What kinds of government meetings do I have a right to attend? When does a “meeting” occur?

Under the federal Government in the Sunshine Act, all agencies subject to the federal Freedom of Information Act that are headed by a “collegial body” of two or more members, a majority of whom are appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate, are required to hold their meetings in public.  Meetings of sub-divisions of such agencies are also subject to the open meetings requirements.   

Agencies such as the Consumer Product Safety Commission and the Federal Election Commission are collegial bodies.  Cabinet-level meetings and meetings of federal department Secretaries and their staff are not required to be open to the public.   

A “meeting” is defined for purposes of the federal Government in the Sunshine Act as the “deliberations of at least the number of individual agency members required to take action on behalf of the agency where such deliberations determine or result in the joint conduct or disposition of official agency business.”  This means that the public has a right to witness discussion and debate among governmental officials and not simply just be present to witness final votes on a matter that were agreed to in private. 

The law does however, allow government officials to close portions of meetings under certain circumstances.    

Agencies are required to announce in advance the time, place and subject matters of all meetings.  You can often find this information on the agency’s website or through the Federal Register but there is no standard notice method required under the law.  Some agencies do a better job than others efficiently getting word out to the public. 

But some agencies are also beginning to take the additional step of streaming live and archived meetings over the Internet.  Check out the FCC’s latest streaming website.   

U.S. courts and Congressional hearings are not governed by the Government in the Sunshine Act and adhere to distinct access laws and policies. But remember that certain advisory committees are required to hold their meetings in public under the Federal Advisory Committee Act.

What bodies are subject to open meetings laws requirements and what exactly constitutes a “meeting” in a particular state varies.

Check out our State Open Government Guide to see what the law is in %%%STATE%%% regarding access to government meetings.