Ohio Attorney General’s Opinions

Open Meetings Act

2008-019 R.C. 183.061, Non-profit Corporation
2007-019 Board of Township Trustees, Minute Approval, Regular Meetings
2000-035 Board of Zoning Appeals, Public Hearings, R.C. 519.14
1996-010 Board of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities, Regular Meetings
1995-030 District Advisory Council, R.C. 3709.03, Board of Health, State Director of Health, Special Meetings
1995-001 PASSPORT Administrative Agency, Public Office
1994-096 Board of Health of a General Health District, Public Body
1994-014 Panels, Erie County Court of Common Please
1993-012 Industrial Commission, Public Body
NOTE: Opinions before 1992 are not currently available online. Below are summaries of the opinions
1992-078 Board of Directors of County Agricultural Society
  The board of directors of a county agricultural society is a public body subject to the open meeting requirements of R.C. 121.22.
1992-077 Advisory Committee, Public Bodies Legislatively Created
  An advisory committee legislatively created by a board of county commissioners to make recommendations to the board on matters relating to a proposed county jail is a public body subject to the provisions of R.C. 121.22.
1992-065 Housing Advisory Board, R.C. 176.01
  A housing advisory board created by a county under R.C. 176.01 is a public body for purposes of R.C.121.22.
1992-032 Meeting Location, Board of Township Trustees, Executive Session
  A board of township trustees must conduct its open meetings in a public meeting place, as determined in its fair and impartial discretion; board of township trustees may not conduct an executive session from which the public is excluded in order to deliberate about a proposed zoning change, even if the board ultimately votes on that matter in an open meeting, unless the deliberations were solely for the purpose of discussing one or more of the six subject areas listed in R.C. 121.22(G).
1992-028 Power to Call Meetings for a Public Body, R.C. 5715.09
  Unless a statutory or constitutional provision expressly grants a specific officer of a public body the power to make the decision to call a meeting of such body, the power to make the decision is vested in the body itself and not in an individual officer; the decision that a meeting is necessary requires a concurrence of a majority of the body; pursuant to R.C. 5715.09, the secretary of the board of revision has the power to call a meeting of the board as necessary.
1988-087 Rules for Conduct of Meetings, Board of Township Trustees
  A board of township trustees has authority to adopt reasonable rules for the conduct of its meetings; such rules may not prohibit audio and video recording of township proceedings, but may regulate such recording to promote the orderly transaction of business without unreasonably interfering with the rights of those present.
1988-029 Public Utilities Commission Nominating Council
  The Public Utilities Commission Nominating Council is a public body as defined in R.C. 121.22.
1988-003 R.C. 121.22(G)(2), Property Defined, PERS, Executive Session
  The word “property” as used in R.C. 121.22(G)(2) means real and personal property, which includes both tangible and intangible property; the PERS may discuss in executive session the purchase or sale of tangible or intangible property authorized under R.C. 145.11, including but not limited to such items as bonds, notes, stocks, shares, securities commercial paper, and debt or equity interests.
1986-091 Ohio Legal Rights Service Commssion
  The Ohio Legal Rights Service Commission is a public body for purposes of R.C. 121.22.
1985-048 Majority of Members, R.C. 121.22(C), Board of County Commissioners
  The open meeting requirements of R.C. 121.22 and R.C. 305.09 are satisfied where a board of county commissioners convenes a public meeting at which only two of the three members are present and the third member of the board, who is not physically present, participates in such board proceedings by means of communications equipment (prior to enactment of R.C. 121.22(C)).
1985-046 Statewide Health Coordinating Council, R.C. 3702.56(C), Public Notice, Hearing Procedure
  In its development of amendments to the state health plan, the Statewide Health Coordinating Council (SHCC), must, pursuant to R.C. 3702.56(C), following the procedures set forth in R.C. 119.03(A), (B), (C), and (H), with the exception of requirements imposed pursuant to R.C. 119.03(D), (E), (F), (G), and (I); in particular, the SHCC must follow the public notice and hearing procedures of R.C. 119.03(A) and (C) and must file proposals with the Secretary of State, the Director of the Legislative Service Commission, and the Joint Committee on Agency Rule Review under R.C. 119.03(B) and (H); but proposed amendments to the state health plan are not subject to invalidation by the General Assembly pursuant to R.C. 119.03(I).
1985-044 Township Board of Zoning Appeals, Executive Session
  A township board of zoning appeals is a public body for purposes of R.C. 121.22; a township board of zoning appeals may not conduct, in an executive session, deliberations concerning zoning appeal heard pursuant to R.C. 519.14(A) or (B). (Syllabus, paragraph two, overruled by 2000 Op. Atty. Gen. No. 00-035.)
1982-081 Soldier’s Relief Commission, R.C. 5901.02
  A soldiers’ relief commission established pursuant to R.C. 5901.02 is a public body for the purposes of R.C. 121.22.
1981-005 Duty to Equip Offices, County Board of Education
  Because the superintendents’ offices are, pursuant to R.C. 3319.19, to be used by the county board of education when it is in session, and because the board’s meetings are required by R.C. 121.22 to be open to the public, the duty of the board of county commissioners to provide and equip offices includes the duty to provide some type of conference facility.
1980-083 County Central Committees of a Political Party, Public Body, Executive Session
  A county central committee of a political party is a public body and its members are public officials for purposes of R.C. 121.22; convening the committee pursuant to R.C. 305.02 is a meeting as defined by R.C. 121.22(B)(2), even when the number of members present is fewer than the majority of the total membership; the committee may discuss appointment of a person pursuant to its duties under R.C. 305.02 in executive session under R.C. 121.22(G), however, final voting on such appointment must be held in a public meeting; convening the committee for conducting purely internal party affairs unrelated to the committee’s duties of making appointments to vacant public offices is not a meeting as defined by R.C. 121.22(B)(2).
1979-110 Safety Codes Committee, Industrial Commission, R.C. 121.22
  The Safety Codes Committee, created by resolution of the Industrial Commission for the purpose of reviewing safety code requirements and drafting revisions for consideration by the Industrial Commission, is not a public body for the purposes of R.C. 121.22.
1979-061 Governing Board of a Community Improvement Corporation, R.C. 1702.04, R.C. 1724.01
  The governing board of a community improvement corporation, organized in the manner provided in R.C.1702.04 and R.C. 1724.01 to R.C. 1724.09, inclusive, does not constitute a public body for the purposes of R.C. 121.22 unless designated an agency of a county, municipal corporation, or any combination thereof pursuant to R.C. 1724.10.
1978-059 Internal Security Committee, R.C. 4121.22(D)
  The Internal Security Committee, established by the Industrial Commission and the Bureau of Workers’ Compensation pursuant to R.C. 4121.22(D), is a public body for purposes of R.C. 121.22.
1977-075 Ohio Civil Rights Commission, Final Terms of Conciliation
  Pursuant to R.C. 4112.05(B), the Ohio Civil Rights Commission may not reveal the final terms of conciliation,written or unwritten, to members of the general public who are not parties to the matters conciliated.