ABRA Advisory Opinion - Justification for Closed Meeting - #OOG-2022-0005-M

The Director of Open Government issued an Open Meetings Act Advisory Opinion, on February 17, 2023, where she found that the Alcoholic Beverage Control Board (ABC Board) provided the public with improper notice of its closed meeting to deliberate on the summary suspension of a license. The opinion resolved complaint #OOG-2022-0005-M, and the Director found that: (1) the ABC Board failed to cite the proper justification for entering into a closed session of a meeting to discuss the Big Board on January 26, 2022;  (2) the ABC Board’s use of the OMA citation to enter a closed session of a meeting to discuss an ongoing investigation was improper; (3) that the proper citation for the ABC Board to enter closure on January 26, 2022, concerning the Big Board, was to deliberate upon a decision in an adjudication action or proceeding by a public body exercising quasi-judicial functions; and (4) the ABC Board violated the OMA’s “Notice of meeting” requirements because it failed to provide the public notice that it would meet on January 26, 2022, in a closed session “[t]o deliberate upon a decision in an adjudication action or proceeding by a public body exercising quasi-judicial functions.”

OMA COMPLAINT: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1w3B6zxCuPS6ZdZT5KZSvDsna-h8S6a7h/view?u...

ABRA RESPONSE: https://drive.google.com/file/d/17Fv8Hzw54watdlkQWIKaVikHuqu29S2z/view?u...

ADVISORY OPINION (also attached): https://drive.google.com/file/d/1v7BNcOzcOt2xFTrzCBlilc0tZwRUcx4M/view?u...