For Sunshine Week, AG reviews open meeting law progress

In early March, at the start of Sunshine Week, the national initiative that promotes the importance of transparency in government, the attorney general’s office recapped the 18 months since it assumed responsibility for the state’s open meeting law.

The AG’s Division of Open Government reports that it has responded to more than 4,000 phone and email inquires, handled 267 complaints, resolved 123 complaints, and issued 81 determinations since July 2010. The division has also conducted 56 presentations and training sessions across the state.

“The attorney general and her team in the Division of Open Government are doing a great job,” said Peter Hechenbleikner, the MMA’s representative on the Open Meeting Law Advisory Commission and current chair of the commission.

Due shortly from the division is clarification of the distinction between knowing and unknowing violations of the law. The clarification stems from public feedback that differentiating between intentional and unintentional violations would be useful.

In November, the division issued regulations governing remote participation in public meetings. To date, a handful of communities across the commonwealth have adopted local regulations for this purpose. Those who have done so, and those who would like to see an example of another community’s regulations, are asked to contact Katie Sagarin McCue at kmccue@mma.org.

For more information about the open meeting law, visit www.mass.gov/ago/openmeeting.