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RELEVANT LINKS: Minn. Stat. § 412.191, subd. 1. Minn. Stat. § 645.08(5). For most public bodies, including statutory cities, a majority of its qualified members constitutes a quorum. Charter cities may provide that a different number of members of the council constitutes a quorum. See Section II-G-4 for more information about serial meetings. The open meeting law does not generally apply in situations where less than a quorum of the council is involved. However, serial meetings in groups of less than a quorum that are held in order to avoid the requirements of the open meeting law may be found to violate the law, depending on the specific facts. F. Open meeting law exceptions The open meeting law is designed to favor public access. Therefore, the few exceptions that do exist are carefully limited to avoid abuse. Minn. Stat. § 13D.05, subd. 1(d). All closed meetings (except those closed under the attorney-client privilege) must be electronically recorded at the expense of the public body. Unless otherwise provided by law, the recordings must be preserved for at least three years after the date of the meeting. Minn. Stat. § 13D.01, subd. 3. Before closing a meeting under any of the following exceptions, a city council must make a statement on the record that includes the specific grounds that permit the meeting to be closed and describes the subject to be discussed. IPAD 14-005. IPAD 13-012. IPAD 06-020. See The Free Press v. County of Blue Earth, 677 N.W.2d 471 (Minn. Ct. App. 2004) (holding that the county’s statement that it was closing a meeting under the attorney- client privilege to discuss “pending litigation” did not satisfy the requirement of describing the subject to be discussed at the closed meeting). The commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Administration has advised that a member of the public body (and not its attorney) must make the statement on the record. The commissioner has also advised that citing the specific statutory authority that permits the closed meeting is the simplest way to satisfy the requirement for stating the specific grounds permitting the meeting to be closed. Both the commissioner and the Minnesota Court of Appeals have concluded that something more specific than a general statement is needed to satisfy the requirement of providing a description of the subject to be discussed. Minn. Stat. § 13D.04, subd. 5. The same notice requirements that apply to open meetings also apply to closed meetings. For example, if a closed meeting takes place at a regular meeting, the notice requirements for a regular meeting apply. Likewise, if a closed meeting takes place as a special meeting or as an emergency meeting, the notice requirements for a special meeting or an emergency meeting would apply. League of Minnesota Cities Handbook for Minnesota Cities 10/2/2014 Meetings, Motions, Resolutions, and Ordinances Chapter 7 | Page 13