Government FAQs

No, there isn’t a list of agencies which have to file.

We can’t answer that question for you. The answer may be different for different public agencies. Here are some of the things you can do to figure out if you need to file regular public meeting notices with us:

• Look at the definitions of “public body” and “official meeting”. Click here for the definitions. Decide if your agency and its meetings fall within the definition
• Look at the law, rule, Executive Order or other legal document that created your public agency. Many laws and other legal documents that create agencies include a reference to the Open Meetings Act. Your public agency may have a law which says it must hold a certain number of meetings in a certain time frame. Those meetings may be regularly scheduled meetings for which you would need to file public meeting notices
• Ask your attorney. If your agency does not have an attorney, ask the Attorney General for help. Click here for contact information for the Attorney General’s Office
• If your agency is governed by an appointed body like a board or commission, ask the person/people who appoint the members of your board or commission

The short answer is that the law requires you to send them to us. Click here to read the Open Meetings Law. We can’t tell you exactly why the General Assembly said you have to file with us. One possibility is that people sometimes have trouble knowing where to look for government agencies on the Internet but know about the Secretary of State’s office.

Not as far as we know. However, if you want to file a meeting notice with us, we will accept it.

Yes, you should file the new schedule with us at least 7 days before the first meeting under the changed schedule. Click here to read the law.

We suggest you think about it like an invitation. What do you need to know to decide if you’re going to accept an invitation? That’s the kind of information you may want to include in your public meeting notices. To help you, we’ve provided a table showing the parallels between an invitation and a public meeting notice.

If you use our electronic calendar and e-file, it works like an e-form. There are mandatory items you have to fill in, marked with an asterisk. There’s also space for optional information. PLEASE NOTE: There’s an optional information space for contact information if someone has questions about the meeting. If you don’t put anything in that blank, it will enter your contact information as a default. That’s because people need to know who to call or email if they have questions about a meeting

• Who’s putting the event on?
  • What’s the name of the public agency holding the meeting?
• When is the event? (Date, maybe day of the week)
  • When is the meeting? (Date, maybe day of the week)
• What time does it start? And, maybe, end?
  • What time does the meeting start? And, maybe, end (if you know)?
• Where is it going to take place?
  • Where is the meeting going to take place? What’s the address? Room number? Building name?
• What kind of event is it going to be?
  • What kind of meeting is it going to be? For example, is it a special meeting or a public hearing?
• How do you RSVP?
  • How can the public get more information? Who should they call or email? What website should they visit?
• Do you need to bring something (like a gift)?
  • Is there an opportunity for public comments? Are there restrictions, e.g., comments limited to 5 minutes?
• Are there any special requests (like letting them know if you need a vegetarian meal)?
  • Does the public need to let you know if they want to speak? How do they do that?
• Are there special arrangements?
  • What else does the public need to know?
  • Will there be a closed session?
  • If it’s a public tele-meeting, how can the public listen in?
  • How can they get a copy of the agenda?
  • Do they need a parking pass – how do they get one?

For more information, you may find the Attorney General’s FAQs and Guide to Open Government helpful. Click here to go to the Attorney General’s website.

Yes. We’ll accept any meeting notices you want to file with us including:

• Special or called meeting notices
• Public hearing notices

1. You control not only what gets posted on line but when it gets posted. 2. You’ll be able to add or edit meetings on line at any time of day or night (which may help with meeting deadlines). 3. Your meeting notices will be quickly posted online. 4. Your meeting notices will be searchable by clicking on a calendar, by entering dates, locations or your agency’s name.. 5. You can send a link to the calendar and meeting notice out to people interested in your meetings.. 6. You provide better customer service to citizens and interested parties.

Yes, the old way of posting meetings is no longer available.

1. Check to see if your agency already has been set up in our system. If not, follow the steps to “request a new entity”. 2. Request an account for yourself (if you don’t already have one) 3. After both you and your agency have accounts, you can begin to add meeting notices to the Calendar.

Yes, you can set up recurring meetings. You can even set up recurring meetings with some different elements. For example, if all meetings except November and December are on the 3rd Thursday, you can do that. First, create the recurring meetings. Then go back in and edit the November and December meetings to change the date

For instructions on how to set up recurring meetings on the Calendar, click here

Yes, you can do that. There are two different ways to approach e-filing those committee meeting notices:

• You can set up each committee’s meeting under your agency. Create the meeting the same way you would an agency meeting. Name the meeting with the committee’s name. We recommend that you consider trying this method.
• You can set up the committee as a new entity and then create the meeting for it. For instructions on setting up accounts and posting meeting notices on the Calendar, click here

No, we do not have a form for filing paper, email or fax meeting notices.