Request By:
William E. McAnulty, Chairman
Special Commission on Youth
Residential Facilities
Department for Human Resources
Frankfort, Kentucky 40601
Opinion
Opinion By: Steven L. Beshear, Attorney General; Carl T. Miller, Jr., Assistant Attorney General
As Chairman of the Special Commission on Youth Residential Facilities you have requested an opinion of this office on questions concerning the Kentucky Open Meetings Law, KRS 61.805 to 61.850, as it relates to the Commission. You state that the Commission was created by the Secretary for Human Resources by Administrative Order HR 83-3 for the following purposes: (1) to study the recommendations of the Committee on Residential Services for Youth appointed in February, 1980, and (2) to determine if circumstances exist in other agency juvenile facilities which could lead to abuse of those youth committed to the facility.
The first question is whether the Special Commission on Youth Residential Facilities is a public agency subject to the Open Meetings Law. We believe that it is a public agency as defined in KRS 61.805(2) which reads, in part, as follows:
"'Public agency' means any state legislative, executive, administrative or advisory board, commission, committee, policy making board of an institution of education or other state agency which is created by or pursuant to statute or executive order. . . ."
Since the Commission was created by executive order of the Secretary of the Cabinet for Human Resources we believe that it must comply with the Open Meetings Law.
The next question is presented in the context of the following statement in your letter:
"The meetings of the Special Commission have been open to the public and well attended by the press. At this point in its review of the state's policies and procedures, the Commission is interested in discussing with employees of the Department for Social Services alleged incidents which may have occurred in group home settings over the past few months. The membership has expressed to me concern that employees might not be responsive to questioning during the course of an open meeting."
A public body may hold a closed session on any one of five subjects specified in KRS 61.810. Subsection (6) of the statute provides that a closed session may be held on:
"Discussions or hearings which might lead to the appointment, discipline or dismissal of an individual employee, member or student without restricting that employee's, member's or student's rights to a public hearing if requested provided that this exception is designed to protect the reputation of individual persons and shall not be interpreted to permit discussions of general personnel matters in secret."
We believe that since the proposed meeting will involve discussions with employees as to their job performance and the performance of their colleagues, since reputations will be involved and since this type of investigation "might lead to" the disciplining or dismissal of employees, it may be held in closed session. (See OAG 81-413, copy enclosed).
In going into a closed session on an exempted subject matter an agency must follow the procedure provided in KRS 61.815. (See attached opinion, OAG 81-413).