Download 4:1 Part 4 Public Meetings and Freedom of Information Act § 4

Part 4
Public Meetings and Freedom of Information Act
§ 4-1. Meetings Open to Public.
Meetings of all public agencies, including meetings of the board of
selectmen, must be open to the public except executive sessions as
defined in subsection (6) of Section 1-200 (Section 1-225). The
public may attend and observe any meeting without having to register or otherwise identify themselves. Members of the public may
not necessarily participate in the meeting unless it is a public hearing or the agency otherwise invites such public participation.
§ 4-2. Executive Sessions.
Executive sessions may be held upon an affirmative vote of twothirds (2/3) of the members taken at a public meeting and identifying which of the reasons contained in the statute is the basis for the
executive session [Section 1-225(f)]. Among the permissible reasons for an executive session are discussions of certain employment matters, strategy and negotiation with respect to pending
claims and litigation, and the potential acquisition of real estate
under certain circumstances [Section 1-200(6)].
§ 4-3. Minutes of Meetings.
The board of selectmen must keep an accurate record of all minutes of its meetings, which record shall be available for public inspection at reasonable times (Section 7-12b). The votes of each
selectman on any issue coming before the board must be reduced
to writing and made available for public inspection within fortyeight (48) hours, excluding Saturdays, Sundays, holidays, and days
when the selectmen’s or the town clerk’s office is closed. Votes
must also be recorded in the minutes of the session. Not later than
seven (7) days after the date of the session to which such minutes
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refer, such minutes shall be available for public inspection. The
board must make, keep and maintain a record of the proceedings of
its meetings [Section 1-225(a)].
§ 4-4. Meeting Dates.
The chairman or secretary of the board must file the schedule of
regular meeting dates for the ensuing year with the town clerk not
later than January 31 of each year. No meeting can be held sooner
than thirty (30) days after the schedule has been filed [Section 1225(b)]. The agenda of regular meetings must be available at the
board’s office or regular place of business and in the town clerk’s
office, twenty-four (24) hours before the meeting [Section 1225(c)]. Matters not on the filed agenda of a regular meeting may
be considered by a two-thirds vote [Section 1-225(c)].
§ 4-5. Special Meetings.
Notice of special meetings of the board must be posted not less
than twenty-four (24) hours before the meeting to which such notice refers on the municipality’s Internet website, if available, and
given not less than twenty-four (24) hours prior to the time of the
meeting by posting a notice of the time and place of the meeting in
the town clerk’s office. In the case of an emergency, an emergency
meeting may be held without complying with this notice requirement, but a copy of the minutes of the meeting, setting forth the
nature of the emergency and the proceedings of the meeting, must
be filed with the town clerk not later than seventy-two (72) hours
following the meeting [Section 1-225(d)]. The threshold is relatively high for determining whether there was an emergency which
justified the use of this provision.
§ 4-6. Broadcasting of Meetings.
Meetings which are open to the public under Section 1-225 may be
broadcast or recorded for broadcast by any radio broadcasting
company located or having transmission facilities within the state.
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Television cameras of any television broadcasting company may
be so located within the room as to permit the meeting to be
broadcast by radio, television, or both. The board of selectmen
may adopt rules governing the use of broadcasting equipment. In
order to apply at a meeting, such rules must have been adopted
prior to the meeting. If rules were not adopted prior to the meeting,
broadcasting must be permitted (Section 1-226).
§ 4-7. Definition of “Meeting.”
A. The definition of “meeting” under the Freedom of Information
Act is relatively broad. A meeting is defined, in addition to the
obvious meanings, as a gathering of a quorum of a multimember body at which there is discussion or action on any
matter over which it has authority. This would include any
conversation about town business between two (2) of the three
(3) members of a board of selectmen unless an exception to the
definition is available [Section 1-200(2)].
B. There are also some important exceptions from the definition
of a “meeting.” Among these exceptions are a caucus of members of the board from a single political party, strategy or negotiations regarding collective bargaining, a chance meeting or
a social meeting which was neither planned nor intended for
the purpose of conducting business and communications limited to a discussion of the agenda and notice of meetings of the
agency [Section 1-200(2)].
§ 4-8. Violations.
Potential violations of the statutes pertaining to public meetings
and public records are addressed by the Freedom of Information
Commission. The staff of that Commission is willing and able to
advise municipal officials about the particular requirements of the
law and to conduct education and training sessions for town boards
and commissions.
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