BEGA Monthly Meeting
Last BEGA Meeting: October 10, 2024 at 12:00pm
Last BEGA MEETING RECORDING: click here to watch.
Next BEGA Meeting: November 14, 2024, at 11:00 am, at 1030 15th Street NW, Suite 700 West, Washington, DC 20005
Open Meetings Act
Post-Public Health Emergency Open Meetings Guidance: click here
Central Meeting Calendar Posting Guidance: click here
The Open Meetings Act (OMA) requires that any gathering of a quorum of a public body where members consider, conduct or advise on public business offer the opportunity for the public to attend. The public must be given proper notice of such meetings and afforded the opportunity to review recordings of public meetings upon request.
Freedom of Information Act
It is the public policy of the District of Columbia that all persons are entitled to full and complete information regarding the affairs of government and the official acts of those who represent them. Enacted in 1976, the District’s Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) was designed to “pierce the veil of administrative secrecy and to open agency action to the light of public scrutiny.”
Board of Ethics and Government Accountability (BEGA)
The District of Columbia Board of Ethics and Government Accountability (BEGA or Board) was established in 2012 pursuant to Section 202(b) of the Board of Ethics and Government Accountability Establishment and Comprehensive Ethics Reform Amendment Act of 2011 (the “Ethics Act”). The Board was established as an independent agency tasked with administering and enforcing the Code of Conduct. The Ethics Act also amended the Open Meetings Act to establish the District of Columbia Open Government Office as an independent office within BEGA with a mission of promoting open governance in the District, primarily through the enforcement of the Open Meetings Act. The BEGA Amendment Act of 2018 clarified the structure of BEGA. The legislation established the Office of Government Ethics (OGE) as a separate entity from the Board and renamed the Open Government Office to the Office of Open Government (OOG).