BOSTON (AP) — Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healy's office will hold four regional educational forums on the Open Meeting Law throughout the state this fall.
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Tag: open-meeting law
Without members, open meetings board can’t meet
Five months after Maryland's open-meetings compliance board ruled that the Housing Authority of Prince George's County violated open-meetings law, the public housing agency has been accused again of holding an illegal gathering.
But the compliance board that issued two citations against the housing authority in December is unable to address the new complaint filed by Maryland Legal Aid.
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Hartford Says It Violated State FOI Laws With Stadium Meeting
Hartford officials have admitted they violated various aspects of the state's open meetings law last year when they held a closed-door meeting to discuss proposals to build a new minor league baseball stadium.
Last August, the city assembled a panel including members of the public to interview prospective developers and "help frame the recommendation to the city council." But a notice of that meeting was not posted in advance, and the meeting wasn't open to the public.
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Brockton City Council cleared of violating Open Meeting Law
The state has found that the City Council did not violate Open Meeting Law when meeting in private about a $68 million power plant lawsuit.
The Attorney General’s office ruled last week that the council appropriately entered into executive session last winter to discuss the federal lawsuit and the possibility of a settlement.
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Editorial: A citizens’ guide to the Massachusetts Open Meeting Law
Two spokespeople from the Attorney General’s Office came to the Sharon Community Center on March 26 to hold a free educational forum on the Open Meeting Law. Here is an overview of what Sharon citizens need to know:
The state’s Open Meeting Law (OML) ensures public access to the work being done by boards and commissions by requiring sufficient advanced notice of meetings, open deliberation during those meetings, and public access to those meetings, according to the attorney general’s office.
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Editorial: Limiting the right to know
The Vermont League of Cities and Towns is on a mistaken tack by pushing to limit liability for violations of the state's open meeting law. The lobbyist's unrelenting efforts to choke off transparency and accountability in local municipalities should alarm any Vermonters who cares about open government.
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Court Rules Virginia Town Violated Open Government Laws
The Sussex County Circuit Court Judge told the Waverly Town Council that they couldn’t meet this week because the mayor and town clerk had knowingly violated the state’s Freedom of Information Act and failed to comply with a provision of the state’s Open Meetings Law.
Taylor Everett, a resident who had repeatedly asked the town to produce public documents and notify him of upcoming meetings, brought the legal challenge against the town.
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Local officials pan Massachusetts Open Meeting Law at municipal conference
The state's Open Meeting Law is "unfair and undemocratic." It "puts cold water on the process and stifles innovation." The law is used to "harass local officials," and its agenda is to make things easier for the press, "who have done nothing to deserve it."
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Lawmakers consider relaxing open meeting law
Vermont's new open-meeting law asks too much of small-town technology, the head of the Vermont League of Cities and Towns says.
Some towns don't use email. And posting meeting agendas and minutes on a town website, as required under law, is a tall order, said VLCT executive director Steven Jeffrey.
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Election review meetings to be open
The Minnehaha County Commission Tuesday appointed a panel to review the county's election procedures, and after some debate commissioners decided the group's meetings should be open to the public.
They didn't have to be, the commission's assistant department head Robert Wilson told commissioners. Because the committee has no statutory authority, its proceedings do not fall under the state open meeting law. Only the final report it delivers to the commission is a public document, Wilson said.
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