issue may also be invalidated.
For example, if a public body adopts a formal action after deliberating the issue in an improper executive session, the formal action may be invalid, and the public body must start over to properly adopt that action. A member of the public body who violates an injunction imposed for violating the Open Meetings Act may be subject to court action removing that official from office.
The Attorney General’s Office cannot provide legal assistance or legal advice about a lawsuit against a public body.
Like the Public Records Act, the Open Meetings Act was approved by the General Assembly as a “self-help” statute, meaning that individuals enforce the law themselves. If a person believes that a public body violated the Open Meetings Act, the person can file a lawsuit against the public body, either on his/her own or through a private attorney. There is no public entity, including the Ohio Attorney General’s Office, that has the authority to enforce the Open Meetings Act and, therefore, investigate or take legal action against a public body.
The Sunshine Laws Manual, published annually by the Ohio Attorney General’s Office, is a helpful resource to learn more about the Open Meetings Act. The Attorney General’s Office also has a series of informational videos that provides a general overview of common Sunshine Laws topics. The Open Meetings Act (121.22) can be accessed here.