By law, citizens have the right to attend meetings of public bodies, listen to the debates, and watch the decision-making process in action. These meetings are considered “open meetings.” Article seven of the New York State Public Officers Law is entitled, Open Meetings Law. This law lays out all of the requirements and exemptions for meetings held by public bodies. The Open Meetings Law went into effect in 1977

Giglio, Alicia

English

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4-26-2009 
Open Meetings Law 
Alicia Giglio 
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Open Meetings Law 
Abstract 
By law, citizens have the right to attend meetings of public bodies, listen to the debates, and watch the 
decision-making process in action. These meetings are considered “open meetings.” Article seven of the 
New York State Public Officers Law is entitled, Open Meetings Law. This law lays out all of the 
requirements and exemptions for meetings held by public bodies. The Open Meetings Law went into 
effect in 1977. 
Keywords 
Buffalo, Government, Open Government, Report, Other, PDF 
This article is available at DigitalCommons@ILR: https://digitalcommons.ilr.cornell.edu/buffalocommons/286 
 1 
Open Meetings Law 
Alicia Giglio 
4/26/09 
 
What are open meetings? 
By law, citizens have the right to attend meetings of public bodies, listen 
to the debates, and watch the decision-making process in action.  These 
meetings are considered “open meetings.”1 
 
What law governs open meetings? 
Article seven of the New York State 
Public Officers Law is entitled, Open 
Meetings Law.  This law lays out all of 
the requirements and exemptions for 
meetings held by public bodies.  The 
Open Meetings Law went into effect in 
1977.  To see the Open Meetings Law in 
full, go to: http://www.dos.state.ny.us/coog/openmeetlaw.htm. 
 
Who oversees and interprets the Open Meetings Law? 
The Open Meetings Law requires New York State to form a Committee on 
Open Government to write advisory opinions, make interpretations of the 
law when necessary, and give advice to individuals in regard to the law.2
The actions of the Committee are governed by the New York 
Administrative Code, http://www.dos.state.ny.us/coog/regscoog.htm.    
 
Why are open meetings necessary? 
In a democratic society, the people must stay informed in order to 
maintain control over their public officials.  To be sure that this is 
accomplished, the law requires that: 
 public business be performed in an open and public manner,  
 citizens of this state are made fully aware of and are able to 
observe the performance of public officials, and  
 citizens are able to attend and listen to the deliberations and 
decisions that go into the making of public policy. 
“It is the only climate under which the commonwealth will prosper and 
enable the governmental process to operate for the benefit of those who 
created it.”3   
 
Who is covered by the law? 
The Open Meetings Law applies to all public bodies.   
"Public body" means any entity, for which a quorum is 
required in order to conduct public business and which 
consists of two or more members, performing a 
governmental function for the state or for an agency or 
department [of the state], or for a public corporation . . . or 
 2 
a committee or subcommittee or other similar body of such 
public body.4 
 
Common public bodies covered include:  
 City Councils 
 Town Boards 
 Village Boards of Trustees 
 School Boards 
 Commissions 
 Legislative bodies 
 Committees and 
subcommittees within the  
public bodies listed above5 
 
 
How do you determine if an entity is a public body? 
In certain instances it may be unclear whether an entity qualifies as a 
public body under the law.  Borderline cases may include quasi-public 
entities, public-private entities, private not-for profit organizations and 
corporations, and public-private boards.  
 
In addition to the basic definition of a public body, judicial decisions and 
advisory opinions have established that "in determining whether the entity 
is a public body, various criteria or benchmarks are material. They include  
 the authority under which the entity is created,  
 the power distribution or sharing model under which it exists,  
 the nature of its role,  
 the power it possesses and under which it purports to act,  
 and a realistic appraisal of its functional relationship to affected 
parties and constituencies"6 
"It has long been held that the mere giving of advice, even about 
governmental matters is not itself a governmental function."  However, if 
an entity can take final action on governmental matters it may qualify as a 
public body.7  In addition, entities created by federal law are not subject to 
the Open Meetings Law, while entities created by state or local law often 
are.8 
 
Examples of less obvious public bodies: 
 Western New York Health Systems – This is a not-for-profit 
corporation whose Board of Directors consists of six members 
from already existing public bodies, three members from a private 
entity, and five members from the community at large. The body is 
a creature of the state and derives its power from state laws and 
serves a governmental function in overseeing the merger of 
ECMC, a public benefit corporation, and privately owned Kaleida.  
While WNYHS is a private entity on its face, it has been deemed a 
 3 
public body in relation to the Open Meetings Law because of its 
main functions and relationship to the State.9    
 Erie County Assigned Counsel Program - This private not-for-
profit member corporation receives its funding primarily from Erie 
County and New York State.  Its sole purpose is to provide legal 
counsel in accordance with Article 18-B of County Law, and it is 
governed by a Board of Directors that must have a quorum at its 
meetings to conduct business.  This corporation would not exist 
but for its relationship with the County and therefore is considered 
a public body.10 
 Student Government Bodies at Public Institutions – These 
associations carry out government functions on behalf of State 
Universities, and they have final decision making power.  In 
addition, these bodies receive their funding from mandatory 
student activities fees that are paid to the school.  Therefore, they 
are considered public bodies, and their meetings must comply with 
the Open Meetings Law.11 
 
What is a meeting? 
"Meeting" is defined as "the official convening of a public body for the 
purpose of conducting public business."12   
 
This only requires that a quorum of a public body gather to discuss public 
business.  These meetings must be open to the public even if the public 
body does not intend to take any action.  Meetings also include meetings 
held by video conference, and the public must be given the right to listen 
to or observe those meetings as well.  This definition does not apply to 
chance meetings or social gatherings.13  
 
What notice of open meetings does the law require? 
Notice of the time and place of a meeting scheduled must be given to the 
public prior to every meeting.14   
1. For meetings scheduled at least one week prior, notice shall be 
given at least 72 hours before the meeting to the news media and 
conspicuously posted in one or more designated public locations. 
2. For meetings scheduled less than a week prior, notice shall be 
given in the same manner at a reasonable time prior to the meeting. 
3. Notice does not mean legal notice. 
4. For meetings that use videoconferencing, notice shall inform the 
public that videoconferencing will be used, the locations for the 
meeting must be identified, and it must be stated that the public has 
the right to attend the meeting at any of the locations.15 
 
What does the Open Meetings Law mean for you? 
The Open Meetings Law applies to all of New York State.  As a citizen of 
Erie County you have the right to attend meetings of the public bodies 
 4 
located within the State and the County, as well as, your cities, towns, 
villages, and other municipalities.  The following websites contain listings 
of some open meetings that can be viewed on the Internet and in this area:  
New York State Open Meetings Webcast: 
http://www.nysegov.com/webcast.cfm 
Erie County Legislature Meeting Schedule: 
http://www.erie.gov/legislature/pdf/session_schedule.pdf 
Buffalo Common Council Committee Meetings: 
http://www.ci.buffalo.ny.us/Home/Leadership/CommonCouncil/Com
mittee_Meetings 
Buffalo Board of Education Calendar: 
http://www.buffaloschools.org/calendar_events.cfm?location=1000 
You may find many other public bodies and open meeting listings by 
searching the Internet or your local newspaper. 
 
How may the public participate in open meetings? 
Speaking/Participating: The Open Meetings Law does not state whether 
citizens are permitted to speak or otherwise participate at open 
meetings.  Many public bodies have chosen to allow people to 
speak at their meetings, and the Committee on Open 
Government advises those public bodies to “[adopt] 
reasonable rules that treat members of the public equally.”16 
 
Recording: The Open Meetings Law also does not address the ability of 
the public to record open meetings.  Judicial decisions indicate 
that any person present may record an open meeting (using 
either an audio or video recorder), so long as use of a 
recording device is not disruptive or obtrusive.17  
 
How can you get information from an open meeting if you are 
unable to attend the meeting? 
The Open Meetings Law requires that minutes of both open meetings and 
executive sessions be compiled and made available to the public.  
Generally, the minutes must be made available to the public within two 
weeks from the date of a meeting. 
 Minutes of an open meeting “consist of a record or summary of all 
motions, proposals, resolutions and any other matter formally 
voted upon and the vote thereon.” 
 Minutes of an executive session must consist of a record or 
summary of the final determination of such action, and the date 
and vote thereon.18 
 
When can a meeting be closed to the public? 
An “executive session” is a part of an open meeting that is not open to the 
public.  This is not a separate meeting of a public body.  To close this part 
of an open meeting the public body must take specific steps: 
 5 
 
1. a motion must be made to enter executive session 
2. the general area of the subject or subjects to be 
considered must be given 
3. a majority of the public body must vote in favor 
of going into an executive session19 
 
The law also limits the matters that may be discussed in 
executive session: 
 matters which will imperil the public safety if disclosed;  
 any matter which may disclose the identity of a law enforcement 
agency or informer;  
 information relating to current or future investigation or 
prosecution of a criminal offense which would imperil effective 
law enforcement if disclosed; 
 discussions regarding proposed, pending or current litigation; 
 collective bargaining negotiations pursuant to Article 14 of the 
Civil Service Law; 
 the medical, financial, credit or employment history of a particular 
person or corporation, or matters leading to the appointment, 
employment, promotion, demotion, discipline, suspension, 
dismissal or removal of a particular person or corporation;  
 the preparation, grading or administration of examinations; and  
 the proposed acquisition, sale or lease of real property or the 
proposed acquisition of securities, or sale or exchange of securities 
held by such public body, but only when publicity would 
substantially affect the value thereof.20 
 
What meetings are exempt from Open Meetings Law? 
The Open Meetings Law does not apply to:  
1. judicial or quasi-judicial proceedings, except proceedings of 
zoning boards of appeals;  
2. deliberations of political committees, conferences and caucuses; or 
3. matters made confidential by federal or state law.21  
 
How can you make sure that the law is enforced? 
Any aggrieved person can bring a law suit against a public 
body to enforce the provisions of the Open Meetings Law, 
and/or an action for declaratory judgment and injunctive 
relief. The court may then decide if the law has been 
violated.22 
 “Since the law says that meetings are open to the 
general public, you would be aggrieved if you feel 
that you have been improperly excluded from a meeting or if you 
believe that an executive session was held that should have been 
open.”23 
 6 
 
If a court determines that a vote was taken in material violation of the 
Open Meetings Law, or that substantial deliberations relating to the vote 
occurred in private prior to such vote, the court may award costs and 
reasonable attorney’s fees to the winner of the suit.24   
 
Who should you contact for more information? 
 
NYS Department of State  
Committee on Open Government 
One Commerce Plaza 
99 Washington Avenue 
Albany, NY 12231 
(518) 474-2518 
 
 
                                                 
1 Committee on Open Government, Your Right to Know 
http://www.dos.state.ny.us/coog/Right_to_know.html (last visited April 13, 
2009) [hereinafter Your Right to Know]. 
2 N.Y. Pub. Off. Law art. 7, http://www.dos.state.ny.us/coog/openmeetlaw.htm 
(2009). 
3 Id. at, § 100,  
4 Id. at § 102(2) 
5 Your Right to Know, supra note 1. 
6 Matter of Smith v. CUNY, 92 NY2d 707, 713 (1999).  
7 Goodson-Todman Enterprises, Ltd. v. Town Board of Milan, 542 NYS 2d 373, 374 (1989); 
Poughkeepsie Newspapers v. Mayor's Intergovernmental Task Force, 145 AD 2d 65, 67 
(1989).   
8 Committee on Open Government Advisory Opinion, OML-AO-2932, August 
27, 1998, http://www.dos.state.ny.us/coog/otext/o2932.htm. 
9 Quigley v. Daines, 2008 NY Slip Op. 1879 (U) (2008), 
http://blogs.artvoice.com/avdaily/wp-content/uploads/2008/09/geoff_pdf.pdf 
10 Committee on Open Government Advisory Opinion, OML-AO-4016, August 
5, 2005, http://www.dos.state.ny.us/coog/otext/o4016.htm.  
11 Committee on Open Government Advisory Opinion, OML-AO-2599, April, 
19, 1996, http://www.dos.state.ny.us/coog/otext/o2599.htm; see also Smith and 
Maitland v. CUNY, Supreme Court, NY County (January 25, 1996).  
12 N.Y. Pub. Off. Law art. 7, § 102. 
13 Your Right to Know, supra note 1. 
14 Id. 
15 N.Y. Pub. Off. Law art. 7, § 104(1)-(4). 
16 Id. 
17 Committee on Open Government Advisory Opinion, OML-AO-3037, June 
18, 1999, http://www.dos.state.ny.us/coog/otext/o3037.htm.  
18 N.Y. Pub. Off. Law art. 7, § 106. 
19 Your Right to Know, supra note 1. 
20 N.Y. Pub. Off. Law art. 7, § 105. 
21 Id. 
22 N.Y. Pub. Off. Law art. 7, § 107. 
23 Your Right to Know, supra note 1. 
24 Id. 


Open Meetings Law

By law, citizens have the right to attend meetings of public bodies, listen to the debates, and watch the decision-making process in action. These meetings are considered “open meetings.” Article seven of the New York State Public Officers Law is entitled, Open Meetings Law. This law lays out all of the requirements and exemptions for meetings held by public bodies. The Open Meetings Law went into effect in 1977.Government__Open_Meetings.pdf: 12 downloads, before Oct. 1, 2020

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