According to the Marion Chronicle Tribune there have been complaints of the County Council’s practice of having subcommittees of the county council meeting without posting notice and without keeping minutes. A quick glance at Indiana’s Open Door Law suggests that this is not a violation if the subcommittees are made up of fewer than half of the council members.
This also seems to be the position of Council member Judy Carmichael. General Counsel for the Hoosier State Press Association disagrees:
Key said Carmichael’s interpretation, which excludes the public, is wrong.
“The public can attend the meetings and add comments or at least observe and know what the arguments are,” Key said.
He describes committees as a surrogate of the governing body; therefore, it must inform the public of its meetings and discussion of public information.
I haven’t read any of the case law, so I could well be wrong, but I don’t see anything in the statute that alludes to “surrogacy”. This would seem to be an excellent question for the Indiana Public Access Counselor. Unfortunately, she does not seem to have been consulted for the Chronicle Tribune article.
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