A "Reopen" council that may not be open?

In an ironic twist, Connecticut's Governor Ned Lamont has established a 50 member advisory council to make recommendations on reopening the state's economy and education system, but questions have arisen about whether the council's meetings and records are "open" to the public.

The Middletown Press explains that the group "operates under the umbrella of 4-CT, the nonprofit Lamont established in early April to aide in the response to the coronavirus pandemic" but notes that it "'doesn't have decision making power,' and can only submit recommendations to the governor for consideration."

The newspaper indicates that records generated by the council and it's subcommittees, "all of which include government officials," are "subject to request" under the Connecticut public records law.

As in any open records context, the question remains whether particular records are open or closed to the public.

The greater question is whether the council, "which is comprised of several subcommittees" and "rarely meets in its entirety," will conduct "open" public meetings.

State officials have indicated the members of the council will be available at the governor's daily briefings to respond to questions, and that a website is being developed to facilitate public participation, but the extent of the application of Connecticut's open government laws is unclear.

The Middletown Press quotes Justin Silverman, executive director for the New England First Amendment Coalition. Silberman rightly observers that "we can't lower our expectations because things might be harder right now. The public needs to be able to oversee who is in on the conversation, what they are saying and why they are making the decisions that they are ... to have any of these conversations occurring in secret without any kind of public oversight would really be to the great detriment of the public."

Like Connecticut, the records access issue would be resolved on a record by record basis in Kentucky.

But there is no doubt that the meetings of a public body created by Kentucky's Governor, or any other state or local public official or agency, for this purpose would be subject to the requirements of our open meetings law.

This is true even if the body only has the power to advise or recommend, even if the body conducts much of its business by formally convened subcommittees, and even if members of the body engage in informally convened meetings consisting of less than a quorum but collectively constituting a quorum of the body or subcommittee of the body.

All are subject to Kentucky's open meetings law.

Kentucky's open meetings law defines "public agency" broadly and includes "any board, commission, committee, subcommittee, ad hoc committee, *advisory* committee, council, or agency . . . established, created, and controlled by a 'public agency.'"

https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/statutes/statute.aspx?id=23043

Additionally, Kentucky's open meetings law "prohibits a quorum from discussing public business in private or meeting in numbers less than a quorum for the express purpose of avoiding the open meeting requirement of the Act."

https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/statutes/statute.aspx?id=48229

As has so often been repeated, Kentucky's law recognizes that "the formation of public policy is public business and shall not be conducted in secret" and demonstrates a clear commitment to "open government openly arrived at."