Open Meeting Law Advisory Commission

Open Meeting Law Advisory Commission
October 25, 2010 Public meeting
One Ashburton, Place, Boston, 21st Floor
Members present: Robert Ambrogi, Loretta Lillios, Peter Hechenbleikner
Members absent: Sen. Brian Joyce, Rep. Steve Walsh
Others present: Britte McBride, Director, Division of Open Government, Attorney
General’s Office; Jonathan Sclarsic, Assistant Attorney General, Attorney General’s
Office, Josh Harrell from Rep. Steve Walsh’s office Joshua.harrell@mahouse.gov
Chair Loretta Lillios
http://www.mass.gov/?pageID=cagosubtopic&L=4&L0=Home&L1=Government&L2=The+Open+Meeting+Law&L3=Open+Meeting+Law+Advisory+Commission&sid=Cago

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
Office of the Attorney General
One Ashburton Place
Boston, Massachusetts 02108

[ seal ]
Massachusetts Attorney General
Martha Coakley
http://mass.gov/ago/openmeetings
Phone: 617 727-2200
TTY 617 727-4765
openmeeting@state.ma.us

OPEN MEETING LAW COMPLAINT FORM
Instructions for completing the Open Meeting Law Complaint Form

The Office of the Attorney General's Division of Open Government is responsible for interpreting and enforcing the Open Meeting Law.

Pursuant to G.L. c. 30A, §23,
http://www.malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartI/TitleIII/Chapter30A
the Open Meeting Law requires that, prior to filing a complaint with the Attorney General, complaints must first be filed with the public body that is alleged to have committed the violation.

The complaint must be filed with the public body within 30 days of the alleged violation, or if the alleged Open Meeting Law violation could not reasonably have been known at the time it occurred, then within 30 days of the date it should reasonably have been discovered.

The complaint must set forth the circumstances which constitute the alleged violation, giving the public body an opportunity to remedy the alleged violation.



Please complete the entire form, providing as much information as possible, to assist the public body in responding to your complaint.

You may attach additional materials to your complaint if necessary.

The public body may request additional information if necessary.

The Division of Open Government will not, and public bodies are not required to, investigate anonymous complaints.



Complaints alleging a violation of the Open Meeting Law by a local public body must be filed with the clerk of the city or town where the alleged violation occurred.

Complaints alleging a violation by a county, regional or state public body must be filed with the chair of the public body.



If you are not satisfied with the action taken by the public body in response to your complaint, you may file a copy of your complaint with the Attorney General 30 days after filing your complaint with the public body.

The complaint must include this form and any documents relevant to the alleged violation.

A complaint may be filed either by mail or by hand with the:

Office of the Attorney General
Division of Open Government
One Ashburton Place
Boston, MA 02108

The Attorney General may decline to investigate a complaint that is filed with the Attorney General more than 90 days after the alleged OML violation, unless an extension was granted to the public body or the complainant demonstrates good cause for the delay.




[ seal ]
Massachusetts Attorney General
Martha Coakley

OPEN MEETING LAW COMPLAINT FORM

Office of the Attorney General
One Ashburton Place
Boston, MA 02108
http://mass.gov/ago/openmeetings
Phone: 617 727-2200
TTY 617 727-4765
openmeeting@state.ma.us

Your Contact Information:
First Name: Last Name:
Address:
City: State: Zip Code:
Phone Number: Ext.
Email:
Organization or Media Affiliation (if any):

Are you filing the complaint in your capacity as an individual, representative of an organization, or media?
(For statistical purposes only)
[__]Individual [__]Organization [__]Media

Public Body that is the subject of this complaint:
[__]City/Town [__]County [__]Regional/District [__]State

Please note that all fields are required unless otherwise noted.

Name of Public Body (including city/town, county or region, if applicable):

Specific person(s), if any, you allege committed the violation:

Date of alleged violation:

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Description of alleged violation:
Describe the alleged violation that this complaint is about. If you believe the alleged violation was intentional, please say so and include
the reasons supporting your belief.
Note: This text field has a maximum of 3000 characters.

What action do you want the public body to take in response to your complaint?
Note: This text field has a maximum of 500 characters.

Review, sign, and submit your complaint
Read this important notice and sign your complaint.

Under most circumstances your complaint will be considered a public record and be available to any member of the public upon request.

I understand that when I submit this complaint the Attorney General's Office cannot give me legal advice and cannot act as my personal lawyer.

I certify that the information contained on this form is true to the best of my knowledge.

Signed: ___________________________________________ Date:____________________________

By filling in my name and checking this box, I certify that the information I have provided is true and correct to the best of my knowledge, and that I adopt this as my online signature.
Declaration:[__]

For Use By Public Body
Date Received by Public Body:

For Use By AGO
Date Received by AGO:

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