Public Meetings Toolkit - Oregon Department of Justice

Oregon’s Public Meetings Law promotes democracy and transparency.

Oregonians have a right to have governing bodies deliberate and decide matters openly in public and to know of the information upon which decisions are made.

The purpose of this toolkit is to:

Help governing bodies understand their obligations.
Assist the public in understanding how to make sure governing bodies comply with the law.
Provide links to resources and answers to commonly asked questions about Oregon’s Public Meetings Law.

Public Meetings Toolkit:

Checklist to Ensure Public Meeting is Properly Noticed: Before a member of a governing body attends a public meeting, the governing body member should review the Checklist and make sure each of the public notice and other requirements are satisfied. This includes providing the public notice sufficiently in advance, with specific requirements for regular meetings, special meetings, and emergency meetings. See Public Meetings Notice Checklist.
Executive Session Notice: Before a governing body may enter into an executive session, the governing body must publicly post or announce the statutory basis for their executive session. The purpose of the executive session is to allow the governing body to deliberate, but not decide, matters authorized by statute outside of public view. Members of the news media are generally allowed to attend the executive session, except in certain cases. ORS 192.660(4)..
Enforcement: If you believe a governing body has violated the public meetings law, you have two options: (1) follow the grievance and complaint process to submit a complaint with the Oregon Government Ethics Commission (OGEC) under ORS 192.685 and 192.705; or (2) file a civil action in circuit court under ORS 192.680.
- Grievance/Complaint Filed with the Oregon Government Ethics Commission. You have 30 days from the date of the alleged Public Meeting Law violation to utilize the grievance/complaint process. Filing a grievance/complaint with the Oregon Government Ethics Commission is a two-step process. First, you must file your grievance with the public body alleged to have violated the Public Meetings Law. The public body then has 21 days to respond. If you are not satisfied with the response, you may then file a complaint with the Oregon Government Ethics Commission.
- File a Lawsuit. ORS 192.680 also allows any person affected by a decision of a governing body to file suit in the circuit court for the county in which the governing body ordinarily meets for the purpose of requiring compliance with the Public Meetings Law, to prevent violations of the Public Meetings Law, or to determine the applicability of the Public Meetings law to matters or decisions of the governing body. A lawsuit filed under this section must be filed within 60 days from the date the decision becomes public record.
Request Assistance from the Oregon Government Ethics Commission: If you are a governing body member or member of the public, you may seek assistance from the Oregon Government Ethics Commission about compliance questions with the Public Meetings Law. Staff can provide advice and guidance on the Public Meetings Law with respect to actual or hypothetical circumstances. You may contact the Oregon Government Ethics Commission staff by calling (503) 378-5105 or emailing mail@ogec.oregon.gov(Opens in a new tab/window).
Attorney General’s Public Records and Meetings Manual: The Attorney General publishes and periodically updates a manual to help citizens, state agencies, and local governments better understand and comply with Oregon’s Public Meetings Law.

Oregon Public Meeting Toolkit FAQs

What is a public meeting?

Open AllA public meeting is the gathering of a quorum (usually majority) of members of a governing body with the authority to make decisions for, or recommendations to, a public body about matters of policy or administration. A public meeting may be held when the members meet together in person, by telephone or electronic means, or a combination of methods. PML Manual Appendix I.

What does quorum mean?

Quorum means the minimum number of members of a body needed to be present at a meeting for a body to make a decision. See OAR 199-050-0005(9). In most circumstances, it means a simple majority of members of a body. For example, if a body has seven (7) members, a quorum would be four (4) members.

The Public Meetings Law uses the term Governing Body and Public Body, what is the difference?

The terms used in the Public Meetings Law can be confusing. In fact, one body may be both a Public Body and Governing Body as those terms are used in the Public Meetings Law. Generally, the term Public Body means a body of government, such as the State or State Agency, a City, a County, a Special District, or a School District, among other examples. A Governing Body consists of the members of a body that make decisions or recommendations on behalf of the Public Body. For example, the Board of Education, City Council, City Planning Commission, County Commission, County Fair Board, School District Board, Water Board, and Community College Board are all examples of governing bodies. Also, when these bodies appoint another body to advise them on matters of policy or administration, the advisory body is also a Governing Body under the Public Meetings Law.

Who is subject to Public Meetings Law?

Each governing body and the individual members of a governing body are subject to the Public Meetings Law.

Can a quorum of governing body members meet to discuss business outside of a public meeting?

Generally, no, but there are circumstances where a governing body may discuss certain topics outside of public view. A quorum of a governing body must normally meet to discuss business in public, unless the business involves a topic that is authorized to be discussed in Executive Session under ORS 192.660. If that is the case, the body must announce the reason it is entering into executive session and no decisions may be made in executive session.

Additionally, certain bodies’ deliberations and certain other topics may be discussed in private if they are authorized to do so under ORS 192.690. For example, deliberations of the Psychiatric Security Review Board or the State Board of Parole and Post-Prison Supervision are not subject to the Public Meetings Law and may be conducted in private. So too are communications between or among members of a governing body that are: (A) Purely factual or educational in nature and that convey no deliberation or decision on any matter that might reasonably come before the governing body; (B) Not related to any matter that, at any time, could reasonably be foreseen to come before the governing body for deliberation and decision; or (C) Nonsubstantive in nature, such as communication relating to scheduling, leaves of absence and other similar matters.

What are serial communications or serial meetings and are they allowed?

Serial communications or serial meetings are when a quorum of the members of a governing body, outside of a public meeting, use a series of communications, directly or through intermediaries, for the purpose of deliberating or deciding a matter that is within the jurisdiction of the governing body. Serial communications or serial meetings involving a quorum of members of a body are generally not allowed, unless the serial communications or serial meetings otherwise comply with the requirements of the Public Meetings Law.

I’m a governing body member and I’d like to know if my proposal will have the support of the other members of the body. Can I poll votes of a majority of the other members of the body outside of a public meeting?

No. Decisions and votes must occur in a public meeting. The public meetings law does not allow a member to poll the votes of a majority of members to see if a proposal will have the body’s support, unless the polling of votes is done at an open public meeting.

I’m a governing body member. Does the Public Meetings Law prohibit me from communicating with members of the public or the media?

The Public Meetings Law Prohibit does not prohibit governing body members from communicating with members of the public or the media. Governing body members may communicate with constituents and the media about matters of public concern, including matters within the body’s jurisdiction. Communications to constituents or the media are not serial communications. The serial communications limitations of the public meetings law apply to communications among a quorum of members of the governing body if those communications occur outside of a public meeting.

Is a violation of the Public Meetings Law grounds for removal from office?

A violation of the Public Meetings Law alone is not grounds for removal from office. However, under ORS 244.270, if the Oregon Government Ethics Commission finds that an appointed public official violated the Public Meetings Law “with intentional disregard of the law or willful misconduct,” the finding is prima facie evidence of unfitness where removal is authorized for cause either by law or pursuant to section 6, Article VII (Amended) of the Oregon Constitution.

I am a member of a governing body and may have a conflict of interest involving a vote or recommendation that I am making. What should I do?

If you have questions about how to deal with a conflict of interest, you may contact the Oregon Government Ethics Commission for advice on how to handle a specific conflict of interest. You may email the Oregon Government Ethics Commission at mail@ogec.oregon.gov or call 503-378-5105. If a member of a governing body has a conflict of interest at a public meeting, then before taking any action, vote, or recommendation, the public official must publicly declare at a public meeting that a conflict of interest exists and describe the nature of the conflict. That means the public official must describe how an issue, vote or recommendation would (actual conflict) or could (potential conflict) financially affect the public official, their relative, a household member, or a business with which the public official, their relative, or their household member is associated. It is not enough to merely state that you have a conflict. All conflicts of interest disclosures must occur at an open meeting. If a member of a governing body has a conflict of interest arising from an Executive Session, the member must make the conflict of interest declaration in the open portion of the meeting before entering into an Executive Session. When noticing an Executive Session only meeting, a governing body may also want to include in the Notice for that meeting an Open Session portion of the meeting to occur immediately preceding the Executive Session for the purpose of allowing members the opportunity to declare conflicts of interest in the Open Session before entering into an Executive Session. Generally, for an actual conflict of interest, a public official must abstain from taking any action or vote on a matter. For potential conflicts of interest, a public official may still take action and votes on a matter after declaring the conflict of interest. However, there are exceptions to these general rules and the public official should contact the Oregon Government Ethics Commission for additional guidance if they believe an exception may apply. An example script for actual and potential conflicts is below:

Actual Conflict: At the public meeting state: I have an actual conflict of interest. The conflict arises because [insert specific facts, listing the person being financially impacted and the companies involved, and how the conflict is related to the public official’s decision, recommendation, action, or vote]. Because this is an actual conflict of interest, I am recusing myself from any discussion or vote on this matter.

Potential Conflict: At the public meeting state: I have a potential conflict of interest. The conflict arises because [insert specific facts, listing the person being financially impacted and the companies involved, and how the conflict is related to the public official’s decision, recommendation, action, or vote]. Because this is a potential conflict, I will still participate in this matter.