The Ohio Open Meetings Act: what every meeting needs

Who must follow it

A public body includes "any legislative authority or board, commission, committee, council, agency, authority, or similar decision-making body of any county, township, municipal corporation, school district, or other political subdivision or local public institution" and "Any committee or subcommittee of a body described in division (B)(1)(a) of this section". (§ 121.22(B)(1)(a), (b), (2))

The Ohio Attorney General's Ohio Sunshine Laws: An Open Government Resource Manual covers this law and the public records law together as Ohio's Sunshine Laws.

Between meetings

• A meeting is "any prearranged discussion of the public business of the public body by a majority of its members", and the Supreme Court of Ohio has held that includes email and text. (§ 121.22(B)(2); White v. King, 147 Ohio St.3d 74, 2016-Ohio-2770, syllabus and ¶¶ 15-18)

What counts as a meeting guide

Before each meeting

• "Every public body, by rule, shall establish a reasonable method whereby any person may determine the time and place of all regularly scheduled meetings and the time, place, and purpose of all special meetings." (§ 121.22(F))
• "The rule shall provide that any person, upon request and payment of a reasonable fee, may obtain reasonable advance notification of all meetings at which any specific type of public business is to be discussed." (§ 121.22(F))
• For a special meeting, including one called only to go into executive session, also give the notice to the news media that have requested notification, if any, at least 24 hours before it; for an emergency meeting, notify them immediately. (§ 121.22(F), second sentence; § 121.22(F), third sentence)
• For a meeting held by video conference under the body's policy: notice to the public and to the news media that have requested notification at least 72 hours ahead, with the time, location, agenda and how the meeting will be conducted. (§ 121.221(B)(3)(a))

Meeting notice guide

At the meeting

• "A member of a public body shall be present in person at a meeting open to the public to be considered present or to vote at the meeting and for purposes of determining whether a quorum is present at the meeting." (§ 121.22(C))
• For a body that has adopted a video-conference policy (§ 121.221(B)(3)) and whose members are neither elected by the general public nor paid for serving, outside some multi-party meetings (§ 121.221(B)(5)): a member who attends by video conference "shall be considered present as if in person at the meeting or hearing, shall be permitted to vote, and shall be counted for purposes of determining whether a quorum is present". (§ 121.221(B))
• No member may attend by video conference a meeting that involves "a vote to approve a major nonroutine expenditure", "a vote to approve a significant hiring decision" or "a purpose to propose, approve, or vote on a tax issue or tax increase". (§ 121.221(B)(5))
• "A resolution, rule, or formal action of any kind is invalid unless adopted in an open meeting of the public body." (§ 121.22(H))
• Executive session: "Except as provided in divisions (G)(8) and (J) of this section, the members of a public body may hold an executive session only after a majority of a quorum of the public body determines, by a roll call vote, to hold an executive session and only at a regular or special meeting for the sole purpose of the consideration of any of the following matters", which the executive session guide lists. For economic development assistance, division (G)(8), the vote is by a unanimous quorum. (§ 121.22(G))

Remote participation guide: policy, notice and who may attend by video

Executive session guide

After the meeting

• "The minutes of a regular or special meeting of any public body shall be promptly prepared, filed, and maintained and shall be open to public inspection." The law sets no number of days. (§ 121.22(C))

Meeting minutes guide

If your city or village has a charter

A city or village with a charter may set its own meeting rules; where the charter clearly and expressly departs from the state open meetings law, the charter controls. (State ex rel. Zimmerman v. Avon Lake, Slip Opinion No. 2026-Ohio-1090, ¶¶ 27-28 (Ohio Const. art. XVIII, §§ 3, 7))