Opinion ID: 1326617
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: The Motion to Close the Meeting.

Text: The Council members argue that since the motion to go into executive session tracked the language of the statute, referred to a specific exemption by Code section, paragraph, and subparagraph, and quoted the language of the exemption, it satisfied the requirements of § 2.1-344(b). We agree where, as here, the motion also identifies the agenda item to which the specific exemption applies. The motion stated that the purpose of the meeting was to discuss the issues pertaining to the construction of the I-295 circumferential highway and other matters relating to regional cooperation, and that the executive session was necessary to discuss legal matters relative thereto. Thus, the motion identified the specified exemption, § 2.1-344(a)(6), with the only business listed on the agenda. See City of Danville v. Laird, 223 Va. ___, 288 S.E.2d 429 (1982) and Nageotte v. Bd. of Supervisors, 223 Va. ___, 288 S.E.2d 423 (1982), both this day decided, and both pertaining to the exemption provided by § 2.1-344(a)(6). The Act specifically mandates a liberal construction in order that public business shall be conducted so far as possible in public. Code § 2.1-340.1, as amended in 1976, requires that all exemptions under the Act be narrowly construed. In our research, we have found such a specific requirement in the statute of only one other state, Hawaii. Haw.Rev.Stat. § 92-1. Nevertheless, this requirement does not preclude a commonsense application of the Act. A governing body is entitled to make the initial determination that an executive or closed meeting is necessary under a specified exemption to consider a subject or subjects on the agenda. The decision whether to convene in executive session must be made by members of the responsible entity who often possess information as to the subject matter that is not necessarily possessed by others. It is neither necessary nor in the public interest to require as a prerequisite to closing a meeting pursuant to § 2.1-344(a)(6) that the governing body disclose in detail the legal matters or the legal issues to be considered. To do so would tend to defeat the very confidentiality that the exemption safeguards. We hold that the Council members complied with the provisions of § 2.1-344(b) in convening in executive session. It follows that the trial court erred in ruling to the contrary.