MMA’s comments on proposed regulations governing the open meeting law

Office of the Attorney General, Division of Open Government

On behalf of the cities and towns of the Commonwealth, the Massachusetts Municipal Association would like to offer comment on the proposed regulations 940 CMR 29.00, et seq., related to the Open Meeting Law as amended by Chapter 28 of the Acts of 2009.

Meeting Notice Posting

Section 20 of Chapter 30A of the General Laws requires that “… notice shall be filed with the municipal clerk and posted in a manner conspicuously visible to the public at all hours in or on the municipal building in which the clerk’s office is located.” Section 20 also authorizes the attorney general to “… prescribe or approve alternative methods where the attorney general determines such alternative will afford more effective notice to the public.” Sections of the regulations related to posting requirements [29.03 and 29.04] implement these provisions.

The requirement that meeting notices be accessible in or at a municipal building in paper form, in an electronic display, by the Internet or cable TV, or through a telephone-based audio recording for the purpose of meeting the “all hours” requirement when the posting in the clerk’s office is not accessible is an unnecessary burden on cities and towns and is not the most effective or helpful way of providing notice to citizens.

We recommend that the regulations be amended to allow the “all hours” requirement to be met solely by posting on the municipal website when the clerk’s office is not accessible. This is already an effective and accepted method of keeping the public informed of meetings of local public bodies. It would be almost universally more available and convenient to all persons, including the disabled and others with limited mobility or those who may be out-of-town for a period of time, than the alternatives allowed in 29.04. The definition of “post notice” in Section 18 of Chapter 30A includes the “… display in either hard copy of electronic format.” We recommend that the “electronic format” authority be used to allow the “all hours” requirement to be met using municipal websites.

The “all hours” posting system that we recommend is similar to the prescribed method for notices of meetings of state public bodies.