When A Meeting Is Public
Gen. Prov. § 3-301 — open session, reasonable advance notice, and the right to attend
In Maryland, a public body meets in open session, except as the open meetings title expressly provides otherwise. Whenever a public body meets in open session, the general public is entitled to attend.
Before meeting in a closed or open session, a public body gives reasonable advance notice. Whenever reasonable, the notice is in writing, gives the date, time and place, and states if part or all of the meeting may be held in closed session.
- A unit of State government may give notice by publication in the Maryland Register.
- Notice may go to news media that regularly report on the body's sessions.
- Where the body has said beforehand that it will use the method, notice may be posted at a convenient public location near the session or on a website the body ordinarily uses.
- The body keeps a copy of each notice for at least 3 years after the session.
A public body adopts and enforces reasonable rules on the conduct of people attending its meetings and on videotaping, televising, photographing, broadcasting or recording them. If the presiding officer determines that someone's behavior is disrupting an open session, the body may have that person removed.
The purposes for which a closed session may be held, the minutes rules, and the complaint and court remedies for a violation are in other sections of the title and are not reproduced here. Whether a particular gathering was a meeting of a public body is a question for a court and for a licensed Maryland attorney.
Sources for this section (3)
- Md. Code, Gen. Prov. § 3-301 — Open meetings required
- Md. Code, Gen. Prov. § 3-302 — Notice of meetings
- Md. Code, Gen. Prov. § 3-303 — Public attendance; rules on conduct and recording
Legal information, not legal advice. Verified as of October 2026. Applying it to a particular situation is the work of a licensed Maryland attorney.