ACCESS TO MEETINGS

C. Attorney General Opinions:

1. Rules of Order: A public body can formulate reasonable
guidelines regarding public participation at meetings. The right of the
public to be present at meetings of a public body includes the right to
share their views on the matters before the body within guidelines
and rules promulgated by the board regarding public participation.
Reasonable time, place, and manner regulations are permissible but
any content-based restriction must be narrowly tailored to meet a
compelling state interest. A board may not discriminate between
speakers on the basis of their employment or the content of their
speech. Ala. Op. Atty. Gen. 98-00074 (Jan. 13, 1998).

A public body has the right to determine whether public comments
will be allowed, except in those cases where the law requires a public
hearing. It is good public policy to allow citizens and taxpayers to
express their views within guidelines and restrictions established by
that body. Order and decorum must be maintained at public
meetings. Because of time, place and manner constraints, it may not
be possible to allow every citizen to express themselves on each and
every issue at every meeting. A citizen does not have an unbridled
right to express their views at a public meeting. Ala. Op. Atty. Gen.
98-00134 (Apr. 28, 1998).

2. Types of Agencies Subject to Sunshine Law: Generally, entities
created by the Alabama Legislature and to whom legislative powers
are delegated or who disburse public funds are covered. For
example, public corporations which may exercise eminent domain
and can possess and distribute county and municipal funds would be
a board subject to the Sunshine Law. Ala. Op. Atty. Gen. 98-00088
(Feb. 6, 1998)(State Products Mart Authority of Morgan County).
All meetings of a board of equalization are subject to the sunshine
law and should be open to the public. 204 Ala. Op. Atty. Gen. 30
(Sept. 29, 1986).

The meetings of a city solid waste authority, which acts as a
deliberative body to set policy regarding the treatment and disposal
of solid waste, are subject to the sunshine law.212 Ala. Op. Atty.
Gen. 50 (Sept. 22, 1988).

A county hospital board created pursuant to Chapter 21 of Title 22
of the 1975 Code of Alabama is subject to the Sunshine Law. Ala.
Op. Atty. Gen. (97-00107 (Feb. 12, 1997).

A board of equalization may not conduct a closed meeting at which
it considers the valuation of a taxpayer's property. 215 Ala. Op. Atty.
Gen. 39 (June 14, 1989).

The sunshine law applies to legislative committee meetings as well as
to meetings of the entire governmental body. Thus, a legislative
committee may not meet in private, even to consult with its staff or
advisors. 224 Ala. Op. Atty. Gen. 38 (Aug. 22, 1991).

The sunshine law applies to meetings of committees of a city council;
thus, all such meetings must be open to the public. 227 Ala. Op.
Atty. Gen. 38 (May 15, 1992).

Disciplinary action hearings of the Home Builders Licensure Board
are open to the public. Ala. Op. Atty. Gen. 97-00244 (Jul. 31, 1997).

Courthouse security committees are not subject to the sunshine law
because they do not have delegated legislative powers nor do they
disburse public funds. Ala. Op. Atty. Gen. 99-00023 (Oct. 22, 1998).

3. Who May Attend Closed Meetings: All persons, whether
belonging to the media or not, are excluded from executive sessions
involving the discussion of a person's character under the sunshine
law. A person whose good name or character is being discussed in
such a session does not have a right to be present at the session
unless such discussion involves a constitutionally protected property
interest. 213 Ala. Op. Atty. Gen. 25 (Oct. 6, 1988).An assistant
superintendent of education may only sit in on an executive session
of a school board meeting if his or her presence is required in order
to provide due process, or if the board requires the assistant's
presence in an official capacity. Ala. Opt. Atty. Gen. 99-00247 (Jul.
15, 1999).

4. Minutes: Complete and accurate minutes must be kept of meetings
of county hospital boards, city councils and county commissions.
Said minutes shall include motions made and seconded, by whom, as
well as the number of votes for and against matters put to a vote.
Such minutes shall further include information reflecting how each
individual member voted. 217 Ala. Op. Atty. Gen. 26 (Nov. 16,
1989). However, minutes should not be taken at portions of meetings
which are held in executive session and which are not subject to
public disclosure under the Sunshine Law. Ala. Op. Atty. Gen.
97-0013 (Oct. 15, 1996). The Department of Archives and History is
currently working on recommended guidelines it will recommend to
the State Records Commission and the Local Records Commission
for minimum standards for official minutes.

5. What Constitutes a Meeting: All meetings of a school board,
including meetings of the board with its attorney, must be open to the
public except where the character of an individual is discussed.
Informal gatherings of board in superintendent's office before
meetings is not a violation of the sunshine law if no business of the
board is conducted in any way. 208 Ala. Op. Atty. Gen. 21 (Aug. 6,
1987).

Informal meetings of a board of education are open to the public. 174
Ala. Op. Atty. Gen. 41 (March 27, 1979).
Governing bodies may not meet in private to discuss a meeting
agenda before the meeting. 224 Ala. Op. Atty. Gen. 38 (Aug. 22,
1991).

6. Polling: A county school board's practice of taking votes by mail
between meetings violates the state open meetings law. 180 Ala. Op.
Atty. Gen. 35 (Sept. 12, 1980). All voting must be public and cannot
be conducted by mail. 180 Ala. Op. Atty. Gen. 35 (Sept. 12, 1980).
Presumably, electronic polling (telephone, fax or e-mail) would also
be prohibited. However, an electronic, on-line hookup with open
audio and video connections may comply - although the office of
Attorney General has yet to consider such a system.

7. Notice: The Birmingham City Council may vary times and places
of meetings provided that the time and place are fixed by the council
and the public given adequate notice. 173 Ala. Op. Atty. Gen. 15
(Nov. 2, 1978).

8. Good Name and Character: The purpose of the good name and
character exception is to protect the privacy of the person being
discussed. Ala. Op. Atty. Gen. 99-00247 (July 15, 1999)

9. Students: A board of education may close a meeting to discuss
drug offenses of individual students. Voting in such matters should
be open to the public, but the identity of the students should not be
disclosed. 208 Ala. Op. Atty. Gen. 21 (Aug. 6, 1987).

10. Personnel Matters: A county personnel board cannot hold closed
meetings to discuss personnel matters in general. The board can,
however, hold a closed meeting when the character or good name of
an individual is involved. 205 Ala. Op. Atty. Gen. 16 (Oct. 29, 1986).

When a meeting is held by a board of education for the purpose of
evaluating a superintendent of education, only those portions of a
meeting which involve the character and good name of the
superintendent may be held in executive session. 1994 WL 907925
(Ala. A.G. Dec. 7, 1994).

Only those portions of a grievance hearing held by a county board of
education where the good name or character of a person is involved
may be held in executive session and any action taken by the board
must be done in an open meeting. An employee handbook cannot
override the Sunshine Law. Ala. Op. Atty. Gen. 99-00111 (Feb. 17,
1999).