Source: http://www.thecitythatstolechristmas.com/openmeetingslaw.htm
Timestamp: 2018-01-20 10:38:20
Document Index: 749521124

Matched Legal Cases: ['§ 28', '§ 28', '§21', '§ 1', '§1', '§701', '§ 26', '§ 1', '§1', '§ 21', '§ 28', '§ 28', '§ 21', '§ 2', '§ 372', '§ 28', '§ 21', '§ 113', '§ 21', '§ 28', '§ 28', '§ 21', '§1', '§ 8', '§ 28', '§ 28', '§ 21', '§1', '§1', '§ 28', '§ 21', '§ 28', '§ 21', '§ 1', '§ 28', '§ 21', '§ 2', '§2']

21.1 Intent--declaration of policy.
21.1 INTENT -- DECLARATION OF POLICY.
a. A board, council, commission or other governing body expressly created by the statutes of this state or by executive order.
c. A multimembered body formally and directly created by one or more boards, councils, commissions, or other governing bodies subject to paragraphs "a" and "b" of this subsection.
2. "Meeting" means a gathering in person or by electronic means, formal or informal, of a majority of the members of a governmental body where there is deliberation or action upon any matter within the scope of the governmental body's policy-making duties. Meetings shall not include a gathering of members of a governmental body for purely ministerial or social purposes when there is no discussion of policy or no intent to avoid the purposes of this chapter.
3. "Open session" means a meeting to which all members of the public have access. [C71, 73, 75, 77, § 28A.1; C79, 81, § 28A.2] C85, §21.2 89 Acts, ch 73, § 1; 90 Acts, ch 1175, §1; 90 Acts, ch 1271, §701; 91 Acts, ch 258, § 26; 93 Acts, ch 25, § 1; 2004 Acts, ch 1019, §1 Referred to in § 21.11, 331.909
Each governmental body shall keep minutes of all its meetings showing the date, time and place, the members present, and the action taken at each meeting. The minutes shall show the results of each vote taken and information sufficient to indicate the vote of each member present. The vote of each member present shall be made public at the open session. The minutes shall be public records open to public inspection. [C71, 73, 75, 77, § 28A.1, 28A.5; C79, 81, § 28A.3] C85, § 21.3 93 Acts, ch 25, § 2 Referred to in § 372.13
1. A governmental body, except township trustees, shall give notice of the time, date, and place of each meeting, and its tentative agenda, in a manner reasonably calculated to apprise the public of that information. Reasonable notice shall include advising the news media who have filed a request for notice with the governmental body and posting the notice on a bulletin board or other prominent place which is easily accessible to the public and clearly designated for that purpose at the principal office of the body holding the meeting, or if no such office exists, at the building in which the meeting is to be held.
2. Notice conforming with all of the requirements of subsection 1 of this section shall be given at least twenty-four hours prior to the commencement of any meeting of a governmental body unless for good cause such notice is impossible or impractical, in which case as much notice as is reasonably possible shall be given. Each meeting shall be held at a place reasonably accessible to the public, and at a time reasonably convenient to the public, unless for good cause such a place or time is impossible or impractical. Special access to the meeting may be granted to persons with disabilities. When it is necessary to hold a meeting on less than twenty-four hours' notice, or at a place that is not reasonably accessible to the public, or at a time that is not reasonably convenient to the public, the nature of the good cause justifying that departure from the normal requirements shall be stated in the minutes.
3. A formally constituted subunit of a parent governmental body may conduct a meeting without notice as required by this section during a lawful meeting of the parent governmental body, a recess in that meeting, or immediately following that meeting, if the meeting of the subunit is publicly announced at the parent meeting and the subject of the meeting reasonably coincides with the subjects discussed or acted upon by the parent governmental body.
4. If another section of the Code requires a manner of giving specific notice of a meeting, hearing, or an intent to take action by a governmental body, compliance with that section shall constitute compliance with the notice requirements of this section. [C71, 73, 75, 77, 79, 81, § 28A.4] C85, § 21.4 96 Acts, ch 1129, § 113 Referred to in § 21.3, 21.8, 35C.1, 275.15, 282.11
a. To review or discuss records which are required or authorized by state or federal law to be kept confidential or to be kept confidential as a condition for that governmental body's possession or continued receipt of federal funds.
h. To avoid disclosure of specific law enforcement matters, such as allowable tolerances or criteria for the selection, prosecution or settlement of cases, which if disclosed would facilitate disregard of requirements imposed by law.
j. To discuss the purchase of particular real estate only where premature disclosure could be reasonably expected to increase the price the governmental body would have to pay for that property. The minutes and the tape recording of a session closed under this paragraph shall be available for public examination when the transaction discussed is completed.
k. To discuss information contained in records in the custody of a public airport, municipal corporation, municipal utility, jointly owned municipal utility, or rural water district organized under chapter 357A, that are confidential records pursuant to section 22.7, subsection 46.{ This paragraph is repealed effective June 30, 2007.
5. Nothing in this section requires a governmental body to hold a closed session to discuss or act upon any matter. [C71, 73, 75, 77, § 28A.3; C79, 81, § 28A.5] C85, § 21.5 2002 Acts, ch 1076, §1 Referred to in § 8A.204, 21.3, 21.8, 97B.8A, 203.11B, 203D.4, 279.24, 388.9, 411.5
a. Shall assess each member of the governmental body who participated in its violation damages in the amount of not more than five hundred dollars nor less than one hundred dollars. These damages shall be paid by the court imposing it to the state of Iowa, if the body in question is a state governmental body, or to the local government involved if the body in question is a local governmental body. A member of a governmental body found to have violated this chapter shall not be assessed such damages if that member proves that the member did any of the following:
(3) Reasonably relied upon a decision of a court or a formal opinion of the attorney general or the attorney for the governmental body.
4. Ignorance of the legal requirements of this chapter shall be no defense to an enforcement proceeding brought under this section. A governmental body which is in doubt about the legality of closing a particular meeting is authorized to bring suit at the expense of that governmental body in the district court of the county of the governmental body's principal place of business to ascertain the propriety of any such action, or seek a formal opinion of the attorney general or an attorney for the governmental body. [C71, 73, 75, 77, § 28A.7, 28A.8; C79, 81, § 28A.6] C85, § 21.6 99 Acts, ch 9, §1; 2005 Acts, ch 99, §1
The public may use cameras or recording devices at any open session. Nothing in this chapter shall prevent a governmental body from making and enforcing reasonable rules for the conduct of its meetings to assure those meetings are orderly, and free from interference or interruption by spectators. [C79, 81, § 28A.7] C85, § 21.7
3. A meeting by electronic means may be conducted without complying with paragraph "a" of subsection 1 if conducted in accordance with all of the requirements for a closed session contained in section 21.5. [C79, 81, § 28A.8] C85, § 21.8
A meeting of a governmental body to discuss strategy in matters relating to employment conditions of employees of the governmental body who are not covered by a collective bargaining agreement under chapter 20 is exempt from this chapter. For the purpose of this section, "employment conditions" mean areas included in the scope of negotiations listed in section 20.9. [81 Acts, ch 30, § 1] C83, § 28A.9 C85, § 21.9
The authority which appoints members of governmental bodies shall provide the members with information about this chapter and chapter 22. The appropriate commissioner of elections shall provide that information to members of elected governmental bodies. 89 Acts, ch 73, § 2
This chapter applies to nonprofit corporations which are defined as governmental bodies subject to section 21.2, subsection 1, paragraph "f", only when the meetings conducted by the nonprofit corporations relate to the conduct of pari- mutuel racing and wagering pursuant to chapter 99D. 90 Acts, ch 1175, §2