The New York Open Meetings Law: what every meeting needs
Local boards in New York, from the town board to a zoning board of appeals, follow the same law: a meeting is the official convening of the board to conduct public business; notice of the time and place before each meeting, posted and given to the news media, minutes open to the public soon after it, and a closed list of purposes for an executive session.
Clarivis is software that helps a board follow these steps: it counts the notice deadline for each meeting set in Clarivis a week or more ahead, shows the minutes deadline for each meeting and drafts the minutes for your board to correct and approve; it does not post the notice or send it to the news media for you.
Request a pilotChecklist, stage by stage
What the law asks at each point in a meeting’s life. Each stage links to the full guide, with the statute quoted.
Before each meeting
- A notice gives the time and place of the meeting. The Open Meetings Law does not require an agenda. (§ 104(1))
- For a meeting set at least a week ahead, of any kind, the notice is given to the news media and posted in one or more designated public places at least 72 hours before the meeting. (§ 104(1))
- For any other meeting, notice is posted at a reasonable time before it, and given to the news media to the extent practicable. (§ 104(2))
- When the board is able to, the notice is also posted on its website. (§ 104(6))
Between meetings
- A meeting is the official convening of a public body to conduct public business; the law's text does not say whether email among a quorum is one, so the safe course is to keep email and texts among members to scheduling. (§ 102(1))
At the meeting
- The meeting is open to the public, and anyone may record it; the board may set reasonable rules on where recording equipment goes. (§ 103(d)(1))
- An executive session is entered only for a purpose the law lists, on a motion in open session naming the general area of the subject, with a majority of the board's total membership voting yes. (§ 105(1))
Members joining by video
- Video under § 103-a needs a local law or resolution adopted after a public hearing, and written procedures posted on the board's website. A quorum is together where the public can attend, and a member joins remotely only in extraordinary circumstances. (§ 103-a(2))
- Each video meeting is recorded, and the recording is posted within five business days. (§ 103-a(2)(g))
After the meeting
- Minutes record every motion, proposal and resolution, everything formally voted on, and the vote. (§ 106(1))
- Minutes are available to the public within 2 weeks of the meeting. (§ 106(3))
- Minutes of action taken by formal vote in an executive session are available within 1 week. (§ 106(3))
New York guides
- What a New York meeting notice must say, and when to give itTime and place, the news media and a designated public place, the 72-hour notice for a meeting set a week ahead
- New York meeting minutes: what they must record and when they must be availableWhat minutes record, available within 2 weeks
- Executive session in New York: when a board can meet in private, and what followsThe eight purposes, the motion and vote, the minutes
- What counts as a meeting in New York: the official convening and quorumThe official convening, who is covered, and the quorum
- Video meetings in New York: authorization, public access and recordingVideo meetings: authorization, who may join, notice and recording