HomeMy WebLinkAboutTown Clerks OML Guide 2017TOWN & COUNTY
of NANTUCKET
A Guide to
Posting Public Meetings
This is intended to be a guide for chairs of multiple-member bodies, and their staff,
responsible for posting meetings and filing minutes. The Massachusetts Open Meeting Law
(MGL Ch. 30A, §18-25), Charter for the Town of Nantucket, and Nantucket Board of
Selectmen policies should be referred to for further detail concerning the matters outlined in
this document.
Appendices include the following references and templates available for usage:
MA Open Meeting Law (updated October 6, 2017)
940 CMR 29:00 Open Meetings
BOS Remote Meeting Participation Policy
Meeting Posting Templates (3)
Minutes Template
Attorney General’s Meeting Checklists (3)
Catherine Flanagan Stover, MMC, CMMC, Town & County Clerk
C. Elizabeth Gibson, Town Manager
Date of Publication: 10/06/2017
All multiple-member bodies of the Town, whether elected, appointed, temporary or
permanent, and including subcommittees of multiple-member bodies, are subject to the
Open Meeting Law.
We are pleased to present this booklet to facilitate the establishment of standard meeting notice
format and posting procedures.
Posting a Meeting
PLEASE NOTE:
1.The Town Clerk’s Office no longer accepts “blanket” calendar/Save-
the-Date memos.
2.PLEASE do not post meetings further than one month in advance.
The electronic posting process is long and cumbersome on the Civic
Plus system. Multiple updates for a future meeting are an
extraordinary drain on our time.
Meeting notices must contain the following information:
Name of the Committee
Date, Day of Week, and Starting Time of Meeting
Location of Meeting – you must specify ADDRESS of Building – specific room is
helpful – but if there is a possibility of having to shift rooms, just the street address
would be prudent
A list of topics the Chair reasonably expects to be discussed. The topics must be
specific enough to inform the public about what will be discussed
▪ Signature/Name of Authorized Posting Officer
Meeting notices must be posted AT LEAST 48 hours PRIOR to a meeting,
excluding Saturdays, Sundays and legal holidays (except in emergency
circumstances) in both of the following locations:
The Town Clerk’s Office
On the Town’s website (the Attorney General has determined that posting meetings
of public bodies on the Town’s website complies with the requirement that meeting
notices be accessible at all times)
Meeting notices must be received at the Town Clerk’s office by 2:00 PM on any
business day in order to be posted that day.
There is an email address dedicated ONLY for meeting notices:
meetingpostings@nantucket-ma.gov
The dedicated e-mail inbox will be routinely checked twice daily, at 10 AM and at 2
PM. Unless circumstances are dire, meeting notices will be processed ONLY at those
times.
Below are several examples of the deadlines to e-mail the Town Clerk’s office to
request that a meeting be posted – remember that exact deadlines for posting will
depend on the particular facts at issue:
MONDAY BY
8:30 AM WED/2 PM
9:00 AM WED/2 PM
3:30 PM THUR/2 PM
6:00 PM THUR/2 PM
TUESDAY BY
9:00 AM THUR/2 PM
11:00 AM FRI/10 AM
1:00 PM FRI/2 PM
4:00 PM FRI/2 PM
WEDNESDAY BY
10:00 AM FRI/2 PM
12:00 PM
MON/10AM
4:00 PM MON/2 PM
6:00 PM MON/2 PM
THURSDAY BY
9:00 AM MON/2 PM
1:00 PM TUE/10 AM
3:00 PM TUE/2 PM
FRIDAY BY
11:00 AM WED/10AM
1:00 PM WED/10AM
4:30 PM WED/2 PM
SAT OR SUN BY
Anytime WED/2 PM
Filing Notices (Electronic Version of Meeting Notice REQUIRED**)
E-mail: meetingpostings@nantucket-ma.gov
E-mail is the preferred method for filing notices.
In Person: Town Clerk’s Office -- 1st floor of Town Hall, 16 Broad Street
When hand-delivering, please provide the Town Clerk’s office with 4 copies of the
meeting notice: one for your receipt/files, one for the archives, and two for public
posting areas. An electronic copy of the document is also required for posting to the
Town website.
Responsibility for ensuring that the Town Clerk’s Office has received a notice falls on
the group or person posting the meeting, NOT the Town Clerk’s Office. When your
e-mail is opened it will be time-stamped and assigned a log number,. You will be sent
a notice of receipt. If you do NOT receive a response, and the 48-hour deadline for
posting is approaching, please contact the Town Clerk’s Office DIRECTLY by
telephone at 508-228-7216, NOT by email.
Responsibility for checking that the meeting has been posted to the website correctly
rests with the committee person charged with the task.
DO NOT e-mail notices to a specific staff person in the Town Clerk’s office…instead,
please use the dedicated e-mail account, meetingpostings@nantucket-ma.gov.
Everyone in the office has access to this dedicated email account and using this
account ensures that your meeting notice will be processed regardless of individual
work schedules, illness, or vacations.
NOTE: The Town Clerk’s office will post meeting notices received in accordance with
the schedule identified above. If your meeting notice request is filed with the Town
Clerk’s Office inside 48-hours of the proposed meeting time, although we will post
the notice, the meeting will not be in compliance with the Open Meeting Law.
If the Town’s e-mail system, or the person trying to file a meeting notice, has
technical difficulties (for example: if email is not functioning, if the telephone lines
are down, or if there is some other interference with computer access), IT
REMAINS THE RESPONSIBILITY OF THE COMMITTEE CHAIR (OR THE
CHAIR’S OFFICIAL DESIGNEE) TO HAND-CARRY THE MEETING
NOTICE IN TO THE CLERK’S OFFICE FOR POSTING!
**How do you provide us with an Electronic Version of the meeting posting?
Email the meeting notice as a PDF attachment to our meetingpostings@nantucket-
ma.gov email address. The subject of the email and the name of your document
should be the same, and should be titled using the full name of the multiple member
body (no abbreviations), the month, day and year on which the meeting will be held, so
that it appears in a manner similar to the following:
Town Employee Appreciation Work Group Feb 31 2017
If you do not have access to e-mail, PDF conversion software, or a scanning device,
please save the file on an external device (thumb drive, flash drive, CD or USB) and
bring that to the Town Clerk’s Office.
NOTE: Please check the online meeting calendar to ensure that we have posted your
meeting correctly. Though we are loath to admit it, we may make mistakes on occasion.
(THANK YOU for helping us!)
Content of Notice
The Open Meeting Law requires that the notice for all meetings include a “list of topics
the chair reasonably anticipates will be discussed”.
The list of topics must be sufficiently specific to allow the public to understand what
will be discussed at the meeting.
The notice may include an item to inform the public that certain matters may be
discussed that arise after the meeting notice was posted. Such an item may provide,
for example, “Other – other topics that may legally come before the public body not
reasonably anticipated 48 hours in advance of meeting."
In addition to the posted meeting notice, be reminded that each public body
should continue to post their own information including both the meeting notice
(agenda) and minutes to the Agendas and Minutes folders on the Town website!
[SOB!!! FORGOT…TO…POST…THE…MEETING!]
SAMPLE MEETING POSTING BELOW
We will have all the various templates available to you on request in
electronic format or on the Town Clerk’s page of the Town website under
Downloadable Forms:
http://www.nantucket-ma.gov/Pages/NantucketMA_Clerk
Updates to Meetings
̽ Should it be necessary to update an agenda, please note the original
posting number.
Meeting Cancellations
Cancelling a meeting before the meeting is scheduled to start:
Should it be necessary to cancel a meeting due to inclement weather or for any othr
reason, the Chair of the public body or assigned staff person should notify the Town
Clerk’s Office as soon as possible. If time allows, the Chair or the Chair’s designee
should bring to the Town Clerk’s Office or e-mail the dedicated meetings e-mail account
notice using the MEETING CANCELLATION TEMPLATE (see appendices) so a
cancellation notice may be posted.
Cancelling a meeting if a quorum is not present:
It is strongly recommended that a minority of members of a public body not “meet” in
the absence of a quorum, and further, that such a group avoid discussion about any
business within the jurisdiction of the public body, or any other matter. Such discussions
create the opportunity for serial violations of the Open Meeting Law, perceived
violations of the Open Meeting Law, and, with respect to a quasi-judicial body, claims of
violation of due process.
As a reminder: there may be NO discussion, verbal or written information
gathering, or exchanges of opinion between a quorum of members of a public body
outside of a legally posted meeting!
Meeting Minutes – per MGL Ch. 66, §6
State law requires all multiple-member bodies to keep accurate written minutes of
meetings.
Importance of the Record- Many matters before boards and committees are
reviewable by a court on appeal. In many of these matters, the appeal is based
on the record developed before the board or committee. Thus, it is important to
adequately develop a record that will accurately reflect what went on during the
meeting and, most importantly, support the decisions and actions of the board
or committee.
Meeting minutes must include the following:
Date, time and place of the meeting
List of members present and absent
Any actions taken at the meeting (including all discussions and votes)
A summary of the discussions on each subject
Exact wording of all motions, including who made and seconded the motion
Any decisions made and/or actions taken, including a record of all votes. (Votes
taken to enter executive session, votes taken in executive session, and any votes
taken when a member is participating remotely must be recorded in the minutes by
a roll call)
A list of documents and other exhibits used by the body at the meeting
Once minutes are accepted by vote of the public body:
The clerk who recorded the minutes and the committee chairman should sign the
minutes and indicate the date of the meeting at which the minutes were accepted.
Unless your committee maintains its own archives, you must file an original
signed copy of the approved minutes with the Town Clerk (PLEASE SUBMIT
UNSTAPLED)
It is the responsibility of the committee to comply.
Public Record
The minutes of all meetings of a public body are permanent records. Minutes of
open meetings are public records, subject to mandatory disclosure upon request
within 10 days. Records of any executive session may be withheld from disclosure
only as long as publication may defeat the purposes of the executive session.
Draft meeting minutes are public records from the moment of their creation, and
are considered the official record of the meeting until official minutes are approved
by the public body. The draft minutes must be retained only until the minutes are
approved, and may thereafter be destroyed without prior permission of the
Supervisor of Public Records. Note, however, that if a request is made for such
draft minutes prior to such destruction, such draft minutes must be maintained in
accordance with law.
Time Frame for Preparation of Minutes and Response to Request for Same
General Laws c.30A, §22(a) requires minutes to be produced in a timely manner.
A “timely manner” will generally be considered to be within the next three public
body meetings or within 30 days, whichever is later, unless the public body can
show good cause for further delay. The Attorney General encourages public
bodies to approve minutes at the next meeting whenever possible. Nevertheless, in
the event someone requests minutes from an open meeting, such minutes must be
provided within 10 days.
Executive Session Reminders
All meetings must be opened in executive session.
Before going into executive session, the chair must state the purpose for the session,
“stating all subjects that may be revealed without compromising the purpose for which
the executive session was called”. (See appendices)
The chair must also state whether the meeting will reconvene in open session after
conclusion of the executive session.
Votes to go into executive session must be recorded in the open session minutes by a
roll call.
All votes taken in executive session must be recorded roll call votes.
If a member of a public body is participating remotely, the member must state
whether the member is alone or if any other person can hear the discussion; the
public body may authorize the presence of such additional person or persons in
the remote location.
Executive session minutes must be disclosed when purpose of exemption has been
met, unless otherwise protected under the Public Records Law or other applicable
privilege.
Executive session minutes must be reviewed periodically by chair or public body.
Executive session minutes must be provided within 10 days in response to request,
unless review not yet undertaken (then by board’s next meeting or 30 days, whichever
occurs first)
Executive session minutes must be filed with the Town Clerk once made public.
Thank you all most sincerely for serving the Town of Nantucket, and helping to inform
the public.
Appendices
These are the links to the Attorney General references as well as the templates
that are available for your usage as outlined in this document.
MA Open Meeting Law (updated 10-6-2017)
940 CMR 29:00 Open Meetings
BOS Remote Meeting Participation Policy
Meeting Posting Templates (3)
Minutes Template
Attorney General’s Meeting Checklists (3)
O p en M e eti ng L aw
Gu ide
Co m m on w e a lth of M a ss achuset ts
O ffice of At torney G ener a l
M aur a He a ley
O ctober 6, 2017
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D e ar M assach u se tt s Re sid ent s:
On e of t h e mo st impo rt an t f un ct ion s of t h e Att o rn ey Ge ne ral’s Of f ice is t o p ro mo t e
o p enn ess an d t ran sp aren cy in go vern men t . Eve ry re sid en t o f M assachu se t t s sh ou ld b e ab le to
acce ss an d u nd erstan d th e reaso n in g be h in d t he go ve rn men t p o licy d ecisio n s th at af f e ct ou r
live s. M y of f ice is wo rking t o ach ie ve t hat go al t h ro u gh f air and co n sist e nt e n f orce me nt of t he
Op en M e et in g Law, alo ng wit h ro bu st e d u cat ion al o ut re ach abo u t th e law’s re qu ire men t s.
T h e Op en M ee t in g Law re q u ire s th at mo st mee t in gs o f pu b lic b od ie s b e he ld in pu b lic,
an d it e st ab lish es ru le s th at p ub lic bo d ie s mu st fo llo w in t he cre at io n and maint e n an ce of
re co rd s re lat in g t o t h o se me e t in gs. Ou r o ff ice is de d icat ed t o p ro vidin g e du cat ion al mat e rials,
o u t re ach an d t rain in g sessio n s to en su re th at memb ers of p ub lic bo d ie s an d cit iz en s
u n de rst an d t he ir righ t s an d re sp on sib ilit ie s u nd er t he law.
Wh e th e r you are a t o wn clerk o r to wn man age r, a me mbe r of a pu b lic b o dy, o r a
co n ce rn ed cit iz en , I want t o th an k yo u fo r t akin g th e t ime t o u nd erst and t he Op en Me e t in g
Law. If yo u wo u ld like add it ion al gu id an ce on t h e law, I e n co urage you t o co n t act my D ivisio n
o f Ope n Go ve rn me nt at (6 1 7 ) 96 3 -2 5 40 o r visit o ur we b sit e at
www .mass.go v/ ago / o p en meet in g f o r mo re inf o rmat ion .
Sin ce re ly,
M au ra He aley
M assach u set t s Att o rne y Ge n eral
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TA B LE OF CON TEN TS
Co nte nts
Ov e rv iew ................................................................................................................................................. 1
Ce rt ificatio n .................................................................................................................................... 1
M e etings o f P ublic Bo dies ...................................................................................................................... 2
What co nstitute s a public bo dy?.................................................................................................... 2
What co nstitutes a deliberatio n? ................................................................................................... 3
No tice ..................................................................................................................................................... 5
Executiv e Sessio n.................................................................................................................................... 8
The Ten P urpo ses fo r Executiv e Sessio n ........................................................................................ 8
Re mo te P art icipatio n ............................................................................................................................ 1 3
P ublic P art icipatio n ............................................................................................................................... 1 5
M inute s.................................................................................................................................................1 6
Ope n Se ssio n M e eting Re co rds.................................................................................................... 1 6
Executiv e Sessio n Meeting Reco rds ............................................................................................. 1 7
Ope n Me e ting L aw Com plaints ............................................................................................................1 7
Ope n M eeting L aw co m plaint pro ce dure .................................................................................... 1 8
Will the Atto rne y Ge ne ral’s Office prov ide training o n the Ope n M ee ting Law?................................2 0
Co ntacting the Atto rney General ......................................................................................................... 2 1
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Attor n ey Ge n er al’ s O pen Me eti ng L aw Guid e
Overvi ew
P u rpo se of t h e Law
T h e p u rp o se o f th e Op en M e et in g Law is to en su re t ran sp are n cy in th e
d e lib erat io n s o n wh ich pu b lic p o licy is b ase d . Be cau se t h e d emo crat ic p roce ss d epe n d s
o n t h e pu b lic h avin g knowled ge abo ut th e co n side rat ion s un de rlyin g go vern me nt al
act io n , t he Ope n M e et ing Law re qu ire s, with so me e xce p tio n s, th at me et in gs o f pu b lic
b o d ie s b e op en t o th e p ub lic. It also see ks t o b alan ce th e p ub lic’s int e re st in wit ne ssin g
t h e d elib erat ion s of pu b lic o f f icials wit h t he go ve rn me nt ’s n ee d to man age it s
o p e rat ion s e ff icient ly.
At t orn e y Ge n e ral’s Aut ho rit y
T h e Op en M ee t in g Law was re vise d as p art of t he 2 00 9 Et h ics Ref o rm Bill, an d
n o w ce nt ralize s re sp o n sib ilit y f o r st ate wid e e nf o rce me n t o f th e law in t he At t orn ey
Ge n e ral’s Of f ice . G.L. c. 3 0 A, § 1 9 (a). T o h elp pub lic b od ie s u nd erst and an d co mp ly with
t h e law, th e At to rne y Gen e ral h as cre at ed th e D ivisio n of Ope n Go ve rn men t . T h e
D ivisio n o f Op en Go ve rnme n t p ro vid es t rain in g, re sp o nd s t o in qu iries, in ve st igat e s
co mp laint s, an d whe n n ece ssary, make s f ind in gs an d o rd ers re me d ial act ion to ad d re ss
vio lat ion s of th e law. T he pu rp o se of t h is Gu id e is t o in fo rm e le ct ed an d ap p oin t ed
me mb e rs o f pu b lic b o d ies, as we ll as t he int e re st ed pu b lic, o f th e b asic requ ire men t s o f
t h e law.
Ce rt if icat io n
Wit h in t wo we e ks o f a me mb e r’s e le ct io n o r ap p oin t men t o r t he t akin g of t h e
o at h o f of f ice , which e ve r o ccu rs lat e r, all me mb e rs o f p ub lic bo d ie s mu st co mp let e t h e
at t ache d Cert if icat e o f Re ce ip t o f Op en M e et in g Law M at e rials ce rtif yin g t h at th ey h ave
re ce ive d t h e se mat e rials, an d th at th ey u n de rst and th e re qu ire men t s o f the Op en
M e e tin g Law an d th e con se q ue n ce s o f vio lat in g it . Th e ce rt if icat ion mu st b e ret ain ed
wh e re th e p ub lic b o d y main t ain s it s of f icial re co rds. All p u b lic b od y me mbe rs sh ou ld
f amiliariz e t h emse lve s wit h t he Op en M e et in g Law, t h e Att o rn e y Ge ne ral’s re gu lat io n s,
t h is Gu id e, and Ope n M ee t in g Law d et e rmin at io ns issu ed t o th e member’s p ub lic bo d y
wit h in t he last f ive ye ars in wh ich t he At t orn ey Gen eral f ou n d a violat ion of th e law.
In th e e ve nt a Ce rt ificat e h as n o t ye t b ee n comp le t e d b y a p re se nt ly se rvin g
me mb e r o f a p ub lic bo d y, t he me mb e r sh ou ld comp lete an d su b mit t h e Ce rt if icat e at
t h e e arlie st op po rtu n it y t o b e con sid ere d in comp lian ce wit h t he law. A pu b lic b o d y
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me mb e r mu st sign a n ew Ce rt if icate up on ree le ct io n o r re app o in t men t to t he pu b lic
b o d y b ut n ee d no t sign a Ce rt ificat e whe n jo in in g a su b co mmitt e e .
Op en M e et in g Law We b sit e
T h is Gu id e is int en d ed t o b e a cle ar and co n cise exp lan at io n o f th e Ope n M e e tin g
Law’s re q u ire me nt s. T h e co mp let e law, as we ll as t he At t orn e y Gen e ral’s re gu lat io n s,
t rain in g mat e rials, and de t e rmin at io n s an d d e clinat io n s as t o co mp laint s can be f o un d
o n t h e Att o rn ey Gen eral’s Op en M ee t in g we b sit e , www.mass .go v/ ago / o p en meet in g.
M e mbe rs of p u blic b od ies, o th e r lo cal and st at e go ve rn men t o ff icials, an d t h e pu b lic are
e n co u rage d t o visit t h e we b sit e re gu larly f o r up dat e s on t h e law and t h e At t orn ey
Ge n e ral’s in te rp re t at ion s o f it .
Meeti n gs o f P u bl i c B o di es
Wh at me et in gs are co ve re d b y th e Ope n M ee t in g Law?
Wit h cert ain e xce pt ion s, all me et in gs o f a pu b lic bo d y mu st b e o p en t o t h e
p u b lic. A me e t in g is ge ne rally d ef ine d as “a d e libe rat ion b y a p ub lic b od y wit h re sp e ct
t o an y mat t e r wit h in t h e b o d y’s ju risd ict io n .” As e xp lain ed more f u lly b e lo w, a
d e lib erat io n is a co mmun icat ion be t we en o r amon g me mb e rs o f a pu b lic b o d y.
T h e se f ou r q u est ion s will h e lp de t ermin e wh et h e r a co mmu n icat io n co n st it u te s
a me et in g su b je ct t o t h e law:
1 ) is t he co mmu n icat io n b et we e n o r amo n g me mbers o f a pu b li c b o d y;
2 ) if so , d o e s th e co mmu n icat io n co n st itu t e a d el i b er at i o n;
3 ) d o e s t h e co mmun icat io n in vo lve a mat t er wit hin th e b o d y’s j ur i sdi cti o n; an d
4 ) if so , d o e s th e co mmu n icat io n f all wit h in an except i o n list ed in t h e law?
Wh at con st it ut e s a pu b lic b o d y?
Wh ile t h ere is n o co mp re h en sive list o f pu b lic b od ie s, an y mu lt i- me mb er b o ard ,
co mmissio n , co mmit te e o r sub co mmitt e e wit h in t h e e xe cu t ive o r le gislat ive b ran ch es 1
o f st at e go ve rn me nt , o r wit h in an y cou n t y, d ist rict , cit y, re gio n o r t o wn , if e st ab lish ed t o
se rve a p ub lic pu rpo se , is su b je ct to t h e law. Th e law in clud es an y mu lt i-me mb er b od y
cre at e d to ad vise o r make re co mmen d at ion s to a p u b lic b od y, and also in clu d e s t he
go ve rn in g b o ard o f an y lo cal h ou sin g o r re d eve lop me nt au th o rit y, and t he go ve rnin g
b o ard o r b od y of an y auth o rit y e st ab lish ed b y th e Le gislatu re t o se rve a pub lic pu rp o se .
T h e law e xclu d e s t he Le gislat u re and it s co mmit tee s, b od ies o f t he ju d icial b ran ch , and
Alth ou gh th e Legisla tu re it sel f is n ot a p u b lic b od y su b ject to th e Op en Meetin g La w, c ert a in
legi sla tiv e co m mi ssio n s mu st fo llo w th e La w’ s req u ir em en ts.
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b o d ie s app o in t ed b y a con st itu t io n al o ff ice r so lely f o r th e p u rp o se o f ad visin g a
co n st itu t io n al o ff ice r.
Bo ard s of se lect me n and sch o o l co mmitt e e s (in clu d in g th o se o f ch art e r sch o o ls)
are ce rtain ly su b je ct to th e Ope n M e et in g Law, as are sub co mmit t ee s of p u b lic b od ies,
re gard less o f wh e th e r t he ir ro le is d e cisio n- making o r ad viso ry. Ind ividu al go ve rn men t
o f f icials, su ch as a t o wn man age r o r p o lice ch ief , an d me mbe rs of t h e ir staf f are n ot
su b je ct t o th e law, and so th ey may me e t wit h o ne an ot he r t o d iscu ss p u b lic b u sine ss
wit h o ut n eed in g t o comp ly wit h Op e n Me e t in g Law re q u ire men t s. T h is exce p t io n f or
in d ividu al o ff icials to th e ge n e ral Op e n Me e t in g Law d o e s n o t app ly wh ere su ch o ff icials
are se rvin g as memb e rs o f a mu lt ip le - me mb er pub lic b od y th at is su b je ct to th e law.
Bo d ie s app o in t ed b y a pu b lic of f icial so lely f o r the pu rp o se of ad visin g t he o ff icial
o n a d ecision t h at in d ividu al co u ld make alon e are n ot pu b lic b od ie s su b je ct to t h e Op en
M e e tin g Law. Fo r e xamp le, a sch o o l su pe rint en de n t app o int s a f ive- me mb e r ad viso ry
b o d y t o assist h er in n o min at in g cand id at e s f o r sch o o l p rin cip al, a t ask t h e
su p erin t en de nt co u ld p erf o rm h erself . T h at ad viso ry b od y wo u ld no t b e su b je ct to th e
Op en M e et in g Law. 2
Wh at con st it ut e s a d elibe rat ion ?
T h e Op en M ee t in g Law de f in es d elib erat ion as “an o ral o r writ te n co mmu n icatio n
th ro u gh an y me diu m, in clud in g e le ct ro n ic mail, b e t we en or amo n g a q u oru m o f a pu b lic
b od y o n an y pu b lic b u sin ess wit h in it s ju risd ict ion .” D ist ribu t ion o f a me e t in g agen d a,
sch e du lin g o r p ro ced u ral in f o rmat io n , o r re po rt s o r d o cume n t s th at may b e d iscu sse d at
a meet in g is of te n h elp fu l t o p u b lic b od y me mb ers wh en p rep arin g f o r u p co min g
mee t in gs. T h e se t yp e s o f co mmun icat io n s ge n e rally will n ot co n st it ut e d e lib erat io n ,
p ro vid ed that , wh en t h e se mat e rials are d ist rib ut e d , no memb er of t he p u b lic b od y
exp resse s an o p in io n o n mat t e rs wit hin th e b od y’s ju risd ict ion. Add it ion ally, ce rt ain
co mmun icat ion s t h at may o t he rwise be co n sid e re d d e lib e rat ion are sp e cif ically e xe mp t
b y st atu t e f ro m th e d ef in it io n o f d elib eratio n (fo r e xamp le , d iscu ssio n of t h e re ce ss an d
co nt inu an ce o f a T o wn M e et in g pu rsuan t t o G.L. c. 3 9 , § 1 0A(a) is n ot d e lib erat io n ).
T o be a d e lib e rat io n, th e co mmu n icatio n mu st in vo lve a q u oru m o f th e p ub lic
b o d y. A qu o ru m is u su ally a simp le majorit y of t he me mb e rs of a pu b lic bo d y. Th u s, a
co mmu n icatio n amon g less t h an a qu o ru m of t h e me mbe rs of a p ub lic b od y will n ot b e
a d e lib e rat io n, un less t he re are mu lt iple co mmun icat ion s amon g t h e memb e rs of t he
p u b lic b od y th at to ge th er co n st it ut e commun icat io n amo n g a qu o ru m of me mb e rs.
Co u rt s h ave h eld th at the Op en Me e t in g Law ap plie s wh en me mb ers o f a p u b lic b od y
co mmu n icate in a se rial man n e r in o rd e r t o e vade th e ap p licat io n of th e law.
2 See Co n n el ly v. Sch o o l Co mm ittee o f H a n o v er, 409 Ma ss. 2 32 (199 1).
4 | P a g e
N o t e th at th e e xp re ssion o f an o p in io n on mat t ers wit h in th e b o d y’s ju risdict io n
t o a qu o rum of a p ub lic b o d y is a d elibe rat io n , e ve n if no ot he r p u blic b ody me mb er
re sp o nd s. Fo r e xamp le, if a me mbe r of a pu b lic bo d y se nd s an e mail t o a q u oru m o f a
p u b lic b od y e xp re ssin g he r o pin ion on a matt e r th at cou ld co me b ef o re th at b od y, th is
co mmu n icatio n vio late s t h e law e ve n if n on e o f th e re cip ie nt s re sp on d s.
Wh at matt e rs are with in t h e ju risd ict ion of t h e pub lic b od y?
T h e Op en M ee t in g Law ap p lie s o n ly t o th e d iscu ssio n of an y “mat te r with in th e
b o d y’s ju risd ict io n .” Th e law d o e s n ot sp ecif ically d ef in e “jurisd ict ion .” As a gen e ral
ru le , an y mat t er of p u blic b u sine ss on wh ich a quo ru m o f t he p u b lic b od y may make a
d e cision o r re co mmen d at io n is co n sid ered a matte r wit h in t h e ju risd ict ion o f t h e pu b lic
b o d y. Ce rt ain d iscu ssio ns re gard in g p ro ce du ral or ad min ist rat ive matt e rs may also
re lat e t o pu b lic b u sin ess wit h in a bo d y's ju risd ict io n , su ch as whe re t he d iscu ssio n
in vo lve s th e o rganiz at io n an d le ad ersh ip o f t he pub lic b od y, co mmit t ee assign me nt s, o r
ru les or b ylaws f o r t he bo d y. St at e me nt s mad e fo r po lit ical p u rp o se s, su ch as wh ere a
p u b lic b od y’s me mb e rs ch aract e riz e th e ir o wn p ast ach ie veme nt s, gen e rally are no t
co n sid ered co mmu n icat io n s on p u blic bu sin ess wit h in th e ju risd ict ion of th e p u blic
b o d y.
Wh at are t he e xce pt ion s t o t h e d ef in it ion of a mee t in g?
T h ere are f ive e xce p t io n s t o th e d ef in it io n o f a mee t in g u nd er th e Op en Meet in g
Law.
1 . M e mbe rs of a p ub lic b o dy may co n du ct an o n - sit e in sp ect io n of a p ro je ct or
p ro gram; h o wever, th ey may n ot de lib erat e at such gath e rin gs;
2 . M e mbe rs of a p ub lic b o dy may att e nd a co n fe rence , t rain in g p ro gram o r eve n t ;
h o wever, t h e y may n ot de lib erat e at su ch gat he rin gs;
3 . M e mbe rs of a p ub lic b o dy may att e nd a me et in g o f an o th er pu b lic b o d y
p ro vid ed t h at t h e y co mmu n icate on ly b y o p en part icip at io n; ho we ve r, t hey may
n o t d elib erat e at su ch gat h e rin gs;
4 . M e e tin gs of q u asi- jud icial b o ard s or co mmission s h e ld so lely t o make d e cisio n s
in an ad ju d icat o ry p ro cee d in g are n ot sub je ct t o th e Ope n M e et in g Law; an d
5 . T o wn Me e t in gs, wh ich are su bje ct t o o th e r legal re q u ire me nt s, are n o t gove rn e d
b y th e Ope n M e et in g Law. See , e .g. G.L. c. 3 9 , §§ 9 , 10 (e stab lishin g p ro ced u re s
f o r T o wn M e et in g).
T h e At to rney Ge neral in te rp ret s th e e xe mpt ion for “qu asi- ju d icial b o ard s or
co mmissio n s” t o ap p ly on ly t o ce rt ain st ate “q u asi- ju d icial” bo d ies and a ve ry limit ed
n u mbe r o f p ub lic bo d ies at ot h er leve ls o f go ve rnme n t wh o se p ro ce ed in gs are
sp e cif ically def in ed as “agen cies” f o r p u rp o se s o f G.L. c. 3 0 A.
5 | P a g e
We h ave re ce ived se ve ral in qu irie s ab ou t th e e xce p t io n f o r T o wn M e et in g an d
wh e t h er it app lies t o mee t in gs o ut sid e o f a T o wn M e e tin g se ssio n b y T o wn Me e t in g
me mb e rs o r T o wn M e et in g co mmit t ee s o r t o d elib erat io n b y me mb e rs o f a p ub lic b o d y
– su ch as a b o ard of se lect me n – du rin g a se ssio n o f T o wn M e et in g. Th e At t o rn ey
Ge n eral int e rp re t s t his exe mp t ion t o me an th at th e Ope n M e et in g Law d oe s n ot re ach
an y asp ect of To wn Me et in g. T h ere fo re , t he At t orn e y Gen e ral will n ot in ve st igat e
co mp laint s allegin g vio lat io n s in t he se sit u at io n s. N ot e , h o we ve r, t h at t h is is a mat te r of
in t e rp ret at io n an d fu tu re Att o rn eys Ge ne ral may ch o o se t o app ly th e law in su ch
sit u atio n s.
N o ti c e
Wh at are t he req u ire men t s f o r p o st in g n ot ice of meet in gs?
Exce p t in case s o f e me rge n cy, a p u b lic b od y mu st p ro vid e t h e pu b lic with n o t ice
o f it s mee t in g 4 8 ho u rs in ad van ce , e xclud in g Satu rd ays, Su nd ays, and legal h o lid ays.
N o t ice o f e me rge n cy mee t in gs mu st b e po st ed as so o n as re aso n ab ly po ssib le p rio r t o
t h e me et in g. Also n ot e th at o th er laws, su ch as th o se go vern in g p ro ce du re s f o r pu b lic
h e arin gs, may req u ire add it ion al n ot ice .
Wh at are t he req u ire men t s f o r f ilin g and p o st in g me e t in g no t ice s f o r lo cal p ub lic
b o d ie s?
Fo r local p ub lic bo d ies, me e t in g no t ice s mu st b e f iled with th e mun icip al clerk
wit h en o u gh t ime t o p ermit p o st in g of t h e n ot ice at le ast 48 h o u rs in ad van ce of th e
p u b lic me et in g. N ot ice s may b e p o st e d o n a b u llet in b o ard , in a lo o se- le af b in de r, or on
an e lect ron ic d isp lay (e .g. t e levision , co mp ut e r mo n ito r, o r an e lect ro n ic bu llet in b o ard ),
p ro vid ed t h at t h e no t ice is co n sp icuo u sly visib le to th e p ub lic at all h ou rs in , on , o r ne ar
t h e mun icip al b u ild in g in wh ich th e clerk’s o ff ice is lo cat ed . In th e e ve nt th at me et in g
n o t ice s p o st e d in th e mun icip al b u ild in g are n ot visib le t o t h e pu b lic at all ho u rs, t h en
t h e mun icip alit y mu st e ith er p o st n ot ice s on t he ou t side of t h e bu ild in g o r ad o pt t h e
mu n icip al we b site as t he o ff icial met ho d o f n ot ice p o stin g.
P rio r t o u t iliz in g th e mu nicip al we b site , t h e Ch ief Exe cu t ive Of f ice r o f th e
mu n icip alit y mu st aut h o riz e or vot e t o ad op t su ch we b sit e as t h e o ff icial me t h od o f
p o st in g no t ice . T he cle rk o f t he mu n icip alit y mu st in fo rm t h e D ivision o f Op en
Go ve rn men t o f it s n ot ice p o stin g me th o d and must inf o rm th e D ivisio n o f an y fu tu re
ch an ge s t o t h at p o st in g me t ho d . P ub lic bo d ies mu st con sist en t ly u se t he mo st cu rren t
n o t ice p o st in g me th od on f ile with th e D ivision . A d escript ion of t h e we bsit e , in clu d in g
d ire ct ion s on h o w to lo cat e n o t ice s o n th e web sit e , mu st also b e p o ste d o n or adjace nt
t o t h e main and h and icap p ed acce ssib le e nt ran ce s t o th e b u ild in g wh ere t h e cle rk’s
o f f ice is lo cat e d . N ot e that mee t in g no t ice s mu st st ill be availab le in o r arou n d th e
6 | P a g e
clerk’s o f f ice so t h at memb e rs of t he pu b lic may view t h e n ot ice s d u rin g n o rmal
b u sine ss h ou rs.
Wh at are t he req u ire men t s f o r p o st in g n ot ice s for re gion al, d ist rict, co un ty an d st at e
p u b lic b od ie s?
Fo r re gion al o r d ist rict pu b lic b o d ie s and re gio n al sch o o l d ist rict s, mee t in g
n o t ice s mu st be f iled and p o ste d in t he same mann e r re qu ire d of lo cal p ublic b o d ie s in
e ach of t h e co mmun it ie s wit h in th e re gio n o r d istrict . As an alt e rn at ive me t h od o f
n o t ice , a re gio n al o r d istrict pu b lic b o d y may po st a me et in g n ot ice on t h e re gion al o r
d ist rict pu b lic b o d y’s web sit e . T he re gio n al sch oo l d ist rict co mmitt e e must f ile an d p o st
n o t ice o f th e web sit e add re ss, as we ll as dire ct ion s o n ho w t o lo cat e no t ice s o n t he
we b sit e , in each cit y and t o wn with in t he re gio n or d istrict . A co p y o f th e no t ice mu st
b e f ile d and ke pt b y th e ch air of th e p ub lic b o d y o r th e ch air’s d esign ee .
Co u n t y p ub lic b o d ie s must f ile mee t in g no t ice s in t h e o ff ice of t he co un t y
co mmissio n e rs an d po st n o t ice o f th e me e t in g in a mann e r con sp icuo u sly visib le to t h e
p u b lic at all h o u rs at a p lace o r p lace s d e sign at e d b y th e cou nt y co mmission e rs f o r
n o t ice p o st in gs. As an alt e rn at ive me th o d of no t ice , a co un t y p ub lic bo d y may p o st
n o t ice o f me et in gs o n the co un t y p ub lic b od y’s we b sit e . Th e cou nt y pu b lic b o d y mu st
f ile an d p o st n o t ice o f the we b site add re ss, as well as d ire ct ion s on h o w t o lo cat e
n o t ice s o n th e we b sit e , in th e o ff ice of t h e co un ty co mmissio n ers. A cop y o f t he n o t ice
sh all be file d and ke pt b y t he ch air of th e co u nt y pu b lic b o d y o r t h e ch air’s d esign ee .
St at e pu b lic b od ie s mu st p o st me et in g n ot ice s on t h e we b sit e of th e p ub lic b od y
o r it s p are n t agen cy. T he ch air o f a stat e pu b lic bo d y mu st n o t if y t h e Att orn e y Gen e ral
in writ in g of t h e sp e cific we b p age lo cat ion wh ere n ot ice s will be po st ed an d o f an y
su b se qu en t ch an ge s t o th at p o st in g lo cat ion . A co p y of e ach me et in g no t ice mu st also
b e sen t t o th e Se cre t ary o f St ate ’s Re gu lat ion s D ivisio n and sh o u ld b e f o rward ed t o t he
Exe cu t ive Of f ice o f Ad min ist rat ion and Fin an ce , wh ich maint ain s a list in g o f st at e pu b lic
b o d y me e t in gs.
Wh ere a pu b lic b od y adop t s a we b site as t he of f icial me th od of p o st in g n ot ice s,
it mu st make e ve ry ef fo rt to en su re th at th e websit e is acce ssib le at all h ou rs. If a
we b sit e b e co me s in accessib le wit hin 4 8 h ou rs of a me et in g, n ot in clu d in g Sat u rd ays,
Su n days o r le gal h o lid ays, t he we b sit e mu st b e rest o re d wit h in six b u sin ess h o urs of th e
d isco ve ry. If t he we b sit e is n ot re st o re d wit h in six b u sin e ss h o u rs, th e p ub lic b o d y mu st
re - p o st n o tice of it s me et in g t o an ot h er dat e and t ime , in acco rd an ce wit h t h e
re q u ire men t s o f t he Op en Me e t in g Law.
A n ot e ab ou t acce ssib ility
P u b lic b od ies are sub je ct t o all ap p licab le st at e and fe d e ral laws th at go ve rn
acce ssib ilit y fo r p e rson s wit h d isab ilit ies. Th e se laws in clu d e th e Ame rican s wit h
7 | P a g e
D isab ilit ies Act , th e f ed e ral Re h abilit at io n Act o f 19 7 3 , an d st at e con st it ut io n al
p ro vision s. Fo r in st an ce , p ub lic bo d ie s th at ad op t we b sit e p o st in g as an alt e rn at ive
me t ho d o f n ot ice mu st en su re th at t he we b sit e is re ad ily acce ssib le t o p eop le with
d isab ilit ies, in clu d in g in d ivid u als wh o u se scre e n re ad ers. All op en mee t ings o f p ub lic
b o d ie s mu st b e acce ssib le t o p erso n s wit h d isab ilit ie s. M e et in g lo cat ion s mu st b e
acce ssib le b y whe e lch air, wit h ou t th e n eed fo r spe cial assist an ce . Also sign lan gu age
in t e rp ret e rs f o r d eaf o r he arin g- imp aired p erson s mu st b e p ro vid ed , sub je ct to
re aso n ab le ad van ce n ot ice . 3 Th e Att o rn e y Gen e ral’s D isab ilit y Right s P ro ject is availab le
t o an swe r qu est io n s ab ou t acce ssib ilit y an d may b e reach e d at
(6 1 7 ) 9 63 - 29 3 9 .
Wh at in fo rmat io n mu st me e t in g no t ice s con t ain?
M e e tin g n ot ice s mu st b e p o ste d in a legib le, e asily u n de rst an d ab le f o rmat;
co n t ain th e d at e , t ime , an d p lace o f t he mee t in g; an d list all to p ics t h at t he ch air
re aso n ab ly ant icip at e s, 48 h ou rs in ad van ce , will b e d iscu sse d at t he mee tin g. Th e list of
t o p ics mu st b e suf f icie nt ly sp ecif ic t o re aso n ab ly in f o rm th e p ub lic of t h e issu es to be
d iscu sse d at t he mee t in g. Wh ere t h e re are no ant icip ate d t op ics f or d iscussio n in op en
se ssio n ot he r t h an th e p ro ce d u ral req u ire me nt s fo r co n ven in g an e xe cu t ive se ssio n , th e
p u b lic b od y sh ou ld list “o p en se ssio n” as a to p ic, in add itio n t o th e e xe cu t ive se ssio n , so
t h e pu b lic is aware th at it h as th e o p po rtu n it y to at t en d and learn t he basis f o r th e
execu t ive sessio n .
M e e tin g n ot ice s mu st also ind icat e th e d at e and t ime th at th e n o tice was po st e d ,
e it h er on t h e n ot ice it se lf o r in a do cu men t o r web sit e acco mp an yin g th e n o t ice . If a
n o t ice is re vised , t h e re vise d no t ice mu st also co nsp icu o u sly re co rd b ot h th e d at e and
t ime t h e o rigin al n ot ice was p o st ed as we ll as t he d at e an d t ime t h e last re vision was
p o st ed . Re co rd in g th e dat e an d t ime en ab le s th e p ub lic to ob se rve th at pu b lic b o d ie s
are co mp lyin g with th e Op en M e et in g Law’s n ot ice re qu ire men t s wit h ou t re qu irin g
co n st ant vigilan ce . Ad d itio n ally, in t h e e ve nt o f a co mp laint , it p ro vide s the Att o rn e y
Ge n eral wit h e vid en ce of co mp lian ce wit h th o se re q u ire me nt s.
If a d iscu ssio n t op ic is p ro p o sed af t e r a me e t in g no t ice is p o st e d , and it was n o t
re aso n ab ly ant icip at e d by t h e ch air mo re th an 4 8 h o u rs b ef o re th e me e ting, t he pu b lic
b o d y sh o u ld u pd at e it s po st in g t o p ro vid e t he pub lic wit h as mu ch n o t ice as p o ssib le of
wh at sub je ct s will b e d iscu sse d du rin g th e me et in g. Alth o u gh a pu b lic b od y may
co n sid er a t o p ic t h at was n ot liste d in t he mee t in g n ot ice if it was n ot an t icip at ed , t h e
At t orn ey Ge n eral st ro n gly e n co u rage s pu b lic b od ie s t o p o st p on e d iscu ssion and act io n
o n t o p ics t h at are con t rove rsial o r may b e of part icu lar int e re st t o t he pu b lic if t h e t op ic
was n o t list ed in th e me et in g n ot ice .
3 Th e Ma s sa ch u s et ts Co m mis si o n fo r th e Dea f a n d H a rd o f H ea rin g will a ssi st w ith a rra n gemen ts fo r a
sign la n gu a ge in terp r eter. Th e Co m mi ssio n ma y b e r ea ch e d a t 617-740 -160 0 VOICE a n d 617-7 40-
1700 T T Y.
8 | P a g e
Exec uti ve Ses si o n
Wh en can a pu b lic b o d y me e t in e xe cu t ive se ssion ?
Wh ile all me et in gs o f pub lic b od ie s mu st b e op en t o th e p ub lic, ce rt ain t op ics
may b e d iscu sse d in e xe cu t ive , o r clo sed , se ssio n . Be f o re go in g int o an e xecu t ive
se ssio n , t h e ch air o f th e p u b lic b od y mu st f irst:
•Co n ve n e in o p en se ssion;
•St at e th e re aso n fo r t h e e xe cu t ive se ssio n , st at ing all sub je ct s t hat may be
re ve aled wit h ou t co mp ro misin g t h e pu rp o se fo r wh ich th e e xe cut ive se ssio n was
called ;
•St at e wh eth er th e p ub lic b od y will re con ve n e in op e n se ssio n at th e en d o f t he
execu t ive sessio n ; and
•T ake a ro ll call vot e o f the b od y to en ter execut ive sessio n .
Wh e re a pu b lic b od y memb e r is p art icip at in g in an e xe cut ive se ssion re mot e ly,
t h e me mb er mu st st at e at th e st art of t h e e xe cutive se ssio n th at n o o th er p erso n is
p re se nt o r ab le t o h ear th e d iscu ssio n at th e re mo t e lo cat ion . T h e pu b lic b o d y may
au th o rize , b y a simp le majo rit y vot e , t he p re sen ce and part icipat ion o f o th e r in d ivid u als
at th e re mot e p art icip ant ’s lo cat io n .
Wh ile in e xe cut ive se ssion ,th e p ub lic b o d y mu st ke e p accu rat e re co rd s,all vo t e s
t ake n mu st b e re co rd e d b y ro ll call,and t h e pu b lic b o d y may o n ly d iscu ss mat t ers fo r
wh ich th e e xe cut ive se ssio n was called .
T h e T e n P urp o se s f or Execu t ive Sessio n
T h e law st ate s te n sp e cif ic p u rp o se s f o r wh ich an e xe cu t ive se ssio n may be h eld ,
an d e mph asiz e s th at th ese are t he on ly re ason s fo r wh ich a pu b lic b od y may e n te r
execu t ive sessio n .
are :
T h e t en pu rpo se s f o r wh ich a p u b lic b od y may vote t o ho ld an e xe cu t ive sessio n
1 . T o di scuss th e r epu t at ion , ch ar act er , p h ysi cal con d i ti o n or men t al h eal t h,
r at h er t h an p r of essi on al co mp et en ce, of an i nd i vi d u al , o r t o di scu ss t h e
d i scip li n e or di smi ssal o f, o r co mp l ai n t s o r ch ar ges b r ou gh t agai n st , a p ub l i c
o f f icer , emp lo yee, st af f memb er o r in d i vi d u al. Th e i n di vi du al to b e d i scussed
i n su ch execut i ve sessi on sh all b e n o ti fi ed in w r it i n g b y t h e pu bl i c b o d y at l east
4 8 ho u r s pr i or to th e pro p o sed execu ti ve sessi on ; pr o vid ed , h o w ever , th at
n o t if i cati o n may b e w aived u p o n wr i tt en agr eemen t o f t h e p art i es.
9 | P a g e
T h is p u rp o se is d esign ed t o p rot e ct t he righ t s an d re p ut at io n o f
in d ividu als. Neverth eless, wh e re a pu b lic b od y is d iscu ssin g an e mp lo ye e
e valu at io n , con side rin g ap p licant s f o r a po sit ion , o r d iscu ssin g th e q ualif icat io n s
o f an y ind ividu al, t h e se discu ssio n s sho u ld be he ld in o p en se ssion t o t he ext e n t
t h at th e d iscu ssion de als wit h issu es o th er th an the re pu tat ion , ch aract e r,
h e alth , or an y co mp lain ts o r ch arge s again st t he in d ividu al. An e xe cu t ive se ssio n
called fo r t h is p urp o se t rigge rs ce rt ain righ t s f o r th e in d ividu al who is t he su b je ct
o f t h e d iscu ssion . T h e ind ivid u al h as th e righ t t o b e p re sen t , t ho u gh he o r sh e
may ch o o se n ot t o at te nd . Th e in d ivid u al wh o is t h e su b je ct o f t he discu ssio n
may also ch oo se t o h ave t h e d iscu ssion in an op en me et in g, and t h at cho ice
t ake s p re ced en ce o ve r th e righ t o f th e p ub lic bod y t o go in to e xe cut ive se ssio n .
Wh ile t h e impo sit ion o f d iscip lin ary san ct ion s b y a p ub lic b o d y o n an
in d ividu al f it s wit h in t h is p u rp o se , t h is pu rp o se doe s n ot ap p ly if , f o r e xamp le ,
t h e pu b lic b o d y is d ecid in g wh eth er t o lay of f a large nu mb er of e mp lo ye es
b ecau se o f bu d get ary con st rain t s.
2 . T o con d uct st r at egy sessi o n s i n p r ep ar at i o n f or nego t i at i o n s wi t h n on u nio n
p er so n n el or to con d uct co l l ecti ve b ar gai n in g sessi o n s o r co nt r act n ego t iat i o n s
w i th no n un i on p er so n nel ;
Ge n erally, a pu b lic b od y mu st id en t if y th e sp ecif ic n on - un ion perso nn e l o r
co llect ive b argain in g un it with wh ich it is n egot iat in g b ef o re e nt e rin g in to
e xe cu t ive se ssio n u nd er P u rpo se 2 . A p ub lic b o dy may wit h ho ld th e id entit y o f
t h e n on -u n ion p erson n el o r b argain in g u n it if pu blicly d isclo sin g t h at in f o rmat io n
wo u ld co mp ro mise th e pu rp o se fo r wh ich th e e xecu t ive se ssion was called.
Wh ile we ge n erally d ef e r t o p ub lic b o d ie s’ asse ssme n t o f wh et h e r th e in clu sio n
o f su ch de t ails wo u ld comp ro mise th e p u rp o se fo r an e xe cut ive se ssion , a p ub lic
b o d y mu st b e ab le to d emo n st rat e a reaso n ab le b asis fo r t h at claim if
ch allen ged .
Wh ile a pu b lic b o d y may agre e on t e rms with in d ivid u al n on - un ion
p erso nn el in e xe cu t ive se ssio n , t h e f in al vot e t o e xe cu t e su ch agre e men ts mu st
b e t ake n b y th e p ub lic bo d y in o pe n se ssio n . In co n t rast , a pu b lic b od y may
ap p ro ve f in al t e rms and e xe cu t e a co llective bargain in g agre e men t in e xe cu t ive
se ssio n , b ut sho u ld p ro mp t ly d isclo se t h e agre e me n t in o p en se ssion f o llowin g
it s e xe cut io n .
Co l l ecti ve Bar gai n i n g Sessi o n s:T h ese in clu d e not on ly th e b argain in g
se ssio n s,bu t also in clude grie van ce h e arin gs t h at are req u ired b y a co lle ct ive
b argain in g agree me nt .
10 | P a g e
3 .T o di scuss st r at egy w i th r esp ect to col l ecti ve b argai n i n g o r li t i gat io n i f an o p en
meet i n g may h ave a d et r i men t al eff ect on th e bar gai n i n g or li ti gat i n g p osi t io n
o f th e p ub li c bo d y an d th e ch ai r so d ecl ar es;
Ge n erally, a pu b lic b od y mu st id en t if y th e co lle ct ive b argain in g u n it with
wh ich it is ne go t iat in g o r t he lit igat ion matt e r it is d iscu ssin g b ef o re e nt e rin g int o
e xe cu t ive se ssio n u nd er P u rpo se 3 . A p ub lic b o dy may wit h ho ld th e id e ntit y o f
t h e co llect ive b argain in g u n it o r n ame of t h e lit igat io n matt e r if p ub licly
d isclo sin g t h at in f o rmat io n wo u ld co mp ro mise the pu rp o se fo r wh ich th e
e xe cu t ive se ssio n was called . Wh ile we ge ne rally d e f er to p u blic b od ies’
asse ssme n t o f wh e th e r th e in clu sio n of su ch de t ails wo u ld comp romise t he
p u rp o se f o r an e xe cu t ive se ssio n , a pu b lic b od y mu st b e ab le t o d emo n st rat e a
re aso n ab le b asis f o r t h at claim if ch allen ge d .
Co l l ecti ve Bar gai n i n g Strat egy: D iscu ssio n s with re sp e ct t o co llect ive
b argain in g strat e gy in clud e d iscu ssio n o f p ro p o sals f o r wage and b ene f it
p ackage s o r wo rkin g cond it ion s f o r u n io n e mp lo ye e s. Th e p ub lic bo d y, if
ch allen ged , h as th e b urde n of p ro vin g th at an o pe n mee t in g migh t h ave a
d et rime nt al ef fe ct o n it s b argain in g po sit io n . T h e sh o win g t h at mu st b e mad e is
t h at an op en d iscu ssion may h ave a de t rime nt al ef f ect on t h e co lle ct ive
b argain in g pro ce ss; t h e bo d y is n o t req u ired t o d emo n st rat e a d ef in ite h arm t hat
wo u ld h ave arise n . At the t ime th e e xe cu t ive se ssion is p rop o sed an d vo t ed on ,
t h e ch air mu st st at e o n th e re cord t h at h avin g the d iscu ssion in an op en se ssio n
may b e d et rimen t al t o the pu b lic b o d y’s b argain ing o r lit igat in g p o sit io n .
Li t i gat i o n St r at egy: D iscu ssio n s con ce rn in g strate gy wit h re sp ect to
o n go in g lit igat ion ob vio usly f it wit h in th is p u rp o se b ut on ly if an op en me etin g
may h ave a de t rime nt al e f f e ct on t h e lit igat in g po sit io n of th e p ub lic b o dy.
D iscu ssio n s re lat in g t o po t e nt ial lit igat io n are n ot co ve re d b y t h is e xe mpt io n
u n less t h at lit igation is cle arly and immin en t ly t h re at en e d o r o th e rwise
d e mon st rab ly like ly. Th at a p erson is re p re se nt ed b y co un se l an d sup p ort s a
p o sit ion ad ve rse t o th e pu b lic b o d y’s d o e s n ot b y it se lf me an th at lit igat ion is
immin e nt ly t h reat en e d or like ly. N or do e s t h e f act th at a n ewsp ape r re p o rt s a
p art y h as t h reat en ed to su e ne ce ssarily me an immin e nt lit igat io n .
No t e:Fo r t he re aso n s d iscu sse d abo ve ,a pu b lic b o d y’s d iscu ssio n s wit h
it s co un se l d o n ot au t o mat ically f all un d er th is or an y o th er pu rp o se fo r h old in g
an execut ive session .
4 .T o di scuss th e d epl o ymen t of secur i t y p er son n el o r d evi ces,o r str at egi es w i th
r esp ect th er et o ;
5 . T o i n vest i gat e ch ar ges of cri mi n al mi scon d u ct or t o co n si d er t h e f i li n g of
cr i mi n al co mpl ai n ts;
11 | P a g e
T h is p u rp o se p ermit s an e xe cu t ive se ssio n t o in vest igat e ch arge s o f
crimin al miscon d u ct an d t o con sid er th e f ilin g o f crimin al co mp lain t s. T hu s, it
p rimarily in vo lve s d iscu ssio n s th at wo u ld pre ce de th e f o rmal crimin al p roce ss in
co u rt . P urp o se 1 is re late d , in t h at it pe rmit s an e xe cu t ive se ssio n t o d iscu ss
ce rt ain co mp lain t s o r charge s, wh ich may in clud e crimin al comp lain t s o r ch arge s,
b u t on ly th o se t h at h ave alre ad y b een bro u gh t . Ho wever, P urp o se 1 co n fers
ce rt ain right s of p art icip at io n o n th e in d ivid u al in vo lve d , as we ll as t h e right fo r
t h e ind ivid u al to in sist t hat th e d iscu ssion o ccu r in op en se ssio n . Pu rp o se 5 d o e s
n o t re qu ire th at th e same right s be given to t h e perso n who is t he sub je ct o f a
crimin al co mp laint . T o the limite d e xt en t t hat t here is o verlap b et we e n P urp o se s
1 and 5 , a p ub lic bo d y h as d iscre t io n t o ch o o se wh ich p u rp o se t o in vo ke wh en
go in g in t o e xe cut ive se ssio n .
6 . T o con sid er t h e pu r ch ase, exch an ge, l ease o r valu e o f r eal pr o p ert y if th e ch ai r
d ecl ar es t h at an op en meet i n g may h ave a d et r imen t al ef f ect o n t h e
n ego t i at i n g p o sit i on of th e p u bl i c b od y;
Ge n erally, a pu b lic b od y mu st id en t if y th e sp ecif ic p ie ce o f p rop e rt y it
p lan s t o d iscu ss b efo re en t e rin g in t o e xe cut ive sessio n un de r Pu rpo se 6 . A p ub lic
b o d y may wit hh o ld th e id ent it y o f t he p ro pe rt y if p ub licly d isclo sin g th at
in f o rmat ion wo uld co mpro mise t h e pu rp o se fo r wh ich th e e xe cut ive se ssion was
called . Wh ile we ge n e rally d e fe r t o p ub lic bo d ies’ asse ssme nt of wh et he r th e
in clu sion of su ch d et ails wo u ld co mp ro mise th e pu rp o se fo r an e xe cut ive
se ssio n , a pu b lic b o d y mu st b e ab le t o d emo n st rat e a re ason ab le b asis f or t h at
claim if challen ge d .
Un d er t his pu rpo se , as wit h t he co llect ive bargainin g and lit igat io n
p u rp o se , an e xe cu t ive sessio n may b e h eld on ly wh ere an o p en me e t in g may
h ave a d et rimen t al imp act o n th e b o d y’s n egot iatin g po sit ion with a t hird p art y.
At t h e t ime th at th e e xe cu t ive se ssio n is p ro p o se d an d vo te d o n , th e ch air mu st
st at e o n th e re co rd th at h avin g t h e d iscu ssion in an op en se ssio n may b e
d e t rime nt al t o t he pu b lic b od y’s n ego t iat in g p o sit io n .
7 . T o co mpl y wi th , or act un d er th e au t ho ri t y of , an y gen er al o r sp eci al l aw or
f ed er al gr an t- i n- ai d r eq ui r ement s;
T h e re may b e p ro vision s in st at e st atu te s o r f ed e ral grant s th at req u ire o r
sp e cif ically allow a pu b lic b od y t o co n sid e r a p art icu lar issu e in a clo sed sessio n .
Bef o re ent erin g execut ive sessio n un d er th is p u rpo se, th e p ub lic bo d y mu st cit e
t h e sp e cif ic law o r f ed e ral grant - in - aid req u ire men t t h at n ecessit at es
co n f ide nt ialit y. A p ub lic b o d y may wit hh o ld th at in f o rmat ion on ly if pu b licly
d isclo sin g it wo u ld co mpro mise t h e pu rp o se fo r wh ich th e e xe cut ive se ssio n was
called . Wh ile we ge n e rally d e fe r t o p ub lic bo d ies’ asse ssme nt of wh et he r th e
12 | P a g e
in clu sio n of su ch d et ails wo u ld co mp ro mise th e pu rp o se fo r an e xe cut ive
se ssio n , a pu b lic b o d y mu st b e ab le t o d emo n st rat e a re ason ab le b asis f or t h at
claim if challen ge d .
8 . T o con sid er or i n t er vi ew ap p li can t s f or emp l o ymen t o r ap p oi n t men t b y a
p r el i min ar y scr een i n g commi t t ee i f t h e ch ai r d eclar es t h at an o p en meet i n g
w i ll h ave a d et r i men t al ef f ect in ob t ai ni n g qu al ifi ed ap pl i can ts; p r o vid ed,
h o w ever , th at th i s cl au se sh al l n o t ap p l y t o an y meet i n g, i n cl u di n g meet i n gs o f
a p r el i min ar y scr een i n g co mmi t t ee, t o co n si d er an d i nt er vi ew ap p li can t s w h o
h ave p assed a p r io r p r elimi n ar y scr een in g;
T h is p u rp o se p e rmit s a hirin g sub co mmit t ee of a p u b lic b od y o r a
p re limin ary scre en in g commit te e t o con du ct t h e in it ial scre e n in g p ro ce ss in
execu t ive sessio n . T h is pu rp o se do e s n o t app ly to an y stage in t h e h irin g pro ce ss
af t e r th e scree n in g co mmit t ee o r sub co mmitt e e vo t e s t o re co mmen d cand id at e s
t o it s pare nt b o d y. It may, h o wever, in clu de a re view o f résu més and mu ltip le
ro u nd s of in t ervie ws b y th e scre en in g co mmitt e e aime d at n arro win g th e gro u p
o f ap p lican t s d o wn t o f inalist s. At t h e t ime th at th e e xe cut ive se ssio n is
p ro po se d and vot e d o n , t h e ch air mu st st at e o n th e re cord t h at h avin g the
d iscu ssio n in an o p en se ssio n will b e d e trime nt al to th e p ub lic bo d y’s ab ility t o
at t ract qu alif ied app licant s fo r t h e p o sit ion . If th e p ub lic bo d y o p t s to co n ve n e a
p re limin ary scre en in g commit te e , t h e co mmit t ee mu st con t ain less th an a
q u oru m o f t he me mb ers o f t h e p are nt pu b lic b ody. T h e co mmitt e e may also
co n t ain me mb ers who are n ot me mb ers of th e p are n t pu b lic b o d y.
N o t e th at a p ub lic bo d y is n o t req u ire d t o cre ate a p re limin ary scree n in g
co mmit t ee t o con sid e r or int e rview app licant s.Ho we ve r,if th e b o d y ch o ose s t o
co n d u ct th e re vie w of app lican t s it se lf , it may n ot d o so in e xe cu t ive se ssion .
9 . T o meet o r con f er w it h a med i at o r , as d ef in ed in sect io n 2 3 C o f ch ap t er 2 3 3,
w i th r esp ect to an y li ti gat i o n o r d eci si o n o n an y p u b li c b u si n ess w i th in its
j u ri sdi ct io n i n vol vi n g ano t h er p ar t y, gro u p o r ent i t y, p r o vid ed t h at :
(i) an y d e cision to p art icip at e in me d iat ion sh all be made in an o pe n
se ssio n an d t he p art ie s, issu es in vo lved an d pu rpo se of th e me d iat ion
sh all be disclo se d ; and
(ii) n o act io n sh all b e t ake n b y an y p ub lic bo d y wit h re sp ect to t h o se
issu es wh ich are t h e sub je ct of th e me d iat ion with o ut d elibe rat io n an d
ap p ro val fo r su ch act io n at an op en se ssio n .
1 0 . T o di scuss tr ad e secr et s o r con fi d en ti al , co mp et it i vel y- sen sit i ve o r o th er
p r opr i et ar y i n fo r mat i on p r o vi d ed:
13 | P a g e
•in th e cou rse o f act ivit ie s co n du ct ed b y a go ve rnme n t al bo d y as an e n ergy
su p p lie r u n de r a lice n se gran t ed b y th e d ep art men t o f p ub lic u t ilit ie s
p u rsu an t to se ct io n 1 F of ch apt e r 1 6 4;
•in th e cou rse o f act ivit ie s co n du ct ed as a mun icipal aggre gato r u nd e r se ct io n
1 3 4 o f said ch apt e r 1 6 4; o r
•in th e cou rse o f act ivit ie s co n du ct ed b y a co op erat ive co n sist in g o f
go ve rn men t al e nt it ie s o rgan iz ed p u rsu ant to se ct io n 13 6 o f said ch apt e r 16 4 ;
•wh e n su ch go ve rn men t al b od y, mun icip al aggre gat o r o r co op e rat ive
d e t ermin e s th at su ch d isclo su re will ad ve rse ly af fe ct it s ab ilit y to con d u ct
b u sine ss in re lat ion to oth e r en t it ies makin g, se llin g o r d istribu t in g e lect ric
p o we r an d e n ergy.
Remo te P a rti c i pa t i o n
M ay a me mb e r of a p ub lic b o d y p art icip ate remo te ly?
T h e At to rney General’s Re gu lat io n s, 9 4 0 CM R 29 .1 0 , p e rmit re mo t e p art icip at ion
in ce rtain circu mst an ce s. Ho we ve r, t h e Att o rn e y Ge n e ral st ron gly en co u rage s me mbe rs
o f p ub lic b od ie s t o ph ysically at t en d me et in gs whe n eve r p o ssib le . M e mbers o f pu b lic
b o d ie s h ave a re sp on sib ilit y t o en su re th at re mote p art icip at io n in me et ings is n ot u se d
in a way t h at wo u ld d efeat th e p urp o se s o f th e Op en M ee t in g Law, n ame ly p ro mot in g
t ran sp are n cy with re gard to de lib erat io n s an d d ecisio n s o n wh ich p ub lic po licy is b ased .
N o t e th at th e Att o rne y Ge n eral’s re gu lat ion s en ab le memb e rs o f pu b lic bo d ies t o
p art icipat e re mot e ly if t he p ract ice h as b ee n p rope rly ad op te d , b ut d o n ot re q u ire t h at a
p u b lic b od y pe rmit me mb ers of t h e pu b lic t o p articip at e re mot e ly. If a p ub lic b od y
ch o o se s t o allo w ind ividu als wh o are n ot me mb ers o f th e p ub lic b od y t o part icip at e
re mo t ely in a mee t in g, it may d o so wit ho ut f o llowin g t he Op en M e et in g Law’s re mo t e
p art icipat ion p ro ce du re s.
Ho w can t he p ract ice o f re mo t e p art icip at ion be ad o pt e d ?
Re mo t e p art icip atio n may b e u se d du rin g a mee t in g of a p ub lic bo d y if it has f irst
b een ado pt e d b y t h e ch ie f e xe cut ive o ff ice r of t he mun icip alit y f or lo cal pu b lic b o d ie s,
t h e co u nt y co mmission ers f o r co un t y p ub lic b od ie s, o r b y a majo rit y vo te o f t h e pu b lic
b o d y f o r re t ire men t b o ard s, d ist rict , re gion al an d st at e pu b lic b o d ie s. Th e ch ie f
e xe cu t ive o ff ice r may b e t h e b o ard o f se lect men , t h e cit y co un cil, or th e mayo r,
d ep en d in g on t h e mun icip alit y. Se e G.L. c. 4 , § 7 .
If th e ch ie f e xe cu t ive of f ice r in a mun icip alit y au th o rize s re mo t e p art icip at io n ,
t h at aut ho riz at ion ap p lies t o all pu b lic b od ies in th e mu n icip alit y. 9 4 0 CMR 2 9 .1 0 (2 )(a).
Ho we ve r, t he ch ief e xe cu t ive o ff ice r d ete rmine s t h e amou n t and sou rce of p ayme n t fo r
an y co st s asso ciat e d with re mo t e p art icip at ion an d may d ecid e t o f un d the p ract ice on ly
14 | P a g e
f o r ce rt ain pu b lic b od ie s. Se e 9 40 CM R 2 9 .1 0 (6 )(e). In add it io n , th e ch ie f exe cu t ive
o f f ice r can au th o riz e p ublic b o d ie s in th at mun icipalit y to "op t o ut " of t h e p ract ice
alt o get h e r. Se e 9 40 CMR 2 9 .1 0 (8 ).
N o t e abo ut Lo cal Commissio n s on D isab ilit y: Lo cal co mmissio n s o n d isab ilit y
may d e cid e b y majo rit y vo t e o f t he co mmission e rs at a re gu lar me e t in g t o p e rmit
re mo t e p art icip at ion d u rin g a sp e cif ic me e t in g or d u rin g all commissio n me e t in gs. G.L.
c. 3 0 A, § 2 0 (e ). Ad op t ion b y t he mu n icip al ado ptin g aut ho rit y is n ot re qu ire d .
Wh at are t he pe rmissib le re ason s fo r re mo te p art icip at io n ?
On ce re mot e p art icip at ion is ad o pt ed , an y me mbe r of a p ub lic bo d y may
p art icipat e re mot e ly o n ly if p h ysical att en d an ce wo u ld b e u n re aso n ab ly d if ficu lt .
Wh at are t he acce pt ab le me an s of re mot e p art icip at ion ?
Acce p t ab le me an s of remo t e p art icip at io n in clud e t e lep h on e, in te rne t , or
sat e llite en ab le d au d io or vid eo co nf e ren cin g, o r an y o th er t e ch n olo gy th at en ab le s th e
re mo t e p art icip an t and all p erson s p re sen t at t he me e t in g lo cat io n t o be cle arly aud ib le
t o on e an ot he r. Te xt messagin g, in st ant me ssagin g, e mail and we b ch at wit h o ut au d io
are no t acce p t ab le me tho d s of re mo te part icipat io n . N o te t h at acco mmod at ion s mu st
b e mad e f o r an y p ub lic bo d y me mb er wh o re q u ire s T T Y se rvice , vid eo re lay se rvice , o r
o t h er fo rm o f ad ap t ive te leco mmun icat ion s.
Wh at are t he min imu m re q u ire me nt s f o r re mot e p art icipat ion ?
An y pu b lic b o d y u sin g remo t e p art icip at io n du ring a me et in g mu st en su re t h at t he
f o llowin g min imu m re q uire me nt s are met :
1 . A q uo ru m of th e b od y, inclu d in g t he ch air o r, in the ch air’s ab sen ce , th e p erso n
ch airin g t h e me et in g, must b e ph ysically p re sen t at th e me et in g lo cat ion ;
2 . M e mbe rs of a p ub lic b o dy wh o p art icip at e re mote ly an d all p erson s p re sen t at
t h e me et in g lo cat ion must b e clearly au d ib le t o each o th e r; and
3 . All vo t e s t aken du rin g a me e t in g in wh ich a me mb e r p art icip ate s re mo t e ly mu st
b e b y ro ll call vo te .
Wh at p ro ced u re s mu st be f o llo we d if re mo te p articip at ion is u se d at a mee t in g?
At t h e st art of an y mee t in g du rin g wh ich a me mbe r of a p ub lic bo d y will
p art icipat e re mot e ly, t he ch air mu st ann o un ce t he n ame of an y me mb e r wh o is
p art icipat in g re mo t e ly; su ch in f o rmat ion mu st also b e re co rd ed in th e mee t in g
min ut e s. T h e ch air’s st ate me nt do e s n o t n ee d t o co n t ain an y d et ail ab ou t t h e re ason
f o r t h e me mb e r’s re mote p art icip at io n .
15 | P a g e
M e mbe rs of p u blic b od ies wh o p art icip at e re mote ly may vo te an d sh all no t b e
d ee med ab se nt f o r p u rpo se s o f G.L. c. 3 9 , § 23 D . In ad d it io n , me mb ers wh o p art icip at e
re mo t ely may part icipate in e xe cu t ive se ssion s bu t mu st st at e at t h e st art o f an y su ch
se ssio n t h at no ot he r p erso n is p re sen t o r ab le t o h ear t he d iscu ssio n at t he re mot e
lo cat io n , un le ss t h e pu b lic b o d y h as ap p ro ve d th e p re se n ce o f th at ind ividual.
If t e ch n ical d iff icu lt ies arise as a re su lt of u t iliz in g re mo t e p art icip at ion , t he ch air
(o r, in t he ch air’s ab sen ce , p erso n ch airin g th e me e t in g) may de cid e h o w t o ad d re ss th e
sit u atio n . Pu b lic b o d ie s are en co u raged , wh en eve r p o ssib le , t o su spe n d discu ssio n
wh ile re ason ab le ef f ort s are mad e t o co rre ct an y p ro b le m t h at in t e rf e re s wit h a re mot e
p art icipant ’s ab ilit y t o h ear o r b e h e ard clearly b y all p e rso n s p re sen t at the me et in g
lo cat ion . If a remo te part icip ant is d isco nn e cte d fro m th e me et in g, t he min u te s mu st
n o t e th at f act an d t he time at wh ich t he d iscon ne ct io n o ccu rred .
P ubl i c P a rti c i pa ti o n
Wh at p ub lic p art icipat ion in me et in gs mu st be allo we d ?
Un d er t he Ope n M e et in g Law, t he pu b lic is pe rmitt e d t o att en d me e tin gs of
p u b lic b od ies b ut is e xclud e d f rom an e xe cut ive sessio n th at is called f o r a valid pu rp o se
list e d in t he law. Wh ile th e p u blic is pe rmitt ed t o at t en d an o pe n me e tin g, an in d ivid u al
may n ot add re ss t he p u blic b o d y wit h ou t p ermissio n of t h e ch air. An ind ivid u al may n ot
d isru pt a me et in g o f a p ub lic b od y, an d at t he requ est o f th e ch air, all memb ers of t he
p u b lic sh all b e sile nt . If , af t e r cle ar warn in g, a perso n con t in u es t o b e d isru p t ive , th e
ch air may ord e r th e p e rso n t o le ave t h e me et in g. If t h e p erso n d o e s n ot leave , th e ch air
may au th o riz e a co n st ab le o r o th er o ff ice r t o re mo ve th e p erson . Alt ho u gh pu b lic
p art icipat ion is e nt ire ly wit h in t he ch air’s d iscret io n , t h e Att o rn ey Gen e ral e n cou rage s
p u b lic b od ies t o allow as mu ch p u blic p art icip at ion as t ime p e rmit s.
An y me mb er o f t he p u blic may make an aud io o r vid e o re co rd in g of an ope n
se ssio n of a pu b lic me e t in g. A me mbe r of t h e pub lic wh o wish es t o re co rd a me e t in g
mu st f irst no t if y th e chair and mu st co mp ly with re aso n able re q uire men t s re gard in g
au d io o r vid eo e qu ip me nt e st ab lish ed b y t h e ch air so as n ot to in t e rf e re wit h t he
me e t in g. Th e ch air is req u ired t o in fo rm ot he r att e nd ee s o f an y su ch re cord in g at t he
b eginn in g o f t he mee t in g. If so me o ne arrive s aft er t he mee t in g has be gu n an d wishe s
t o re co rd a mee t in g, th at p erson sh o u ld at te mpt to n ot if y t he ch air prio r to b e gin n in g
re co rd in g, ide ally in a man n e r th at d oe s no t sign if ican t ly d isru pt t h e me et in g in p ro gre ss
(su ch as passin g a n ot e fo r th e ch air t o t he bo ard ad min ist rato r or se cret ary). T h e ch air
sh o u ld en d eavo r t o ackno wle d ge su ch at t e mp t s at no t if icat ion an d ann o un ce th e f act o f
an y re co rd in g t o th o se in at te nd an ce .
16 | P a g e
Mi nu tes
Wh at re co rd s o f pu b lic me e t in gs mu st b e ke pt ?
P u b lic b od ies are req u ired to cre at e an d maint ain accu rat e min ut e s o f all
me e t in gs,in clu d in g e xe cu t ive se ssio n s.T he min ut e s,wh ich mu st be cre ate d an d
ap p ro ved in a t ime ly man n er, mu st in clu d e:
•t h e d at e , t ime and place o f t h e me et in g;
•t h e me mb e rs p re sen t o r ab se nt ;
•t h e d ecision s mad e an d act io n s t ake n , in clud in g a re co rd of all vo t e s;
•a su mmary o f t he d iscu ssio n s on e ach sub je ct ;
•a list o f all d o cu men t s and e xh ib it s u sed at th e mee t in g; and
•t h e n ame of an y me mb er wh o p art icip at ed in t h e me e tin g re mot e ly.
Wh ile t h e minu te s mu st in clu d e a su mmary of t h e d iscu ssio n s o n e ach sub je ct , a
t ran script is n ot re qu ire d. N o vo t e t aken b y a p ublic b o d y, e ith er in an o p en o r in an
e xe cu t ive se ssio n , sh all be b y se cret b allot . All vot e s t ake n in e xe cut ive sessio n mu st b e
b y ro ll call and t h e re sults re co rd ed in t h e minu tes. Wh ile pu b lic b o d ie s mu st id ent if y in
t h e minu t e s all d o cu me nt s and e xh ib it s u sed at a meet in g and mu st ret ain t he m in
acco rd an ce with t h e Secre t ary of t h e Co mmon we alt h ’s re co rd s ret e nt io n sch ed u le ,
t h e se d o cu me nt s an d e xh ib it s n ee dn ’t b e att ach ed to o r ph ysically st o red wit h th e
min ut e s.
M in ut e s, and all d o cumen t s an d e xh ib it s u se d , are pu b lic re co rd s an d a p art of
t h e o ff icial re co rd o f th e me e t in g. Re co rd s may be su bje ct t o d isclo su re un d er eith er
t h e Op en Me e t in g Law or P ub lic Re co rd s Law. The St at e an d Mu n icipal Reco rd
Re t e nt ion Sch ed u les are availab le t h ro u gh th e Secre t ary of t h e Co mmon we alt h ’s
we b sit e at : h tt p:/ / www.sec.st at e.ma.u s/ arc/ arcrmu / rmu id x.ht m.
Op en Sessio n M eet in g Re co rd s
T h e Op en M ee t in g Law re q u ire s pu b lic b od ie s t o cre at e an d app ro ve minut e s in
a t ime ly mann e r. A “t ime ly mann e r” is co n sid ered to be with in t he n ext th re e p ub lic
b o d y me e t in gs o r 30 d ays f ro m th e d ate of t h e me e t in g, wh ich eve r is lat e r, u n le ss th e
p u b lic b od y can sh o w goo d cau se fo r f u rt h er de lay. T he At t orn ey Gen eral e n cou rage s
min ut e s t o b e ap p ro ve d at a p ub lic b o d y’s n ext me e t in g wh ene ve r p o ssib le . T he law
re q u ire s th at e xist in g min u te s be mad e availab le t o t h e pu b lic with in t en d ays o f a
re q ue st , whe th e r t h e y have b e en ap p ro ve d o r remain in draft f o rm. M ate rials o r o th e r
e xh ib it s u sed b y th e p ub lic b o d y in an o p en mee t in g mu st also b e mad e availab le t o th e
p u b lic wit h in te n d ays of a requ est .
T h ere are t wo e xemp tion s t o th e o p en se ssion reco rd s d isclo su re re qu ireme n t:
1 ) mat e rials (o th er th an t h o se th at we re cre at ed b y me mbe rs of t h e pu b lic b o d y f o r th e
17 | P a g e
p u rp o se o f t he e valu at ion ) u sed in a p e rf o rman ce e valu at io n of an ind ividu al be arin g o n
h is p ro f e ssion al comp et en ce , and 2 ) mate rials (oth e r t h an an y ré su mé su bmit t ed b y an
ap p licant , wh ich is su b ject t o d isclo su re ) u se d in d elib erat io n s ab ou t e mplo yme n t o r
ap p oin t me nt of in d ividuals, in clud in g ap plicat ions an d su pp o rt in g mate rials. D o cu me nt s
cre at e d b y me mbe rs of th e p u blic b od y fo r t h e purp o se o f p erf o rmin g an evalu at ion are
su b je ct t o d isclo su re . T his ap p lie s to b o th in d ividu al e valu at io n s an d e valu at ion
co mp ilat io n s, p ro vid e d th e d o cu men t s we re cre at e d b y me mb ers o f th e pu b lic b o d y f o r
t h e pu rp o se of t h e e valuat io n .
Exe cu t ive Se ssio n M e et in g Re co rd s
P u b lic b od ie s are n o t re qu ire d t o d isclo se th e minu t e s, n ot e s, o r ot he r mate rials
u se d in an e xe cu t ive se ssio n if t h e d isclo sure of t he se re co rd s may d e fe at th e lawfu l
p u rp o se s of t h e e xe cut ive se ssio n . On ce d isclo sure wo u ld no lon ge r d ef e at th e
p u rp o se s of t h e e xe cut ive se ssio n , h o wever, minu t e s an d ot h e r re co rd s f ro m th at
e xe cu t ive se ssio n mu st be d isclo sed un le ss t hey fall wit h in an e xe mp t ion to th e P u blic
Re co rd s Law, G.L. c. 4 , § 7 , cl. 2 6 , o r t he at t orn ey-clien t p rivilege app lies. P u b lic b od ie s
are also re qu ired t o p e rio d ically re view t h e ir e xecu t ive se ssion min ut e s to d et e rmin e
wh et h er co nt inu ed no n -d isclo su re is warrant e d . T h ese d et e rmin at io n s mu st b e
in clu d ed in t h e minu te s o f t h e b od y’s ne xt me e t in g.
A p ub lic b o d y mu st re spo n d t o a re q ue st t o in sp ect o r cop y e xe cut ive se ssio n
min ut e s with in t en d ays o f t h e req u est . If th e p ub lic b od y has d et e rmin ed , p rio r t o t he
re q ue st , t h at t h e req u este d e xe cut ive se ssio n minu t e s may be re le ase d , it mu st make
t h o se minu te s availab le to th e re qu e st or at th at t ime . If th e b o d y p re viou sly
d et ermin ed t h at e xe cu t ive se ssio n minu t e s sh ou ld re main con f id ent ial b ecau se
p u b licat ion wo u ld d ef eat t he lawfu l pu rp o se s of th e e xe cut ive se ssio n , it sh o u ld re sp on d
b y st at in g t he re aso n t he min ut e s con t in ue t o b e wit h h eld . An d if , at th e time of a
re q ue st , t he pu b lic b od y h as no t con du ct ed a re vie w o f t h e minu te s to d ete rmin e
wh et h er co nt inu ed no ndisclo su re is warran te d , t he b od y mu st p e rf o rm su ch a re view
an d re le ase th e min ut e s, if ap p ro p riat e , n o late r th an it s n ext me et in g o r wit h in 3 0 d ays,
wh ich eve r o ccu rs f irst . In su ch circu mst an ce s, t he b od y sho u ld st ill re sp on d t o t he
re q uest with in t en d ays, n o t if yin g t he req u est o r th at it is co nd u ct in g t h is re vie w.
Open Mee ti ng La w Co m pl a i nts
Wh at is th e Att o rne y Gen e ral’s ro le in e n fo rcin g th e Ope n M e et in g Law?
T h e At to rne y Ge ne ral’s D ivisio n o f Op en Go ve rnme n t is re sp o n sib le f o r en f o rcin g
t h e Op en Me e t in g Law. T h e At to rne y Ge ne ral h as t h e aut ho rit y t o re ce ive an d
in ve st igat e co mp laint s, brin g en f orce me nt actio n s, issu e ad viso ry op in io n s, an d
p ro mu lgat e re gu lat ion s.
18 | P a g e
T h e D ivisio n of Op en Gove rn me nt re gu larly se e ks f e ed b ack fro m t h e pu b lic o n
ways in wh ich it can b et te r sup p ort p ub lic bo d ie s t o h elp th em comp ly with th e law’s
re q u ire men t s. T h e D ivisio n of Open Go ve rnme nt o f f ers pe rio dic o n lin e and in- p erso n
t rain in g on t h e Op en M ee t in g Law and will re sp on d t o re qu est s f or gu id an ce and
in f o rmat ion f ro m pu b lic b o d ie s and t h e pu b lic.
T h e D ivisio n of Op en Gove rn me nt will t ake co mplain t s f ro m me mb e rs o f th e
p u b lic and will wo rk wit h p ub lic bo d ies t o re so lve p ro b le ms. Wh ile an y memb e r o f t he
p u b lic may f ile a co mp lain t with a pu b lic b o d y allegin g a vio lat ion of t he Ope n M e et in g
Law, a p ub lic b o d y n eed n o t , and t h e D ivision of Op en Go ve rn me n t will no t , in ve st igat e
an o n ymou s co mp laint s.
Wh at is th e Op en M ee t in g Law co mp lain t p ro ce du re ?
St e p 1 . Filing a Complai n t wit h t he P ublic Body
In d ividu als wh o allege a vio lat ion of t h e Op en Mee t in g Law mu st f irst f ile a
co mp laint w i th th e publ ic bo dy alle ge d t o h ave vio lat ed th e OM L. T h e comp laint mu st
b e f ile d wit h in 30 d ays o f t he dat e o f th e vio lat ion, o r t h e d at e t he co mp lain ant co u ld
re aso n ab ly h ave kn o wn o f t h e vio lat io n . Th e comp laint mu st b e f iled on a Co mp lain t
Fo rm availab le o n t he Att o rne y Ge ne ral’s we b sit e, www.mass .go v/ ago / o pen meet in g.
Wh e n f ilin g a comp lain t wit h a lo cal pu b lic b od y, t h e co mp lain ant mu st also f ile a cop y
o f t h e co mp lain t wit h the mun icip al clerk.
St e p 2 . T he P ublic Body ’s Re sponse
Up o n re ce ipt , t h e ch air of th e p ub lic bo d y sh o u ld d ist rib u te cop ie s of t h e
co mp laint t o t h e me mb ers o f th e p ub lic b od y fo r t h e ir re view. T h e pu b lic b o d y h as 14
b u sine ss d ays f ro m th e dat e of re ce ipt t o meet t o re view t he co mp lain an t ’s allegat io n s,
t ake re med ial act ion if ap p rop riat e , n o t if y t h e comp lain an t o f th e re med ial act ion , an d
f o rward a co p y o f th e comp laint an d d escript ion o f t h e re med ial act ion take n t o th e
co mp lain an t . Th e p ub lic b o d y mu st simu lt an eo u sly n o t if y th e Att o rn ey Gen eral t h at it
h as re sp o nd ed to th e comp lain an t and p ro vid e th e At t orn ey Ge n eral with a cop y of t h e
re sp o n se an d a de scrip t io n of an y re me d ial act ion t aken . Wh ile t he pu b lic b o d y may
d ele gat e re sp on sib ilit y fo r re sp o nd in g t o th e comp laint t o cou n se l o r ano t h er ind ividu al,
it mu st f irst me et t o d o so . A p ub lic bo d y is n ot re q u ire d t o re spo n d to unsign ed
co mp laint s o r co mp lain ts n o t mad e on t h e At t o rn ey Ge ne ral’s co mp laint f o rm.
T h e p ub lic bo d y may re qu e st ad dit ion al in fo rmat io n f ro m t he co mp lain an t wit h in
seven b u sin ess d ays o f re ce ivin g t h e co mp lain t . T he co mp lain an t the n h as te n b u sine ss
d ays t o re sp on d; th e p ub lic bo d y will t h en h ave an add it io n al t en b u sine ss d ays af t e r
re ce ivin g th e comp lain ant ’s re sp o n se to re vie w t h e co mp lain t and t ake re me d ial act io n .
T he pu b lic b od y may also req ue st an e xt en sio n o f t ime to re sp on d t o t h e
19 | P a g e
co mp laint . A req u est f o r an e xt e n sio n sh ou ld b e mad e with in 1 4 bu sin ess d ays of
re ce ip t o f th e comp lain t b y th e p ub lic b od y. Th e re q ue st f o r an e xt en sio n sh o u ld be
mad e in writ in g t o t he D ivisio n of Ope n Go ve rn me n t and sho u ld in clu d e a co p y o f th e
co mp laint an d st ate t h e re aso n f o r th e re qu e st ed e xt en sio n .
St e p 3 . Filing a Complai n t wit h t he Att orne y Ge neral’s Of f ic e
A co mp lain t is rip e f o r review b y th e At to rn e y Gen e ral 3 0 d ays af t e r th e
co mp laint is f iled with the pu b lic b o d y. T h is 3 0- day p e riod is int e nd e d to p ro vid e a
re aso n ab le o p po rtu n it y fo r th e co mp lain ant an d th e p u blic b od y to re so lve t he init ial
co mp laint . It is imp o rt ant to n o te th at co mp laint s are n o t aut o mat ically t re at ed as f iled
f o r re vie w b y t h e Att o rne y Ge n e ral up on f ilin g wit h t he pu b lic b od y. A comp lain an t wh o
h as f ile d a co mp laint with a p ub lic bo d y an d seeks f u rt her review b y t h e Divisio n of
Op en Go ve rn me n t mu st f ile t h e co mp lain t wit h th e At t orn ey Ge n eral af t er t he 30 -d ay
lo cal re view pe riod h as elap se d b ut b ef o re 9 0 d ays h ave p asse d sin ce t he d at e o f th e
vio lat ion o r th e d ate t h at t he vio lat ion was re asonab ly d isco ve rab le .
Wh en f ilin g th e co mp laint wit h th e Att o rne y Ge neral, th e co mp lainant mu st
in clu d e a cop y of th e o rigin al co mp laint an d may in clu d e an y o th e r mat erials t he
co mp lain an t f ee ls are re le van t , in clud in g an e xp lan at ion of wh y t he co mp lain ant is n ot
sat isf ied with th e re spo nse o f th e p ub lic bo d y. No t e, h o wever, th at t he At t o rn ey
Ge n e ral will n ot re view allegat ion s th at we re n ot raise d in t h e in it ial co mplain t f iled with
t h e pu b lic b o d y.Un de r mo st circu mst an ce s,comp laint s filed wit h th e At t o rn ey Gen eral,
an d an y d o cu men t s su bmit t ed with t h e co mp lain t , will b e co n side re d a pu b lic re cord
an d will b e mad e available t o an yon e u po n re qu est .
T h e At to rney Ge neral will re view th e comp lain t an d an y re me d ial act ion take n b y
t h e pu b lic b o d y. T he At to rn e y Gen e ral may req ue st ad d it io n al inf o rmat ion f ro m b o th t h e
co mp lain ant an d th e p u b lic b od y. Th e Att o rne y Ge n e ral will se e k t o re so lve co mp laint s
in a re aso nable p erio d o f t ime , gen e rally wit h in 9 0 d ays of t he co mp laint b e co min g rip e
fo r re view b y ou r of f ice . Th e At to rn ey General may d eclin e t o in ve st igat e a co mp lain t
th at is f ile d wit h ou r of f ice mo re th an 9 0 d ays aft e r t h e d at e o f t h e alle ged vio lat ion .
M ay a p ub lic b od y req uest med iat io n t o re so lve a co mp lain t ?
If a co mp lain an t f ile s f ive co mp lain t s with t h e same pu b lic b o d y o r with in th e
same mun icip alit y wit h in 1 2 mo nt h s, t he p u blic bo d y may re q ue st me d iat io n u p on t h e
f ift h o r sub seq u en t co mp laint in o rd e r t o re so lve t he co mp laint . Th e p ub lic b o d y mu st
req uest me d iat ion prio r t o , or with , it s re spo n se to th e co mp laint , an d will assu me t he
e xp en se o f su ch me d iat io n . If th e p art ie s can n ot co me t o an agre eme nt af t e r
me d iation , th e p ub lic bod y will h ave t en b u sin ess d ays to re sp on d t o th e co mp laint an d
it s re so lu t io n will p ro ceed in th e n o rmal co u rse .
20 | P a g e
M e d iat ion may o ccu r in o p e n se ssio n o r in execut ive session u n der P u rp ose 9 . In
ad d it io n , a p ub lic bo d y may d esign at e a rep re sen t at ive t o p art icip ate on b eh alf of t he
p u b lic b od y. If me diat ion do e s n o t re so lve th e co mp laint t o e ach p art y’s sat isf act io n ,
t h e co mp lain ant may f ile t he co mp laint with th e At t orn e y Ge n e ral. Th e co mp laint mu st
b e f ile d wit h in 30 d ays o f t he last jo in t me et in g wit h t he med iato r.
T h e me d iat o r will b e ch ose n b y th e At to rn ey Ge ne ral. If th e co mp lain ant
d eclin es t o p art icip at e in me d iat ion af t e r a re qu est b y t he pu b lic b od y, the Att o rn ey
Ge n e ral may de clin e t o re view a co mp lain t th e reaf t e r f ile d wit h o u r o ff ice. A p u b lic
b o d y may always re qu e st med iat io n t o re so lve a co mp laint , b ut on ly med iat io n
re q ue st ed up on a f if t h o r su b seq u en t co mp laint trigge rs th e re q u ire men t th at t he
co mp lain an t p art icip at e in th e me d iat ion b ef ore th e At t orn ey Ge n eral will re vie w t he
co mp laint .
An y writ te n agre e men t re ach e d in me d iat ion must b e d isclo sed at t h e pub lic
b o d y’s n ext me et in g f o llo win g e xe cu t io n o f th e agre e me nt an d will b ecome a p ub lic
re co rd .
Wh e n is a vio lat ion o f t he law co n side red “in t en t io n al”?
Up o n f ind in g a vio lat ion o f t h e Op en M e et in g Law, t h e Att o rn e y Ge ne ral may
imp o se a civil pe n alt y upo n a pu b lic b o d y o f n ot mo re t h an $1 ,0 00 f o r e ach int e nt ion al
vio lat ion . G.L. c. 3 0 A, § 23 (c)(4 ). An “int e nt ion al vio lat ion ” is an act or o missio n b y a
p u b lic b od y o r pu b lic b od y me mbe r in kn o win g vio lat ion of t h e Op en M e et in g Law. G.L.
c. 3 0 A, § 1 8 . In d et e rminin g wh et h e r a vio lat ion was in t en t ion al, t he At t orn ey Gen eral
will co n sid e r, amon g ot he r th in gs, whe th e r t he pu b lic b o d y o r p ub lic b od y me mbe r 1 )
act e d with sp e cif ic in te n t t o vio late th e law; 2 ) acte d with de lib erat e igno ran ce of t h e
law’s re q u ire me nt s; o r 3 ) h ad b ee n p re vio u sly in fo rme d b y a co u rt d ecision o r ad vised
b y th e At to rn ey Ge n eral t h at th e co n du ct at issu e vio lat ed t h e Op en M e et in g Law. 9 40
CM R 2 9 .0 2 . If a pu b lic bo d y o r pu b lic b o d y me mb er mad e a go od f aith att e mpt at
co mp lian ce wit h t he law b u t was re ason ab ly mistake n abo u t it s req u ireme n t s, it s
co n d u ct will no t b e co n sid ered an int en t ion al vio lat io n o f th e Law. G.L. c. 3 0 A, § 2 3 (g);
9 4 0 CM R 2 9 .02 . A f in e will n ot b e imp o sed wh ere a pu b lic b od y o r p ub lic bo d y me mb er
act e d in goo d f ait h co mplian ce with th e ad vice o f t h e pu b lic b o d y's le gal cou n se l. G.L.
3 0 A, § 2 3 (g); 9 4 0 CM R 29 .0 7 .
W i l l the A tto rney G enera l ’s Offi c e p ro vi de tra i ni ng o n the O pen
Meeti n g La w?
T h e Op en M ee t in g Law dire ct s th e Att o rne y Ge neral t o cre at e ed u cat io n al
mat e rials and pro vid e t rain in g t o p ub lic b o d ie s to f o st e r aware n ess o f and co mp lian ce
wit h th e Op en Me e t in g Law. T h e Att o rney Ge neral h as e st ab lish ed an Ope n M e et in g
21 | P a g e
Law we b sit e , www.mass. go v/ ago / op enmeet in g, on wh ich go ve rn me nt of f icials an d me mb ers
o f pu b lic b o d ies can f in d th e st atu te , regu lat ion s, FAQs, t rain in g mat e rials, th e At t orn e y
Ge n e ral’s d et e rmin at io n le tt e rs re so lving co mp lain t s, an d o th er reso u rces.
T h e At to rney Ge neral of fe rs p e rio d ic web in ars and in- p erso n re gion al t rain in g event s fo r
me mb e rs o f th e p ub lic an d p ub lic bo d ies, in add itio n t o o ff e rin g a f re e o n lin e t rain in g vid e o .
Co nta c ti ng the A tt o rney G e nera l
If yo u h ave an y q u est ions ab ou t t he Ope n M e et ing Law o r an yt h in g con t ain ed in t h is
gu id e, p le ase con t act th e Att o rne y Ge ne ral’s D ivisio n o f Op en Go ve rnme n t . Th e At t orn e y
Ge n e ral also we lco me s an y co mme nt s, f e e db ack, o r su gge st io n s yo u may h ave ab o ut t h e Op en
M e et in g Law o r t h is gu ide .
D ivisio n o f Op en Go ve rnme n t Of f ice
of t h e Att o rn ey Ge n eral On e
Ashb u rt on P lace
Bo st o n , M A 0 21 0 8
T el: 61 7- 9 6 3- 2 54 0 www .mass.go v/ ago / o p en meet in g
22 | P a g e
940 C MR : OFF IC E O F THE ATTOR NEY G EN ER A L
940 C MR 29.00: OP EN MEET INGS
S ection
29.01: P urpose, S cope an d Other Gen eral P rovisio ns
29.02: Definitions
29.03: Notice P osting R e quirements
29.04: C ertification
29.05: C omplaints
29.06: Inv estigation
29.07: R esolution
29.08: Advisor y Opinion s
29.09: Other Enfor cemen t Actions
29.10: R emote P articipation
29.11: Meeting Minutes
29.01: P urpose, S cope an d Other Gen eral P rovisio ns
(1) P urpose. The pu rpose of 940 C MR 29.00 is to interpret, enfo rc e and e ff ectuate the pu rposes
of the Open Me eting La w, M.G. L. c. 30A, §§ 18 through 25.
(2) S ever abilit y. If an y pr ovision of 940 C MR 29.00 or the application of s uch provision to an y
person, public bod y, or ci rcumstances sh all be hel d invalid, the validit y o f t he remainde r of 940
C MR 29.00 and the applicabilit y of su ch provision to other persons, public bodies, or
circumstanc es shall not be aff ected th ereb y.
(3) Mailing. All complaints, notices (ex cept meeting notices ), and other m a terials that must be
sent to another part y sh all be sent b y on e of the fol lowing means: first class mail, email, hand
deliver y, or b y an y oth er means at least as ex peditious as first class mail.
29.02: Definitions
As used in 940 C MR 29.00, the following te rms shall, unless the contex t clearl y r equires
otherwise, hav e the follo wing me anings:
C ount y P ublic Bod y mea ns a public bod y cre ated b y count y gov ernment w ith jurisdiction that
comprises a sin gle count y.
District P ublic Bod y me a ns a public bod y with jurisdiction that ex tends to two or more
municipalities.
Emer genc y m eans a sudd en, gener all y un ex pected occurr enc e or set of circu mstances demandi n g
immediate action.
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Intentional Violation me ans an act o r omission b y a public bod y o r a memb er ther eof, in knowing
violation of M. G. L. c. 30A, §§ 18 throu gh 25. Eviden ce of an intentional violation of M.G. L. c.
30A, §§ 18 thr ough 25 shall include, bu t not be limited to, that the public bod y o r public bod y
membe r: (a) acted with speci fic intent to violate the law; (b) a c ted with deliberate ignoran ce o f
the law 's r e quirements; or (c) was pr eviousl y informed b y re c eipt of a decision f rom a court of
competent juri sdiction or advised b y th e Attorne y Ge ner al, purs uant to 940 C MR
29.07 or 940 C MR 29.08, that the conduct violate s M.G. L. c. 30A, §§ 18 t hrough 25. W her e a
public bod y or public bo d y membe r has mad e a good faith attempt at com pliance with the law,
but was reason abl y mistaken about its requirement s, such conduct will not be consider ed an
intentional violation of M.G. L. c. 30A, §§ 18 thr ough 25.
P erson means all individuals and entities, including gove rnmental offi cials and emplo ye es.
P erson does not include public bodies.
P ost Notice means to place a w ritten announc eme nt of a meetin g on a bulle tin board, electroni c
displa y, w ebsite, or in a l oose-leaf bind er in a man ner conspicuousl y visible to the public,
including persons with disabilities, at all hours, in accord anc e with 940 C MR 29.03.
P ublic Bod y h as the iden tical meaning as set fo rth in M.G. L. c. 30 A, § 18, that is, a multiple-
member board, commission, committee or subcom mittee within the ex ecutive or le gislative
branch or within an y cou nt y, district, cit y, re gion or town, howeve r cr eated , elected, appointed or
otherwise constituted, est ablished to serve a public purpose; provided, how e ver, that the
gove rnin g board o f a loc al housing, r edevelopme nt or other similar author it y shall be de emed a
local public bod y; provid ed, further, th at the gover ning boar d or bod y of an y other authorit y
established b y th e gene ra l court to serve a public p urpose in the commonwe alth or an y part
thereof shall be d eemed a st ate public bod y; provid ed, further, th at "public b od y" shall not
include the gene ral cou rt or the committees or r ece ss commissions thereof, bodies of the judicial
branch or bodi es appointed b y a constitutional off icer solel y for th e purpos e of advisin g a
constitutional officer and shall not include the boa rd of bank inco rporation or the polic yhold ers
protective boa rd; and pro vided further, that a subc ommittee shall include an y multiple-member
bod y c reat ed to advise or make re commendations to a public bod y.
Qualification for O ffic e means the ele ction or app ointment of a person to a public bod y and th e
taking of the o ath of of fice, whe re r equired, and s hall include qualification for a se cond or an y
subsequent term of of fice . W here no term of of fice for a membe r of a public bod y is speci fied,
the member shall be d ee med t o be qualified for o ffice on a biennial basis f ollowing appointment
or election to offic e.
R egional P ublic Bod y m eans a public bod y with j urisdiction that ex tends to two or more
municipalities.
R emote P articipation means participation b y a me mber of a public bod y du ring a m eetin g of that
public bod y wh ere the m ember is not ph ysic all y p resent at the me eting loc a tion.
29.03: Notice P osting R e quirements
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(1) R equirements Applic able to All P ublic Bodies .
(a) Ex cept in an eme r gen c y, public bodi es shall file meetin g notices suffi cientl y in
advanc e of a public me et ing to permit posting of t he notice at least 48 hou r s in advance
of the public meetin g, ex cluding S aturda ys, S unda ys and le gal holida ys, in accord anc e
with M.G. L. c. 30 A, § 20 . In an eme r genc y, th e no tice shall be posted as so on as
reasonabl y possible prior to such meeting.
(b) Meetin g notices shall be printed or displa yed in a le gible, easil y unde rsta ndable
format and shall contain t he date, time and pla ce o f such meetin g, and a listing of topics
that the chair r easonabl y anticipates will be discus sed at the meetin g. The li st of topics
shall have suffici ent spec ificit y to re asonabl y advi se the public of the issue s to be
discussed at the meetin g.
(c) Notic es posted under an alternative postin g me thod authoriz ed b y 940 C MR 29.03(2)
through (5 ) shall include the same content as requi red b y 940 C MR 29.03(1)(b). If such
an alternative postin g me thod is adopted, the municipal clerk, in the case o f a
municipalit y, or the bod y, in all other cases, sh all file with the Attorne y Gen eral written
notice of adoption of the alternative method, inclu ding the w ebsite addr ess where
applicable, and an y ch an ge th ereto, and th e most current notic e posting me thod on file
with the Attorne y Gene ra l shall be consistentl y use d.
(d) The dat e and time tha t a meeting notic e is posted shall be conspicuousl y r ecord ed
thereon or the rewith. If a n amendment occu rs within 48 hours of a meetin g, not
including S aturda ys, S un da ys, and le gal holida ys, then the date and time th at the meeting
notice is amended shall a lso be conspicuousl y rec orded ther eon or ther ewit h.
(2) R equirements S peci fic to Lo cal P ubli c Bodies.
(a) The o fficial method o f posting notice shall be b y filin g with the municipal clerk, or
other person d esign ated b y a greem ent with the municipal clerk, who sh all post notice of
the meeting in a manner conspicuousl y visible to the public at all hours in, on, or near th e
municipal building in which the clerk 's of fice is lo cated.
(b) Alternativel y, the mu nicipalit y ma y adopt the municipal website as the official
method of notice posting.
1. The C hief Ex ecutive Offi cer of th e municipalit y, a s defined in M.G. L. c. 4, §
7, must authoriz e or, b y a simple majorit y, vote to adopt the municipal web site
as the official method o f posting notice. An y mun icipalit y that has adopt ed its
website as the of ficial me thod of posting notice b y another method as of
October 6, 2017 will hav e satisfied the adoption r equirement.
2. If adopted, a desc ription of the website as the noti ce posting method,
including dire ctions on how to locate notices on t he website, shall be poste d in
a manner conspicuousl y visible to the public at all hours on or adja cent to the
25 | P a g e
main and handicapp ed a c cessible entran ces to the municipal building in which
the clerk 's of fice is locat e d.
3. Once adopt ed as the of fic ial method of notice posting, the w ebsite shall host
the official le gal notic e f or meetings o f all public bodies within the
municipalit y.
4. Notices must continue to be filed with the municipal clerk, or an y other p ers on
designat ed b y a gr eement with the municipal clerk.
(c) A municipalit y ma y h ave onl y one of ficial notice posting method for the purpose of
M.G. L. c. 30A, §§ 18 thr ough 25, eithe r 940 C MR 29.03(2)(a) o r (b). Ho wever, nothin g
precludes a municipalit y from choosin g to post additional notices via other methods,
including a n ewspape r. S uch additional notice will not be the official notice for the
purposes of M.G. L. c. 30 A, §§ 18 through 25.
(d) C opies of notices shal l also be acc essible to the public in the municipal clerk's o ffic e
during the clerk 's busines s hours.
(3) R equirements S peci fic to R egional o r District P ublic Bodies.
(a) Notic e shall be filed a nd posted in each cit y an d town within the region or district in
the manner pr escrib ed fo r local public bodies in that cit y or town.
(b) As an alternative met hod of notice, a r e gional or district public bod y m a y, b y m ajorit y
vote, adopt the re gional o r district public bod y's w ebsite as its official notic e posting
method. A cop y of e ach meeting notic e shall be k ept b y the chair o f the pu blic bod y or
the chair 's desi gne e in ac cordanc e with the applic able re cords r etention sc hedules. The
public bod y shall file and post notice of the websit e address, as well as dir e ctions on how
to locate notices on the w ebsi te, in each cit y and town within the re gion or d istrict in the
manner pr escribed for lo cal public bodies in that cit y or town.
(4) R equirements S peci fic to R egional S chool Dis tricts.
(a) The s ecr etar y o f the r egion al school district co mmittee shall be considered to be its
clerk. The clerk o f the re gional school district co mmittee shall file notice with the
municipal clerk of each c it y and town within such district and each su ch municipal clerk
shall post the notice in the manner p resc ribed for l ocal public bodies in that cit y or town.
(b) As an alternative met hod of notice, a r e gional school district committee ma y, b y
majorit y vote, adopt the r egion al school district's website as its official not ice posting
method. A cop y of e ach meeting notic e shall be k ept b y the s ecr etar y o f the re gional
school district committee or the secr etar y's d esign ee in ac cordan ce with the applicabl e
records retention schedul es. The re gion al school d istrict committee shall file and post
notice of the website add ress, as well as dir ections on how to locate notices on the
26 | P a g e
website, in each cit y and town within the region o r district in the manner pr escribed fo r
local public bodies in that cit y or town.
(5) R equirements S peci fic to C ount y P ublic Bodie s.
(a) Notic e shall be filed a nd posted in the office o f the count y commissioners and a cop y
of the notice shall be pub licl y posted in a mann er conspicuousl y visible to the public at
all hours in such place o r places as the count y co mmissioners shall design ate for this
purpose.
(b) As an alternative met hod of notice, a count y p ublic bod y ma y, b y majo rit y vote, adopt
the count y public bod y's website as its official not ice posting method. A co p y of the
notice shall be kept b y th e chair o f the count y pub lic bod y or the chair 's d es igne e in
accord anc e with the appl icable re cords r etention schedules. The count y pu blic bod y shall
file and post notice of the website addr ess, as well as directions on how to locate notices
on the website, in the offi ce of the count y commissioners and a cop y of the notice shall
be publicl y posted in a m anner conspi cuousl y visi ble to the public at all hours in such
place or pla ces as the cou nt y commissioners shall designat e for this purpos e.
(6) R equirements S peci fic to S tate P ubl ic Bodies. Notice shall be posted on a website. A cop y of
each notic e shall also be sent b y fi rst class or ele ct ronic mail to the S ecreta r y of the
C ommonwealth's R e gula tions Division. The chair of each st ate public bod y shall notif y the
Attorne y Gen eral in writi ng of its webp a ge for listing meetin g notices and a n y ch an ge to the
webpa ge lo cation. The p ublic bod y shall consiste ntl y use the most cur rent website location on
file with the Attorne y Ge neral. A cop y of the notic e shall be kept b y the ch a ir of the state public
bod y or th e chair 's d esign ee in ac cordan ce with the applicable r ecords retent ion schedules.
(7) W ebsites. W here a pu blic bod y adopts a websit e as its method of noticing me etings, it must
make eve r y ef fort to ensu re that the website is a cc essible to the public at all hours. If a w ebsite
becomes inac cessible to members of the public wi thin 48 hours of a meetin g, not includin g
S aturda ys, S unda ys, and legal holida ys, the munic ipal clerk or othe r individual responsible for
posting notice to the web site must restore the web site to accessibilit y withi n six hours of the
time, during r e gular busi ness hours, when such in dividual discovers that the website has b ecome
inaccessible. In th e even t that the website is not restored to ac cessibilit y w ithin six business
hours of the website 's d ef icienc y bein g discove red, the public bod y must re - post notice of its
meeting fo r anothe r date and t ime in accord anc e w ith M.G. L. c. 30A, § 20 ( b).
29.04: C ertification
(1) Fo r local public bodie s, the municipal clerk, an d for all other public bod ies, the appointing
authorit y, ex ecutive dir ec tor, or other app ropriate administrator or their des igne es, shall, upon a
public bod y membe r 's qu alification for of fice, either deliver to the public b od y membe r, or
require the public bod y member to obtain from t he Attorne y G ener al's we bsite, the following
educational mate rials:
27 | P a g e
(a) The Attorne y G ener al's Op en Meetin g La w Gu ide, which will include a n ex planation
of the requir ements of th e Open Me eting La w; the Open Meetin g La w, M. G. L. c. 30A,
§§ 18 through 25; and th e Attorne y Ge ner al's re gulations, 940 C MR 29.00-29.11.
(b) A cop y o f ea ch Open Meeting La w det ermination issued to that public bod y b y the
Attorne y Gen eral within the last five yea rs in which the Attorne y G ener al f ound a
violation of M.G. L. c. 30 A, §§ 18 through 25. Op en Meetin g Law d etermi nat ions are
available at the Attorn e y Gener al 's website.
(2) Educational mat erials ma y b e deliver ed to public bod y memb ers b y pap er cop y or in di gital
form.
(3) W ithin two weeks aft er re cei pt of the educatio nal materials, the public bod y membe r shall
certif y, on the fo rm pres c ribed b y th e Attorne y G e neral, r eceipt of the educ ational materials. The
municipal clerk, appointi ng authorit y, ex ecutive di rector or oth er app ropriat e administrator, or
their design ees, shall mai ntain the signed certific at ion for ea ch such pe rson, indicating the d ate
the person re ceived th e materials.
(4) An individual servin g on multiple public bodies must sign a ce rtificatio n for ea ch public bod y
on which he or she s erve s. A public bod y membe r does not need to si gn a separat e ce rtification
when joining a sub committee of the public bod y.
(5) A public bod y memb er must sign a n ew c ertifi cation upon reel ection or reappointment to the
public bod y.
29.05: C omplaints
(1) All complaints shall be in writing, usin g the fo r m approved b y the Attor ne y Gene ral and
available on the Attorn e y Gener al 's website. A pu blic bod y ne ed not, and t he Attorne y G ener al
will not, investigate or ad dress anon ymous compla ints. A public bod y need not address a
complaint that is not signed b y th e complainant. A public bod y ne ed not ad dress a complaint that
is not filed using the Attorne y Gen eral 's complaint form.
(2) P ublic bodies, or the municipal clerk in the c a se of a loc al public bod y, should provide an y
person, on requ est, with an Open Me eting La w C omplaint Form. If a p ape r cop y is unavailable,
then the public bod y sho uld direct the requ esting part y to the Attorne y G e neral 's website, wher e
an electroni c cop y of th e form will be available for downloading and printing.
(3) Fo r local public bodi es, the complainant shall file the complaint with the chair o f the public
bod y, who sh all disseminate copies of th e complai nt to the members of the public bod y. The
complainant shall also file a cop y of th e complaint with the municipal clerk , who shall keep such
filings in an orde rl y fashi on for public revie w on r equest durin g re gula r bus iness hours. For all
other public bodies, the c omplainant shall file the complaint with the chair of the relev ant public
bod y, or if th ere is no ch air, then with the public bod y.
28 | P a g e
(4) The complaint shall b e filed within 30 da ys of the alle ged violation of M.G. L. c. 30A, §§ 18
through 25, or i f the alle ged violation of M.G. L. c. 30A, §§ 18 through 25, could not reasonabl y
have be en known at the t ime it occurred, th en within 30 da ys of th e date it should reasonabl y
have be en discover ed.
(5) W ithin 14 business da ys after re ceivin g the co mplaint, unless an ex tension has been gr anted
b y the Attorn e y Gen eral as provided in 940 C MR 29.05(5)(b), the public b od y shall meet to
review the complaint's allegations; take remedial action, if appropri ate; an d send to the
complainant a respons e a nd a description of an y re medial action taken. Th e public bod y shall
simultaneousl y notif y th e Attorne y Gen eral that it has sent such materi als to the complainant and
shall provide the Attorne y G ener al with a cop y of the complaint, the respon se, and a des cription
of an y rem edial action ta ken.
(a) An y remedial a ction taken b y the public bod y i n response to a complaint under 940
C MR 29.05(5) shall not be admissible as evidenc e that a violation occur re d in an y lat er
administrative or judicial proceedin g a gainst the p ublic bod y r elating to the alleged
violation.
(b) If the public bod y req uires additional time to resolve the complaint, it ma y obtain an
ex tension from the Attorne y Gene ral b y submitting a written requ est within 14 business
da ys after re ceivi n g the c omplaint. A request ma y be submitted b y the ch air , the public
bod y's attorn e y, or an y p erson desi gnated b y the p ublic bod y or the chair. T he Attorne y
Gener al will gr ant an ex tensi on if the request d emonstrates good caus e. Go od cause wil l
gen erall y be found if, for ex ample, the public body c annot meet within the 14 business
da y p eriod to consider p r oposed remedial action. The Attorne y G ener al shall notif y the
complainant of an y ex ten sion and the reason for it.
(6) If the public bod y n ee ds additional information to resolve the complaint, then the chair ma y
request it from the compl ainant within seven business da ys of r eceivin g the complaint. The
complainant shall respon d within ten business da ys after r ec eiving the requ est. The public bod y
will then have an additio nal ten business da ys afte r rec eiving th e complaina nt's respons e to
review the complaint and take an y r emedial a ction pursuant to 940 C MR 29.05(5).
(7) If at least 30 da ys hav e passed a fter the compla int was filed with the public bod y, and if th e
complainant is unsatisfied with the public bod y's r esolution of the complaint, the complainant
ma y file a complaint wit h the Attorne y Gen eral. W hen filing a complaint with the Attorne y
Gener al, the complainant shall include a cop y of t he origin al complaint alo ng with an y othe r
materials the complainan t believes ar e relev ant. T he Attorne y G ener al shall decline to i nvestigat e
complaints filed with the Attorne y Gen eral more t han 90 da ys aft er the alle ged violation of
M.G. L. c. 30A, §§ 18 thr ough 25, or if th e alle ged violation of M.G. L. c. 3 0A, §§ 18 through 25,
could not reasonabl y h av e been known at the time it occurred, th en within 90 da ys o f the date it
should reasonabl y hav e b een discove red. How eve r, this time ma y be ex tended if the Attorne y
Gener al grants an ex tension to the public bod y to r espond to a complaint or if the complainant
demonstrates good caus e for the dela y in filin g wi th the Attorne y Gene ral.
29 | P a g e
(8) The Attorn e y Gen eral shal l acknowled ge re cei pt of all complaints and will resolve them
within a reasonabl e perio d of time, gen er all y 90 d a ys.
(9) Mediation to R esolve a C omplaint.
(a) If a complain ant files five complaints alle ging violations of M.G. L. c. 3 0A, §§ 18
through 25, with the sam e public bod y o r within the same municipalit y within 12 months,
upon the fifth or subsequ ent complaint to that public bod y or a public bod y within that
municipalit y within the 12-month period, the public bod y m a y requ est mediation with the
complainant, at the public bod y's ex pense, to resol ve the complaint. A med iator is
defined b y M.G. L. c. 233 , § 23C , and will be selec ted b y the Attorne y Gen e ral.
(b) A public bod y must r equest mediation prior to , or with, its response to the complaint.
If the mediation does not produce an a gr eement, t he public bod y will have ten business
da ys from the last joint meeting with the mediato r to respond to the compl aint.
(c) A public bod y ma y p articipate in mediation in open session, in ex ecutive session
through M.G. L. c. 30A, § 21(a)(9 ), or b y desi gnat ing a r epr esentative to pa rticipate on
behalf of the public bod y.
(d) If the complainant de clines to participate in m ediation after a public bo d y's r equest in
accord anc e with 940 C MR 29.05(9)(a), th e Attorn e y Gene ral ma y de cline t o review the
complaint if it is thereaft er filed with the Attorne y Gener al.
(e) If the mediation does not resolve the complaint to the satisfaction of bot h parties, then
the complainant ma y file a cop y of his or h er comp laint with the Attorne y G eneral and
request the Attorne y Gen eral 's re view. The complaint must be filed with the Attorne y
Gener al within 30 da ys o f the last joint meeting w ith the mediator.
(f) An y w ritten a gr eemen t reach ed in mediation shall become a public reco r d in its
entiret y and must be publ icl y disclosed at the nex t meeting of th e public bo d y followin g
ex ecution of the a gre eme nt.
(g) Nothing in this sectio n shall prevent a complainant from filing subsequ ent complaints,
however public bodies m a y continue to requ est mediation in an effo rt to re solve
complaints in accord ance with 940 C MR 29.05(9)(a).
(h) Nothing in this sectio n shall prevent a public b od y or complainant from seeking
mediation to resolve an y complaint. However, onl y mediation r equests that follow the
requirements of 940 C M R 29.05(9)(a) will trigger the application of 940 C MR
29.05(9)(d).
29.06: Inv estigation
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Following a timel y complaint filed pursuant to 940 C MR 29.05, where the Attorne y Gen eral has
reasonabl e caus e to belie ve that a violation of M. G. L. c. 30A, §§ 18 throu gh 25, has o ccur red,
then the Attorne y Gen er a l ma y condu ct an investi gation.
(1) The Attorn e y Gen eral shall notif y the public b od y or p erson that is the subject of a complaint
of the ex istence of the in vestigation within a r eas onable period of time. Th e Attorne y Ge ner al
shall also notif y the publi c bod y o r person o f the n ature of the alle ged violat ion.
(2) Upon notice o f the investigation, the subje ct of the investigation shall provide the Attorne y
Gener al with all informat ion relevant to the investigation. The subj ect ma y also submit a
memorandum or other w riting to the Attorne y G e neral, add ressin g the alle gations bein g
investigated.
If the subject of th e inves tigation fails to voluntarily provide the nec essar y o r relev ant
information within 30 days of rec eiving notic e of the investigation, the Att orne y Gen eral ma y
issue one or more civil investigative d emands to o btain the information in accordan ce with
M.G. L. c. 30A, § 24( a), t o:
(a) Tak e testimon y und er oat h;
(b) Ex amine or cause to be ex amined an y docume ntar y m aterial; or
(c) R equir e attendan ce d uring such ex amination of documentar y m aterial b y an y p erson
having knowl ed ge of the documentar y mate rial an d take testimon y unde r o ath or
acknowled gment in r espe ct of an y such do cumenta r y mat erial.
An y do cumentar y mat eri al or other inform ation produced b y an y p erson pu rsuant to 940 C MR
29.06 shall not, unless otherwise ord ered b y a cou rt of the C ommonwealth for good caus e
shown, be disclosed with out that person's consent b y the Attorn e y Gen eral t o an y p erson othe r
than the Attorne y Gen er a l's authoriz ed a gent or re presentative. Ho weve r, the Attorne y G ener al
ma y disclose th e material in court pleadin gs or oth er pape rs filed in court; o r, to the ex tent
necessa r y, in an administrative hea rin g or in a w ritten determination to reso lve the investigation
pursuant to 940 C MR 29.07.
29.07: R esolution
(1) No Violation. If the Attorne y Gen eral det erm ines, after investi gation, t hat M.G. L. c. 30A, §§
18 through 25, h as not be en violated, the Attorne y Gener al shall issue a writ ten determination to
the subject of the compla int and cop y an y complai nant.
(2) Violation R esolved W ithout Hearing. If th e Attorne y Gen eral det erm ines after investi gation
that M.G. L. c. 30A, §§ 1 8 through 25, h as been vi olated, the Attorne y G en eral ma y r esolve the
investigation without a h earin g. The Attorne y Ge neral shall dete rmine wh ether the r elevant
public bod y, one o r more of its members, or both, were responsible. The Attorne y Gene ral will
notif y, in writin g, an y co mplainant of the investigation's r esolution. Upon finding a violation of
M.G. L. c. 30A, §§ 18 thr ough 25, the Attorn e y Ge neral ma y tak e one of th e following a ctions:
31 | P a g e
(a) In formal Action. Th e Attorne y Gen eral ma y r e solve the investigation w ith a letter or
other appropri ate form o f written communication that ex plains the violation and clarifi es
the subject's obli gations under M.G. L. c. 30 A, §§ 18 through 25, providin g the subject
with a reason able period of time to compl y with a n y outstandin g obligations.
(b) Fo rmal Orde r. The At torne y Gene ral ma y r esol ve the investigation with a formal
order. The o rder m a y req uire:
1. immediate and future co mpliance with M.G. L. c. 30A, §§ 18 through 25;
2. attendanc e at a tr aining s ession authoriz ed b y the Attorne y Gen eral;
3. nullification of an y actio n taken at the r elevant m eeting, in whol e or in par t;
4. that minutes, records or o ther materials be m ade p ublic;
5. that an emplo ye e b e reins tated without loss of compensation, seniorit y, tenu re
or other ben efits; or
6. other appropri ate a ction.
Orders shall be available on t he Attorne y Gen eral 's website.
(3) Violation R esolved A fter He arin g. The Attorne y G ener al ma y conduct a hearin g whe re the
Attorne y Gen eral de ems appropriate. Th e he arin g shall be conducted pu rsuant to 801 C MR 1.00,
et seq., as modified b y an y r e gulations issued b y th e Attorne y Ge ner al. At the conclusion of the
hearin g, the Attorn e y Ge neral shall dete rmine wh ether a violation of M.G. L. c. 30 A, §§ 18
through 25, o ccur red and whether the public bod y, one or more o f its members, or both, we re
responsible. The Attorne y G ener al will notif y, in writing, an y complainant of the investigation's
resolution. Upon a finding that a violation oc curr e d, the Attorne y Gen eral ma y ord er:
(a) immediate and future compliance with M.G. L. c. 30A, §§ 18 throu gh 25 ;
(b) attendan ce at a traini n g session authoriz ed b y t he Attorne y G ener al;
(c) nullification of an y ac tion taken at the relev ant meeting, in whole o r in part;
(d) imposition of a fine u pon the public bod y of n ot more than $1,000 for e ach intentional
violation; however, a fin e will not be imposed where a public bod y o r publ ic bod y
member act ed in good fai th compliance with the a dvice of the public bod y' s legal
counsel, in acco rdan ce w ith M.G. L. 30A, § 23( g);
(e) that an emplo ye e b e r einstated without loss of compensation, seniorit y, tenure or othe r
benefits;
32 | P a g e
(f) that minutes, re cords or other materi als be mad e public; or
(g) other app ropriate acti on.
Orders issued followin g a hearin g sh all be availab le on the Attorne y Gen er al's w ebsite.
(4) A public bod y subject to an order of the Attorn e y Gene ral followin g a w ritten determination
issued pursuant to 940 C MR 29.07 shall notif y th e Attorne y Ge ner al in wr iting of its compliance
with the order within 30 da ys o f re ceipt of the ord er, unless otherwis e indicated b y the orde r
itself. A public bod y n ee d not notif y the Attorne y Gener al of its complianc e with an orde r
requirin g solel y immedia te and future compliance pursuant to 940 C MR 29.07(2)(b) (1) or 940
C MR 29.07(3)(a).
(5) A public bod y or an y member of a bod y a ggrie ved b y an y ord er issued b y the Attorn e y
Gener al under 940 C MR 29.07 ma y obtain judicial review of th e orde r thro ugh an action in
S uperior C ourt seekin g r elief in the nature of c ertiorari. An y such action must be commenced in
S uperior C ourt within 21 da ys o f re ceipt of the or der.
29.08: Advisor y Opinion s
The Attorne y G ener al will gene rall y not issue adv isor y opinions. Howev er , the Attorne y
Gener al ma y issue writte n guidan ce to addr ess co mmon requests for interp retation. S uch written
guidan ce will appe ar on t he Attorne y G ener al's we bsite.
29.09: Other Enfor cemen t Actions
Nothing in 940 C MR 29.06 or 29.07 shall limit the Attorne y Ge ner al's authorit y to file a civil
action to enfor ce M.G. L. c. 30A, §§ 18 throu gh 25 , pursuant to M.G. L. c. 3 0A, § 23(f).
29.10: R emote P articipation
(1) P reamble. R emote p a rticipation ma y b e permit ted subject to the following pro cedur es and
restrictions. Howev er, th e Attorne y Ge ner al strongl y en coura ges members of public bodies to
ph ysicall y attend m eetin gs wh eneve r possible. B y promulgatin g 940 C MR 29.10, the Attorne y
Gener al hopes to promote great er pa rticipation in gove rnment. Members o f public bodies have a
responsibilit y to ensure t hat remote pa rticipation in meetings is not used in a wa y that would
defeat the pu rposes of th e M.G. L. c. 30A, §§ 18 t hrough 25, n amel y prom ot ing transpa renc y
with regard to delibe ratio ns and decisions on whic h public polic y is based.
(2) Adoption of R emote P articipation. R emote participation in meetings of public bodies is not
permitted unless the pra c tice has been adopted as follows:
(a) Loc al P ublic Bodies. The C hief Ex ecutive Offi cer, as d efined in M.G. L. c. 4, § 7,
must authoriz e or, b y a si mple majorit y, vote to all ow remote pa rticipation in accord anc e
with the requirements of 940 C MR 29.10, with that authoriz ation or vote appl yin g to all
subsequent meetin gs of a ll local public bodies in that municipalit y.
33 | P a g e
(b) R e gional or District P ublic Bodies. The re gion al or district public bod y must, b y a
simple majorit y, vote to allow remote pa rticipation in accord ance with the requirements
of 940 C MR 29.10, with that vote appl yin g to all s ubsequent meetin gs of th at public bod y
and its committees.
(c) R e gional S chool Dist ricts. The re gion al school district committee must, b y a simple
majorit y, vote to allow r e mote participation in acc ordance with the requir e ments of 940
C MR 29.10, with that vote appl yin g to all subsequ ent meetings o f that public bod y and
its committees.
(d) C ount y P ublic Bodi es . The count y commissioners must, b y a simple majorit y, vote to
allow remote pa rticipation in accord ance with the requirements of 940 C M R 29.10, with
that vote appl yin g to all s ubsequent meetin gs of al l count y public bodies in that count y.
(e) S tate P ublic Bodies. The state public bod y mu st, b y a simple majorit y, vote to allow
remote participation in a ccordan ce with the requir ements of 940 C MR 29.10, with that
vote appl yin g to all subse quent meetings o f that pu blic bod y and its committees.
(f) R etirement Boa rds. A retirement boa rd cr eated pursuant to M.G. L. c. 32 , § 20 or
M.G. L. c. 34B, § 19 mus t, b y a simple majorit y, v ote to allow remote pa rticipation in
accord anc e with the requ irements of 940 C MR 29.10, with that vote appl yi ng to all
subsequent meetin gs of t hat public bod y and its committees.
(g) Local C ommissions on Disabilit y. In a ccord an ce with M.G. L. c. 30A, § 20(e), a lo cal
commission on disabilit y ma y b y majorit y vote o f the commissioners at a re gular m eetin g
authoriz e remote particip ation applicable to a spe c ific meeting o r gen erall y to all of the
commission's meetings. If a local commission on disabilit y is authoriz ed to utiliz e remote
participation, a ph ysical quorum of that commission's membe rs shall not be requir ed to
be present at the meetin g location; provided, howe ver, that the ch air or, in t he chair 's
absence, th e person authori z ed to chair the meetin g, shall be ph ysic all y p re sent at the
meeting loc ation. The co mmission shall compl y with all other requirem en ts of law.
(3) R evocation of R emot e P articipation. An y pers on or entit y with the auth orit y to adopt r emote
participation pursuant to 940 C MR 29.10(2) ma y r evoke that adoption in the same manne r.
(4) Minimum R equirements for R emote P articipat ion.
(a) Membe rs of a public bod y who p articipate re motel y and all persons pr esent at the
meeting loc ation shall be cl earl y audible to each o ther, as requi red b y M.G. L. c. 30 A, §
20(d);
(b) A quorum of the bod y, includin g the ch air or, in the chair 's absen ce, the person
authoriz ed to chair the m eeting, sh all be ph ysicall y pr esent at the me eting l ocation, as
required b y M.G. L. c. 30 A, § 20(d);
34 | P a g e
(c) Membe rs of public bo dies who participate rem otel y ma y vote and shall not be deemed
absent for the pu rposes o f M.G. L. c. 39, § 23D.
(5) P ermissible R eason f or R emote P articipation. If remote p articipation ha s been adopted in
accord anc e with 940 C MR 29.10(2), a member o f a public bod y sh all be pe rmitted to participate
remotel y in a meetin g, in accord anc e with the pro cedures d escrib ed in 940 C MR 29.10(7), onl y
if ph ysic al attendan ce wo uld be unreason abl y dif fi cult.
(6) Technolo g y.
(a) The following m edia are a cc eptable methods f or remote pa rticipation. R emote
participation b y an y othe r means is not permitted. Accommodations shall be made fo r
an y public bod y m ember who requires T TY servi c e, video rela y s ervic e, or other form of
adaptive telecommunic ations.
i. telephone, internet, or s atellite enabled audio o r video confe rencin g;
ii. an y other t echnolo g y t hat enables the remote pa rticipant and all persons present
at the meeting location to be clea rl y audible to one another.
(b) W hen video technolo g y is in use, the r emote p articipant shall be cle arl y visible to all
persons pres ent in the meeting loc ation.
(c) The public bod y sh all determine which o f the a cceptabl e methods ma y b e used b y its
members.
(d) The ch air or, in the c hair's absen ce, the pe rson chairin g the meetin g, ma y de cide how
to address technic al diffi culties that arise as a resu lt of utiliz ing remote pa rticipation, but
is encoura ged, whe reve r possible, to suspend discussion while reasonable efforts a re
made to corr ect an y p rob lem that interfer es with a remote participant 's abilit y to hea r or
be heard clea rl y b y all pe rsons present at the me eting loc ation. If techni cal difficulties
result in a remote pa rticipant being disconn ected from the meetin g, that fa ct and the time
at which the disconne ction occurr ed shall be noted in the meeting minutes.
(e) The amount and sour ce of pa ym ent for an y co sts associated with remot e participation
shall be determined b y th e applicable adopting entit y identified in 940 C MR 29.10(2).
(7) P rocedu res fo r R emote P articipation.
(a) An y memb er of a pub lic bod y who wish es to participate r emotel y sh all, as soon as
reasonabl y possible prior to a meeting, notif y the chair or, in the chair 's abs ence, the
person chairin g the m eeti ng, of his or h er desir e to do so and the re ason for and facts
supporting his or he r req uest.
35
(b) At the start of the m e eting, the chair shall ann ounce the nam e of an y m ember who will be
participating rem otel y. This information s hall also be re corded in t he meetin g minutes.
(c) All votes taken du rin g an y m eetin g in which a member participat es rem otel y shal l be b y roll
c all vote.
(d) A member participati ng r emotel y m a y particip ate in an ex ecutive sessio n, but shall state at
the start of an y such session that no other p erson is present and/or ab le to hear the discussion at
the remote l ocation, unless presen ce of that person is approv e d b y a simple majorit y vote of th e
public bod y.
(e) W hen fe asible, the ch air or, in the ch air 's absen ce, the pe rson chairin g th e meetin g, shall
distribute to remote participants, in advan ce o f the meetin g, copies of a n y documents or
ex hibits that he or she r eason abl y a nticipates will be used du ring the
meeting. If used durin g t he meetin g, such docume nts shall be part of the of ficial re cord of the
meeting, and shall be listed in the meeting minutes and retain ed in ac cor dance with M.G. L. c.
30A, § 22.
(8) Fu rther R estriction b y Adoptin g Authorit y. 94 0 C MR 29.10 does not prohibit an y person o r entit y
with the authorit y t o adopt remote pa rticipation pursuant to 940 C MR 29.10(2) from enactin g policies,
laws, r ules or re gulations that pr ohibit or further restri ct the use of r emote participation b y public
b odies within that person or entit y's jurisdiction, pr ovided those policies, laws, rules or r e gulations do
not violate state or fe deral law.
(9) R emed y fo r Violation. If the Attorne y Gene ral determines, aft er investi gation, that 940 C MR
29.10 has been violated, t he Attorne y G ener al ma y resolve the investi gation b y ord erin g the public
bod y to tempora rily or p erman entl y discont inue its use of remote pa r ticipation.
29.11: Meeting Minutes
(1) A public bod y shall c reate and maintain ac cur ate minutes of all meetin gs, includin g ex ecutive
sessions, setting forth the date, time and plac e, the members pres ent or abse nt, a summar y o f the
discussions on each subj ect, a list of documents a nd other ex hibits used at the meeting, th e decisions
made and the a ctions taken at ea ch meet ing, includin g the re cord of all votes, in accord anc e with M.G. L.
c. 30A, § 22(a ).
(2) Minutes of all open a nd ex ecutive sessions shall be creat ed and app rove d in a timel y manne r. A
“timel y mann er” will generall y be consider ed to be wit hin the nex t three public bod y me etings or within
30 da ys, whi ch ever is later, unl ess the p ublic bod y c an show goo d cause fo r furthe r dela y. The Attorn e y
Gen eral en coura ges public b odies to approve minutes at the nex t meeting wheneve r possible.
R EGU LATOR Y AUT H OR IT Y 940 C MR 29.00: M.G. L. c. 30A, § 25( a) a nd (b).
36
MEETING POSTING
TOWN OF NANTUCKET
Pursuant to MGL Chapter 30A, § 18-25
All meeting notices and agenda must be filed and time stamped in the Town
Clerk’s Office and posted at least 48 hours prior to the meeting (excluding
Saturdays, Sundays and Holidays)
Committee/Board/s
Day, Date, and Time
Location / Address 4 Fairgrounds Rd., Nantucket, MA
OR
Signature of Chair or
Authorized Person
Date
WARNING:IF THERE IS NO QUORUM OF MEMBERS PRESENT, OR IF
MEETING POSTING IS NOT IN COMPLIANCE WITH THE OML
STATUTE, NO MEETING MAY BE HELD!
AGENDA
Please list below the topics the chair reasonably anticipates will be discussed at the meeting
37
UPDATED MEETING POSTING
Original Posting DATE & TIME _________Original Posting # ________
TOWN OF NANTUCKET
Pursuant to MGL Chapter 30A, § 18-25
All meeting notices and agenda must be filed and time stamped with the
Town Clerk’s Office and posted at least 48 hours prior to the meeting
(excluding Saturdays, Sundays and Holidays)
Committee/Board/s
Day, Date, and Time
Location / Address 4 Fairgrounds Rd., Nantucket, MA
OR
Signature of Chair or
Authorized Person
Date
WARNING:IF THERE IS NO QUORUM OF MEMBERS PRESENT, OR IF
MEETING POSTING IS NOT IN COMPLIANCE WITH THE OML
STATUTE, NO MEETING MAY BE HELD!
UPDATED AGENDA
Please list below the topics the chair reasonably anticipates will be discussed at the meeting
38
CANCELLED MEETING POSTING
Original Posting Date __________ Original Posting Number ________
TOWN OF NANTUCKET
Pursuant to MGL Chapter 30A, § 18-25
All meeting notices and agenda must be filed and time stamped with the
Town Clerk’s Office and posted at least 48 hours prior to the meeting
(excluding Saturdays, Sundays and Holidays)
Committee/Board/s
Day, Date, and Time
Location / Address 4 Fairgrounds Rd., Nantucket, MA
OR
Signature of Chair or
Authorized Person
Date
THIS MEETING HAS BEEN CANCELLED
39
MINUTES TEMPLATE
COMMITTEE: ______________________________ Time Meeting called to Order:_________________
MEETING DATE: ____________________________ Time Meeting Adjourned: ___________________
MEMBERS PRESENT:
____________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________REMOTE:_______________________________
MEMBERS ABSENT:
_________________________________________________________________________________
AGENDA ITEM DISCUSSION VOTES / ROLL CALL
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
List of Documents or Exhibits used at the meeting:
Signature ___________________________
40
TOWN OF NANTUCKET
BOARD OF SELECTMEN
POLICY FOR REMOTE PARTICIPATION AT MEETINGS*
Effective date: 07/11/2012
Adopted: 07/11/2012
Amended: 3/25/2015
Applicability: All Boards, Committees, Commissions, Work Groups of the Town that are subject to the
provisions of the Open Meeting Law, with the exception of the Board of Selectmen, Historic District
Commission, and Planning Board from remote participation in open session.
I.
Purpose.
This policy is implemented to allow for remote participation at meetings subject to the Open Meeting Law for
those individuals are who not able to attend for specific, identified reasons.
II. Policy.
The Board of Selectmen by adopting this policy authorizes individuals serving on its appointed and elected
Boards, Committees, Commissions and Work Groups that are subject to the Open Meeting Law to participate
remotely at meetings for the following permissible reasons:
a) personal illness;
b) personal disability;
c) emergency;
d) military service; or,
e) geographic distance.
Individual board/committee/commission/work group members may participate remotely up to nine (9) times
per fiscal year in executive session meetings.
III. Procedure.
1) Any member of a public body who wishes to participate remotely shall, as soon as reasonably
possible prior to a meeting, notify the chair or, in the chair’s absence, the person chairing the meeting, of his or
her desire to do so and the reason for and facts supporting his/her request.
2) At the start of the meeting, the chair shall announce the name of any member who will be
participating remotely and the reason under 940 CMR 29.10 for his/her remote participation. This information
shall also be recorded in the meeting minutes.
3) A member participating remotely for an executive session shall state at the start of the session that
no other person is present and/or able to hear the discussion at the remote location, unless presence of that
person is approved by a simple majority of the public body.
4) All votes taken during any meeting in which a member participates remotely shall be by roll call
vote.
5) A quorum of the public body, including the individual chairing the meeting shall be physically
present at the meeting location. Members who participate remotely shall not be deemed to be absent.
6) The acceptable means of remote participation is: conference telephone, internet, or satellite-enabled
audio or video conferencing; or, any other technology that is available that enables the remote participant and
all persons present to be clearly audible to one another. The chair or in the chair’s absence, the person
authorized to chair the meeting shall make this determination.
7) If video technology is used, the remote participant shall be clearly visible to all persons present at
the meeting location.
The Board of Selectmen make revoke Remote Participation at any time under 940 CMR 29.10(3).
41
V. Violations
Violations of the Open Meeting Law are reportable through the Open Meeting Law division of the Attorney
General’s office. If the Attorney General determines, after an investigation, that 940 CMR 29.10 has been
violated, the Attorney General may resolve the investigation by ordering the public body to temporarily or
permanently discontinue its use of remote participation.
*Pursuant to MGL c. 30A, s. 20(d); 940 CMR 29:10
42
Public Body Checklist for Entering Into Executive Session
Issued by the Attorney General’s Division of Open Government – March 12, 2013
□Executive session listed as a topic for discussion on meeting notice, including as much
detail about the purpose for the executive session as possible without compromising the
purpose for which it is called. See G.L. c. 30A, § 20(b); 940 CMR 29.03(1)(b).
□Public body convened in open session first. G.L. c. 30A, § 21(b)(1).
□Chair publicly announced the purpose for executive session, citing one or more of the 10
purposes found at G.L. c. 30A, § 21(a).
□Chair stated all subjects that may be revealed without compromising the purpose for
which the executive session was called. G.L. c. 30A, § 21(b)(3). For example, the Chair
identified the party a public body may be negotiating with or the litigation matter the
public body will be discussing.
□Chair stated whether the public body will adjourn from the executive session, or will
reconvene in open session after the executive session. G.L. c. 30A, § 21(b)(4).
For Executive Session Purposes 3, 6, and 8:
□Chair publicly stated the having the discussion in open session would have a
detrimental effect on the public body’s negotiating position, bargaining position,
litigating position, or ability to obtain qualified applicants. G.L. c. 30A, §§
21(a)(3), (6), (8).
□A majority of members of the body voted by roll-call to enter into executive session.
G.L. c. 30A, § 21(b)(2).
Note that this checklist is intended as an educational guide, and does not constitute proof of
compliance with the Open Meeting Law. Checklists are updated periodically, so please
confirm that you are using the most current version. For questions, please contact the
Attorney General’s Division of Open Government at 617-963-2540 or via email at
openmeeting@state.ma.us. For more information on the Open Meeting Law, please visit
www.mass.gov/ago/openmeeting.
43
Public B o dy C hec klis t fo r Po s ting a M eeting No tice
Issu ed b y the Attorne y G eneral ’s Division of Ope n Government – S eptem ber 25, 2017
Notice C ontents
□The notice contains the d ate, time, and location of the meeting. G. L. c. 30A , § 20(b).
□If the meetin g is a joint meeting of s ever al public bodies, the names of all bodies meeting are
listed at the top of the notice.
□The notice contains all of the topics that the chair r easonabl y anticipat es will be discussed at the
meeting. Th e topics ar e sufficient l y sp ecific to re asonabl y advise the publi c of the issues to be
discu ssed at the meeting, including ex ecutive session topics. G. L. c. 30A § 20(b ); 940 C MR
29.03(1)(b).
□The notice is printed in a l egi ble, easil y und erstand able format. G. L. c. 30A , § 20(b).
□The date and time that th e notice is posted is cons picuousl y r ecord ed on or with the notice.
940 C MR
29.03(1)(d). If the notice is amended within 48 hours of a meetin g, not incl uding S aturda ys,
S unda ys, and le gal holida ys, then t he date and time that the meeting notic e is amende d must also
be conspicuousl y record ed on or with the n otice. 940 C MR 29.03(1)(d).
Notice P ublication
□The notice is published a t least 48 hours befor e the meetin g, not including S aturda ys, S unda ys
and l egal holida ys. G. L. c. 30A, § 20(b).
□The notice is posted with the proper authorit y:
o Loc al public bodies – Fil ed with the municipal cle rk, who must post it in a location
conspicuousl y visible to the public at all hours in o r on the municipal building wh ere
the clerk ’s office is locat ed, or to the municipal website if ado pted b y the municip alit y
as the official method of posting notice s. G. L. c. 30A, § 20( c); 940 C MR 29.03.
o S tate public bodies – P osted to a website, and a co p y sent to the S ec reta r y o f S tate’s
R e gulations
Division. G. L. c. 30A, § 20(c).
o R egional public bodies – P osted in ever y municipa lit y within the re gion, unless the
public bod y has adopted an alternativ e notice posting method. G. L. c. 30A, § 20( c);
94 0 C MR 29.03.
o C ount y public bodies – F iled with the office of th e count y commissioners a nd a cop y
of the notice is publicl y posted in a manner conspi cuously visible to the public at all
hours in such place or pla ces as the cou nt y commissioners shall designat e for the
pu rpose , unless the count y has adopted its website a s the official method for posting
notices. G. L. c. 30A, § 20(c); 940
C MR 29.03.
44
Note th at th is ch e ck list is in ten d ed as an edu cation al gu id e, an d d oes not con stitu te p roof of
comp lian ce w ith th e Op en Meetin g L aw . Th ese ch eck lists are u p d ated p eriod ically, so p lease
ch eck th at y ou are u sin g th e most cu r ren t version . Fo r q u estion s, p lease con tact th e Atto r n ey
Gen e ral’s Division of Op en Gove rn men t at 617-963 -2540 or via e mail at
op en meetin g@stat e. ma.u s . For mor e in f ormation on th e Op en Meetin g L aw , p lease vi si t
w ww .mass.gov/ago/op en me etin g.
45
P ubl i c Body Che c kl i st for
Cr e ati ng and Appr ovi ng M e e ting M i nute s
Issu ed b y the Attorne y G eneral ’s Division of Ope n Government – S eptem ber 25, 2017
□Minutes must accuratel y set forth the date, time, p lace of the m eetin g, and a list of the
members pres ent or abse nt. G. L. c. 30A, § 22(a ).
□Minutes must include an accur ate summar y o f the discussion of each subje c t. S ee G. L. c.
30A, § 22(a). Th e summar y does not ne ed to be a transcript, but should provide enou gh detail
so that a member o f the public who did not attend the meetin g could read the minutes and
understand what occur red and how t he public bod y arriv ed at its decisions.
□The minutes must include a re cord of all the decis ions made and the a ctions taken at ea ch
meeting, includin g a reco rd of all votes. G. L. c. 3 0A, § 22(a).
□The minutes must include a list of all of the docu ments and other ex hibits used b y th e public
bod y durin g the m eeting. G. L. c. 30A, § 22 (a). Do cuments and ex hibits used at the meeting are
p art of th e official r eco rd of the se ssion, but do not need to be ph ysic all y attached to the
minutes. S ee G. L. c. 30A, §§ 22 (d ), (e).
□If one or mor e public bo d y membe rs participat ed remotel y in the m eetin g, the minutes must
include the name(s) of the individual(s) parti cipating r emotel y. 940 C MR
29.10(7)(b).
□If one or mor e public bo d y membe rs participat ed remotel y in the m eetin g, the minutes must
record all votes as r oll call votes. 940 C MR 29.10(7)(c ).
□Ex ecutive session minutes must record all votes as roll call votes. G. L. c. 3 0A, § 22(b).
□The minutes must be approved in a timel y m anner . G. L. c. 30A, § 22( c). A “timel y manner”
will gen erall y b e consider ed to be within the nex t th ree public bod y me etings or within 30 d ays,
whichever is later, unless the publ ic bod y can show good c ause for further del a y. 940 C MR
29.11(2).
Note th at th is ch e ck list is in ten d ed as an edu cation al gu id e, an d d oes not con stitu te p roof of
co mp lian ce w ith th e Open Meetin g L aw . Ch eck lists are u p d ated p eriod ically, so p lease con f irm
th at you are u s in g th e most cu rren t v e rsion . For q u estion s, p lease con tac t th e Attorn ey Gen e ral’s
Div ision of Op en Govern men t at 617-963-2540 o r via email at op en me etin g@state. ma. u s. For
mo re in f or mati on on th e Op en Meetin g L aw , please visit ww w .mass.gov/ago/op en me etin g.