If an informed citizenry is to meaningfully participate in government or at least understand why government acts affecting their daily lives are taken, the process of decision making as well as the end results must be conducted in full view of the governed.
Oklahoma Ass’n of Municipal Attorneys v. State, 577 P.2d 1310, 1313-14 (Okla. 1978)
Open Meeting Law Reference for All 50 States
Open Meeting Laws 3d
Ann Taylor Schwing
Two volumes covering all aspects of public meeting laws
Open Meeting Laws are designed to give citizens the information they need to understand decisions made by their elected representatives. Click the links to review sections of Open Meeting Laws 3d.
- Open meeting laws apply not only to public bodies but to the committees they appoint as well. Generally Open Meeting Laws require that the entire deliberative process be open to citizens including committees.
- Openness applies to email communications while newer forms of communication such as websites and blogs pose unresolved issues.
- The Open Meeting Laws 3d chapter on Executive Sessions covers permissible reasons for holding an executive session such as litigation communications.
- The Chapter "Remedies for Violations of Open Meeting Laws" provides information on the remedies available for those seeking to bring a public body to task for violations.
- Ratification by the Public Entity is one of the possible cures for open meeting violations open to public bodies accused of violation of their States’ open meeting laws.