This, from the Florida First Amendment Foundation, reminds us that Kentucky’s open meetings law is — at least in some respects — ahead of the curve.
https://lakelandledger-fl.newsmemory.com/?publink=560a056d0_13483b4&fbc…
The Kentucky Open Meetings Act has always required meeting room conditions which “insofar as is feasible allow effective public observation of the public meetings.”
https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/statutes/statute.aspx?id=42577
In 2013, KRS 61.840 was amended to clarify the public’s rights and the public agency’s duties.
It now states:
“No person may be required to identify himself in order to attend any such meeting. All agencies shall provide meeting room conditions, including adequate space, seating, and acoustics, which insofar as is feasible allow effective public observation of the public meetings.”
Lest there be any doubt, lawmakers also amended KRS 61.820(1). It, too, provides:
“ All meetings of all public agencies of this state, and any committees or subcommittees thereof, shall be held at specified times and places which are convenient to the public. In considering locations for public meetings, the agency shall evaluate space requirements, seating capacity, and acoustics.”
https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/statutes/statute.aspx?id=42576
Not so in Florida.
There is no known Kentucky equivalent to the agenda review workshop at issue in this story from Polk County, Florida. Without question, if such meetings were conducted in Kentucky they would be subject to the open meetings law — as meetings of a quorum if the members of a public agency at which public business is discussed — including the requirement that the agency provide adequate space, seating, and acoustics to ensure effective public observation at its meeting site.
Florida law is less clear:
“When the Polk County Commission met for its public agenda review workshop on Feb. 25, there weren’t enough seats in the small, crowded conference room to accommodate the public.
“In a setup that continues to trouble open government advocates, some attendees were forced to stand throughout a portion of the meeting while others gathered in an adjacent lobby where they couldn’t see or hear the presentations and discussions about wastewater management, expensive road projects, legal settlements, a backlog of pending building permits and more.
“A day earlier at a commission retreat, Polk County Commissioner Neil Combee pushed to move these twice monthly meetings to the commission boardroom where they would be more accessible to the public. Not only would this venue accommodate more people — it seats 175 — but these meetings where government business is conducted could be video recorded, streamed on the county’s Facebook page and posted on the county website for the public to watch like every other public county meeting, Combee noted.
“But Combee failed to get support from the majority of his peers to move the meeting.
“I could care less,” Commissioner Bill Braswell said.
Commissioner Rick Wilson said those meetings — where commissioners have discussed ongoing trash collection problems, COVID treatment options, recycling, fire rescue challenges, how tax dollars are used, and state and federal legislative priorities — aren’t designed for the public.
“‘The agenda briefings were designed for us,’ Wilson said. ‘It’s for us to get knowledge of what’s going on so...when we get into the board meeting we can be up on the issue. Then it’s public. I say we keep those (agenda review meetings) where they’re at.’
“Friday’s agenda review workshop featured several presentations to commissioners that weren’t given at Tuesday’s regular board meeting. They occurred in a room without enough seating for everyone in attendance.
“That’s ‘problematic’ to Virginia Hamrick, a lawyer with Florida First Amendment Foundation, a non-profit that advocates for open government. She said Florida’s Sunshine Law requires government meetings to be open to the public, and therefore ‘meetings should not take place where the public is effectively excluded,’ she said.
“She cited Section 286.011(6) of Florida Statutes.
“‘It specifically prohibits boards from holding meetings at a facility which operates in such a manner to unreasonably restrict public access to the facility,’ she said.
“‘The Attorney General’s Office has advised boards to take reasonable steps to accommodate all who wish to attend if a large turnout is expected,’ she said. If such space is not available, boards should use technology to allow those who are not able to enter the room to view and hear discussions and proceedings Hamrick said the public interest should be front and center of a government meeting.
“‘The whole purpose of the Sunshine Law is to let the public know what their government is doing and open up every step of the decision-making process,’ she said.”
Laws securing the public’s right to meeting room conditions that allow effective public observation eliminate any doubt or debate.
