The Oklahoma Bar Journal November 2022

that occur when members of a public body congregate prior to a meeting or linger afterward while visiting. If a quorum is present in such a group and public business is discussed, a new meeting has been convened and necessarily violates the OMA because the required notice has not been given, and no agenda advising the public of the meeting and topics to be dis cussed has been posted. This often, unfortunately, occurs when several members of the public body begin rehashing an item on the agenda once the meeting has ended. Likewise, one member of a public body may not meet with other members outside of a public meet ing to obtain a consensus on an item of business. 4 Caution should also be exercised with email. A meeting is created and the OMA is violated whenever a public body

bodies should be vigilant when a majority of the members are in attendance at a social event such as a reception, chamber of commerce meeting, ribbon cutting or opening of a new business, or holiday parade or celebration. Members of a public body should be cautioned not to gather closely in groups sufficient to constitute a quorum and to refrain from discussing any business affecting the public body. Members of a public body are best advised not to travel to such events in the same vehicle or congregate within a small group at the event. Having a staff member or citizen stand with members of a public body is also advisable because they may later testify that no public business was discussed while they were present. Far more insidious than gather ing at community and social func tions are the accidental meetings

with expending public funds. The definition of a public body does not include the judiciary, Legislature or meetings of administrative staff employed by a public body. A public body additionally does not include committees that are purely infor mational or charged solely with fact-finding or advisory committees with no decision-making authority. 3 In conjunction with §304(1), §304(2) defines a “meeting” as con ducting business of a public body by a majority of its members meeting together. Meetings shall not include informal gatherings of a major ity of the members of the public body when no business regarding the public body will be discussed. However, attorneys should be aware of several potential pitfalls when determining whether or not a meeting is actually being held. First and foremost, attorneys for public

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THE OKLAHOMA BAR JOURNAL