Request By:
Ms. Anna Holman
Editor
The Clay City Times
P.O. Box 218
Clay City, Kentucky 40312
Opinion
Opinion By: Robert F. Stephens, Attorney General; By: Carl Miller, Assistant Attorney General
You have requested an opinion of the Attorney General as to the legality of actions taken in meetings held in violation of the Kentucky Open Meetings Law by the Menifee County Fiscal Court. You state that the Court held three meetings in 1975, three meetings in 1976 and one meeting on January 20, 1977; that all of said meetings were called meetings held without notifying the news media. You further state that your paper, The Clay City Times, has filed with the Court a request to be notified of all called and special meetings.
KRS 61.825 provides that when a special meeting is called by a public agency, notice must be given to each local radio or television station which has on file with the agency a written request to be notified of special meetings. Said notice of a special meeting must be delivered personally or by mail the last 24 hours prior to time of such meeting except in an emergency.
You state the following:
"We would like the Attorney General's ruling as to the legality of the business conducted and what recourse to follow concerning this matter, since this court has continually operated in direct violation of Kentucky's open meetings law."
KRS 61.830 provides:
"Any ruling, resolution, regulation, ordinance or other formal action of a public agency without substantial compliance of the requirements of KRS 61.810, 61.815, 61.820 and 61.825 shall be voidable by a court of competent jurisdiction."
The circuit courts of Kentucky have jurisdiction to enforce the Open Meetings Law. Unless some citizen brings an action in the circuit court to have the actions taken in illegal meetings declared void, said actions shall be considered legal and of full force and effect. Actions taken in illegal meetings are not void but only voidable.
In addition to being authorized to declare void the actions taken in an illegal meeting, a circuit court is also empowered by KRS 61.991 to punish the members of an agency who take part in an illegal meeting by levying a fine of not more than $100. The court may also enjoin an agency from further violating the Open Meetings Law. KRS 61.845 .