June 30, 2014
Not all governmental bodies are large enough to have a full-time public affairs official on staff, but it doesn’t mean they have to go without one. In some cases, agencies outsource those functions to a third-party like TMPR where we work with them on media relations and public information, policy issues, and even as parliamentarian during that entity’s meetings.
The state’s Freedom of Information Act or FOIA is a frequent topic in almost every government agency, and when it comes up, one thing that’s often asked about relates to meeting agendas.
If you think something as simple as an agenda shouldn’t even be a blip on the radar, a number of court decisions would argue that.
In June 2012, the South Carolina Court of Appeals imposed requirements concerning meeting agendas of public bodies.
In Lambries v. Saluda County Council, a resident claimed that Saluda County Council violated South Carolina’s FOIA rules by amending its agenda during meetings.
The court ruled that part of FOIA’s spirit is to provide the public with advanced notice of significant matters that will be publicly discussed. The court said the advanced notice is diminished if an agenda is amended to include new matters during the meeting or during the required 24 hour notice period preceding the meeting.
On June 18, 2014, the South Carolina Supreme Court overturned the lower court’s decision.
It its majority opinion, the court wrote that “FOIA’s notice statute does not require an agenda to be issued for a regularly scheduled meeting, and FOIA contains no prohibition on the amendment of an agenda for a regularly scheduled meeting.” The state’s High Court added that Saluda County Council’s agenda amendment was not a FOIA violation and that the “imposition of any additional restrictions in FOIA is a matter for the General Assembly.”
Counting on action by the General Assembly may be a safe bet, and it may be one of the early pieces of legislation of the 2015 legislative session. Senator Larry Martin (R-Pickens), who chairs the SC Senate Judiciary Committee, indicated shortly after the Supreme Court’s ruling that he wants to review the state’s FOIA law and possibly revise it “on the side of this with as much openness as we can.” He said that local governments will not operate “below radar.”
We know that there will absolutely be circumstances from time-to-time where a council, board, or commission will need to amend its agenda to address unanticipated issues, but overall, TMPR’s “best practice” recommendation would be that whether or not the law is changed, public bodies should continue posting agendas no less than 24 hours in advance — amending them only when absolutely necessary — to effectively demonstrate openness and reinforce trusted relationships between the public and public bodies.
The court’s decision is available HERE.
