AG seeks comment on proposed meeting law rule

On May 11, the attorney general’s office released for public comment a draft amendment to open meeting law regulations that would “clarify the standard for a finding by the Attorney General of an intentional violation of the Open Meeting Law.”

The attorney general’s office decided to amend the definition of “intentional violation” following extensive public comment on a proposed amendment defining “knowing” and “knowingly” last fall.

Currently, a violation of the open meeting law is deemed to be intentional if the public body or members of the public body have previously been informed that their actions were a violation. Under the proposed amendment, the definition would be broadened to address whether a member acted with “specific intent” or “deliberate ignorance” of the law.

The proposed regulation also would find that a violation is not intentional if the public body made a “good faith effort to comply with the law but was reasonably mistaken about the requirements.”

The attorney general’s office will hold a public hearing on the proposed amendment to the regulations on Tuesday, July 17, from 3 to 5 p.m., at One Ashburton Place, 21st floor, in Boston. Public comment may be submitted at the hearing or before at openmeeting@state.ma.us.

The proposed amendment may be found at www.mass.gov/ago/openmeeting.

In the midst of town meeting season, the attorney general’s office recently offered guidance in response to the question, “Must a public body post notice for a meeting if a quorum of that body plans to attend Town Meeting?” The AG found that if a quorum is present, it is therefore a “meeting,” and the requirements of the open meeting law apply.

The City Solicitors and Town Counsel Association has expressed concerns about the response. In a letter to Division of Open Government Director Amy Nable, the association urged the division to amend its decision.

“The language of [the open meeting law] fully supports a broad exemption from [the law] for town meeting,” the association wrote, “including members of public bodies communicating individually, among themselves, or as a collective body to the town meeting.”

For more information, visit www.mass.gov/ago/openmeeting.