OM 99-15 (1999).
Case Date | November 30, 1999 |
Court | Rhode Island |
Rhode Island Attorney General Opinions
1999.
OM 99-15 (1999).
State of Rhode
IslandDepartment of the Attorney GeneralOM 99-15 (1999)OM 99-15 Town of ScituateAdvisory OM
99-15Advisory PR 99-04November 30, 1999John Gorham, EsquireP.O. Box
46North Scituate, Rhode Island 02857Re: Town of ScituateRequest for Open Meetings Act and Access to Public Records
Act
Advisory Opinion
Dear Mr. Gorham:
Your letter addressed to Attorney General Sheldon Whitehouse has
been forwarded to me for a response. You represent the town of Scituate, and in
that capacity, are requesting an Open Meetings Act (OMA) and Access to Public
Records Act (APRA) advisory opinion.
With respect to your request for an OMA advisory opinion you
relate:
"[w]hen the Zoning Board meets and after it has heard the
evidence, the members, in open session, discuss the evidence and the
application of the Zoning Ordinance to the evidence among themselves, as would
a jury or an appellant [sic] court. The only difference being that the Zoning
Board does this in the open. These discussions are informal and often involve
members comparing exhibits, maps and notes and at this time several
conversations are going on between various members as well as with legal
counsel. Some people in the audience have at times complained that this
violates the open meetings law in that they cannot hear everything that is
being said and that the discussions are not structured formally. After the
discussions have been completed, the Zoning Board again becomes formal, a
motion to adopt a decision is made and voted on by roll call vote."
John Gorham, Esq.
November 29, 1999
Page 2 of 4
You query "whether or not this is proper procedure and also
whether or not it would be proper for the Zoning Board to adjourn to closed
session to deliberate as would a jury or an appellant [sic] court."
Initially, we address your question concerning whether it is
proper for Zoning Board members, in open session, to discuss the evidence in a
manner that prevents the public from hearing the discussion. Since the OMA does
not explicitly address your question, "we examine the statute in its entirety
in order to 'glean the intent and purpose of the Legislature.'" RIH Medical
Foundation, Inc. v. Nolan, 723 A.2d 1123, 1126 (R.I. 1999). Pursuant to this
rule of statutory construction, we observe that:
"[i]t is essential to the maintenance...
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