Who may attend executive sessions under the Oklahoma Open Meeting Act?

Q: “When a City Council calls an executive session by Agenda Notice and vote who has a right to attend? Also is the time of the vote to go into executive session and the time of reconvening to be noted in the regular minutes?” Attendance to executive sessions is limited only when the public body is discussing the “Purchase or appraisal of real property.” (OKLA. STAT. tit. 25, § 307(B)(3))

The Open Meeting Act limits attendance of executive sessions under this topic to “members of the public body, the attorney for the public body, and the immediate staff of the public body. No landowner, real estate salesperson, broker, developer, or any other person who may profit directly or indirectly by a proposed transaction concerning real property which is under consideration may be present or participate in the executive session.” (§ 307(D))

Under the Open Meeting Act, minutes are not required to include the time of the vote to go into executive sessions or the time when the public body reconvenes.

The minutes must be “an official summary of the proceedings showing clearly those members present and absent, all matters considered by the public body, and all actions taken by such public body.” (§ 312(A))

“[M]inutes are simply a written summary of the proceedings, not a word for word transcription." (1996 OK AG 100, ¶ 6. See also 2012 OK AG 24, ¶ 23.)

Joey Senat, Ph.D. Associate Professor OSU School of Media & Strategic Communications

The opinions expressed in this blog are those of the commentators and do not necessarily represent the position of FOI Oklahoma Inc., its staff, board of directors or the commentator’s employer. Differing interpretations of open government law and policy are welcome.