You have a constitutional right to watch your government work.

Not a statutory right that a legislature could repeal next session, but a right written into the Louisiana Constitution of 1974, at Article XII, Section 3:

No person shall be denied the right to observe the deliberations of public bodies and examine public documents, except in cases established by law.

The Open Meetings Law is how that right gets enforced in a room with folding chairs on a Tuesday morning. It is short, specific, and almost every part of it is a deadline that somebody has to meet before a board can act.

The short version#

  • A "meeting" is a quorum deliberating — a simple majority of the body — on anything within its authority. It doesn't have to be called a meeting.
  • 24 hours' written notice, excluding weekends and holidays, with the agenda, date, time, and place. Each item is listed separately and "described with reasonable specificity."
  • The agenda can't change inside that 24-hour window.
  • A public comment period is required before a vote on any agenda item.
  • No secret ballots and no proxy voting. Every vote is out loud and recorded in minutes that are public records.
  • Action taken in violation is voidable — but you have 60 days to sue.
  • Any person may bring the case, and if you win, the court shall award your attorney fees.

What counts as a "meeting"#

Broader than most people think, and where bodies most often go wrong by accident.

Under R.S. 42:13, a meeting is "the convening of a quorum of a public body to deliberate or act on a matter over which the public body has supervision, control, jurisdiction, or advisory power."

Three things follow.

  1. It doesn't have to be called a meeting. No agenda, no gavel, no minutes — if a quorum convenes to deliberate on the body's business, the law applies.
  2. "Quorum" means a simple majority of the total membership. On a five-member board, three people is a quorum. Three commissioners talking business over breakfast is a meeting.
  3. Just receiving information counts. The same section says a meeting also means "the convening of a quorum of a public body by the public body or by another public official to receive information regarding a matter over which the public body has supervision, control, jurisdiction, or advisory power." A briefing is a meeting. A presentation from a developer is a meeting.

What counts as a "public body"#

The list in R.S. 42:13 is long and deliberately so:

village, town, and city governing authorities; parish governing authorities; school boards and boards of levee and port commissioners; boards of publicly operated utilities; planning, zoning, and airport commissions; and any other state, parish, municipal, or special district boards, commissions, or authorities, and those of any political subdivision thereof, where such body possesses policy making, advisory, or administrative functions, including any committee or subcommittee of any of these bodies

Two clauses at the end do a lot of work.

"Special district boards, commissions, or authorities." Waterworks districts, sewerage districts, fire protection districts, and economic development authorities are all within the law — including those whose boards nobody elected. Being appointed rather than elected does not put a board outside the sunshine.

"Including any committee or subcommittee." A three-member committee of a larger board is itself a public body, with its own notice obligation. Committee meetings are one of the most common places where the requirements quietly go unmet.

"Advisory" matters too. A body that only recommends is still covered.

The Legislature's own compilation of the law also carries R.S. 42:12's instruction on how to read all of this: the chapter "shall be construed liberally." Close cases are supposed to resolve toward openness. The same section requires every public body to post a copy of the chapter.

The notice rule, which is the one most often broken#

R.S. 42:19 requires written public notice of any regular, special, or rescheduled meeting no later than 24 hours before it, excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and legal holidays.

That notice must include the agenda, date, time, and place. And then the requirement that matters most:

The agenda shall not be changed less than twenty-four hours … prior to the scheduled time of the meeting. Each item on the agenda shall be listed separately and described with reasonable specificity.

"Reasonable specificity" is the phrase to remember. An agenda item reading "Old business" or "Discussion of contracts" is not a description; it is a placeholder. A resident reading the agenda should be able to tell whether the issue they care about will be decided.

If the body has a website, notice also has to go there for the same 24-hour period. Otherwise it goes at the body's principal office or in the official journal.

Note what the clock excludes. Notice posted at 4 p.m. Friday for a 9 a.m. Monday meeting has not met the 24-hour requirement, because the weekend doesn't count.

Your right to speak#

Under R.S. 42:14, a public body holding a meeting subject to the notice requirement

shall allow a public comment period at any point in the meeting prior to action on an agenda item upon which a vote is to be taken.

Before the vote. Not after, and not at the end of the meeting once the decision is made. The body may adopt "reasonable rules and restrictions" — a time limit, a sign-up sheet — but it cannot skip it.

The same section bans the workarounds:

Each public body shall be prohibited from utilizing any manner of proxy voting procedure, secret balloting, or any other means to circumvent the intent of this Chapter.

And every vote must be viva voce — out loud — and recorded in minutes, which R.S. 42:20 makes a public document. You are entitled to know how each member voted.

Executive session, and its limits#

Bodies can close a meeting, but not casually.

Under R.S. 42:16, an executive session requires an affirmative vote of two-thirds of the members present, taken at an open meeting that was properly noticed. The vote of each member and the reason for closing must be recorded in the minutes. And critically:

no final or binding action shall be taken during an executive session

The permitted reasons are listed at R.S. 42:17 — discussion of a person's character, competence, or health; strategy on collective bargaining, litigation, or prospective litigation after a formal written demand; and several others.

Two limits inside that list matter:

A person being discussed has rights. They must get 24 hours' written notice, and they may require that the discussion be held at an open meeting. That choice belongs to them, not the board.

Appointments and contracts are generally not eligible. R.S. 42:17 states that nothing in that paragraph permits an executive session "for discussion of the appointment of a person to a public body or … for discussing the award of a public contract," subject to a narrow procurement exception.

The section closes by saying an executive session may not be used "as a subterfuge to defeat the purposes of this Chapter."

What happens when a body gets it wrong#

The action can be undone. R.S. 42:24: "Any action taken in violation of this Chapter shall be voidable by a court of competent jurisdiction." A vote taken after a bad agenda or in an improper closed session is not automatically valid because it happened.

The clock is short. A suit to void must be brought within sixty days of the action — the most important number in this article. A violation you discover in November from a meeting in July is generally past the window to void.

You can bring the case yourself. R.S. 42:25 assigns enforcement to the attorney general statewide and to each district attorney within their district — and then adds that "any person who has been denied any right conferred by the provisions of this Chapter or who has reason to believe that the provisions of this Chapter have been violated may institute enforcement proceedings." You do not need the AG's permission or a DA's blessing.

If you win, they pay your lawyer. R.S. 42:26: "If a party who brings an enforcement proceeding … prevails, the party shall be awarded reasonable attorney fees and other costs of litigation." Shall, not may. Partial wins can get partial fees. The courts can also issue mandamus, an injunction, or a declaratory judgment. (Fair warning in the other direction: a proceeding found frivolous and without substantial justification can result in fees against you.)

Members can be personally liable. R.S. 42:28 makes any member who "knowingly and wilfully participates in a meeting conducted in violation of this Chapter" subject to a civil penalty of up to $500 per violation — and the member "shall be personally liable for the payment of such penalty." Suit within sixty days.

Six things to check at your next meeting#

  1. When was the agenda posted? Count backward 24 hours, skipping the weekend and holidays.
  2. Is each item described specifically enough that you could tell what's being decided? "Reasonable specificity" is the standard.
  3. Did anything get added inside 24 hours? That's not allowed.
  4. Was there a comment period before the vote — not after?
  5. If they went into executive session: was there a two-thirds vote of those present, taken in the open, with the reason recorded? Did they take any binding action behind the door?
  6. Are the minutes posted, and do they show how each member voted?

If the answer to any of these is no, note the date. The sixty-day clock starts at the action, not at your discovery of it.

Where to take it#

You have three routes, and they are not exclusive.

  • The body itself. Most violations are procedural mistakes by people doing a part-time job, and a lot of them get fixed by someone pointing them out. Start here unless there's reason not to.
  • The district attorney, or the attorney general. Both are required to institute proceedings on a complaint, unless they give written reasons for declining. That written explanation is itself a public record.
  • Court, yourself. With the fee-shifting provision, this is more available than it sounds.

And if what you need is the paperwork rather than the meeting, that's the other statute — see how Louisiana's public records law works.

Accountability box: the Open Meetings Law

  • What it is: La. R.S. 42:11 et seq., enforcing La. Const. art. XII, § 3.
  • Who it covers: City, town, and parish governing authorities; school boards; boards of publicly operated utilities; planning, zoning, and airport commissions; special district boards; any state, parish, or municipal board with policy-making, advisory, or administrative functions — and their committees and subcommittees.
  • Notice required: 24 hours, excluding weekends and legal holidays, with agenda, date, time, and place.
  • Agenda specificity: Each item listed separately, "described with reasonable specificity"; no changes inside 24 hours.
  • Public comment: Required before a vote on an agenda item; reasonable rules allowed.
  • Closing a meeting: Two-thirds of members present, voted in the open, reason recorded. No binding action in executive session.
  • If violated: Action voidable; suit within 60 days. Any person may sue. Prevailing plaintiff shall receive attorney fees. Members knowingly participating face up to $500 per violation, personally.
  • Who enforces: The attorney general statewide; district attorneys within their districts; and any person.