When A Meeting Is Public

In Missouri, every public governmental body gives notice of the time, date and place of each meeting and its tentative agenda, in a manner reasonably calculated to advise the public of the matters to be considered. A meeting held by telephone or other electronic means names the mode and the location where the public may observe and attend.

• Mo. Rev. Stat. § 610.020

• Notice is given at least twenty-four hours before the meeting, not counting weekends and holidays when the facility is closed, unless for good cause that is impossible or impractical.
• Reasonable notice includes copies for any news media representative who asks, and posting on a bulletin board or other prominent place at the body's principal office.
• Each meeting is held at a place reasonably accessible to the public, large enough for the anticipated attendance, and at a time reasonably convenient, unless for good cause that is impossible or impractical.
• When a meeting departs from those rules, the good cause is stated in the minutes.
• Minutes of open and closed meetings record the date, time, place, members present and absent, and every vote, and a roll call vote attributes each yea and nay.

• Mo. Rev. Stat. § 610.020

The rule that meetings are open, the grounds on which a meeting may be closed, and the penalties and remedies for a violation are in other sections of the chapter and are not reproduced here. Whether a particular gathering was a meeting of a public governmental body is a question for a court and for a licensed Missouri attorney.

• Mo. Rev. Stat. § 610.020