Attorney General Opinion No. 108-008 (R08-036)
Application of Arizona's Open Meeting Law to Meetings of Public Bodies Conducted Online
This recent Attorney General Opinion answers the question of whether Arizona’s Open Meeting Law allows a public body to conduct deliberations and discussion in an online meeting when it provides proper notice and facilitates public access to the online meeting through the internet.
The Attorney General opined that a public body can lawfully hold a virtual meeting, including one comprised of serial communications through the Internet such as through the use of a message board. Communications between a quorum of a public body’s members can constitute a meeting even if the communications do not happen at the same time or place. It is lawful for a public body to hold such a meeting as long as the public body scrupulously complies with notice requirements, minute-keeping requirements, and other provisions of the Open Meeting Law, and makes all reasonable efforts to facilitate the public’s access to the meeting.
The use of technology potentially allows the public broader access to public meetings than would otherwise be possible, though it also creates obstacles because not everyone has equal access to technology. This is a challenge because Open Meeting Law requires that "all persons so desiring shall be permitted to attend and listen to the deliberations and proceedings" at any meeting. A.R.S. § 38-431.01. A public body should therefore take measures to ensure the public’s access to the meeting, for example by providing free internet access at a location near the Board office and maintaining regular print-outs of the online deliberations.
The Attorney General suggests that a public body holding such a meeting should provide clear notice as to when the meeting will begin and end, and should provide clear instructions for accessing the meeting, including instructions for accessing and using any necessary software. The public body should clearly identify how it plans to facilitate public access, and must provide reasonable accommodations for the disabled as required by federal law. If a further meeting is planned at which the public body will take legal action according to the results of the online meeting, the notice should include the date and time of that meeting as well.
