B. Budget sessions.

"Budget" is an ambiguous and overworked term used, and often abused, to justify executive sessions. There is no legal provision for closed meetings to discuss budgets, per se. In fact, the process of developing the state budget is supposed to be public. See AS 37.07.010(6). But, AS 44.62.310(c)(1) allows a body to discuss in executive session "matters, the immediate knowledge of which would clearly have an adverse effect on the finances of the government unit." AS 44.62.312(b) says this provision must be construed narrowly in order to effectuate the policies underlying the Open Meetings Act and avoid unnecessary executive sessions. So, the budget process should rarely if ever be a proper subject for executive session. Note that the law now requires that a motion to convene an executive session must clearly and with specificity describe the subject of the proposed executive session.