CHENANGO COUNTY – Earlier this month, the legislature approved changes to both the Open Meetings Law and the Freedom of Information Law that will hopefully modernize and simplify New York’s open government regulations.
On Aug. 5, an amendment was made to the Open Meetings Law to ensure that public business is discussed publicly. The new provision states that if a court finds a board voted in executive session, in violation of the Open Meetings Law, or that substantial deliberations occurred in private that should have occurred in public, the court is mandated to award attorney’s fees to the person who began the litigation.
“What a board does is obvious,” said Commissioner of the Committee on Open Government Robert Freeman. “In that situation, the court is required to pay attorneys fees. This wasn’t done to encourage lawsuits, but to encourage compliance.”
Boards are allowed to vote in executive session in some circumstances, but they are not allowed to vote to appropriate public money.
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