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c O O • j.,EAG U E of MINNESOTA CITIES April 13, 2010 Item 4.b Email Usage and Avoiding Violating Open Meetings Laws CONNECTING & INNOVATING SThCF. 1913 RISK MANAGEMENT INFORMATION ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATIONS BETWEEN COUNCIL MEMBERS Electronic communication such as a-mail correspondence, instant messaging, social media, and blogs and microblogs, can be an unintentional conduit for city officials to violate the Minnesota Open Meeting Law. Elected officials and city committee and board members should be aware of the following issues to avoid inadvertent violation of this law. The Open Meeting Law Under the Minnesota Open Meeting Law, Minn. Stat. § 13D, meetings of at least a quorum of the city council or one of its committees to discuss city business must be publicized and open to the public, subject to a few exceptions. A primary purpose of the law is to make sure information and deliberations about city business are available to the public. The law applies to any discussion about city business, not just voting or official actions, and to any gathering of a quorum of the council or committee. In most cities a quorum is three or more • council or committee members. It's easy to imagine situations in which a quorum might gather -coffee at the local cafe, pre- or post-meeting discussions, a wedding reception or community celebration are all common places in which one or more council members might be present. Such a meeting would create an open meeting concern if the group discussed city business. Although not an obvious meeting, serial meetings also create an open meeting concern if city business was discussed by a quorum. To understand how a serial meeting occurs, imagine that council member A talks to council member B about a city issue, B talks to council member C about that issue, and C talks to A. Serial meetings also can occur through written correspondence, or telephone conference calls. Any of these scenarios could give rise to an open meeting law violation. Violating the law carries with it penalties including personal liability for up to $300 per occurrence and forfeiture of office for officials who intentionally violate the law three times. Reasonable costs and attorney fees also can be awarded if the court finds specific intent to violate the law. Electronic Communications and the Open Meeting Law The Minnesota Open Meeting Law has a number of tricky aspects, not the least of which results from increasing reliance on a-mail and other electronic communication between council or committee members. This material is provided as general information and is not a substitute for legal advice. Consult your attorney for advice concerning specific situations. • LEAGUE OF MINNESOTA C1T1ES t45UNIVERSITYAVC.WCST rHONE(6S1)281-IZOO rnx:(G5l)281-1298 1 N S U RA N C E TRUST sT. rnut. MN sslos-znaa Tou_ FREE: (S00) 925-1122 WEB: W1VW,CMC.ORG