Notice Meeting Corporate Without Sending Update In Massachusetts
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Public meetings are held to engage a wide audience in information sharing and discussion. They can be used to increase awareness of an issue or proposal, and can be a starting point for, or an ongoing means of engaging, further public involvement. When done well, they help build a feeling of community.
The Massachusetts Open Meeting Law applies to governmental entities at the state and local levels. In general the Law requires that meetings of such entities be open to the public, that notice of such meetings be publicly posted and that accurate records of the meeting be kept and made available to the public.
Brown Act is a “public access law” that ensures the public's right to attend the meetings of public agencies, facilitates public participation in all phases of local government decision-making, and curbs misuse of the democratic process by secret legislation.
A public meeting refers to a meeting that is open to the public. A public hearing is open to the public but is regarding a specific proposal/project.
Hearing or Public Hearing "Hearing" or "Public Hearing" means a meeting on the topic of a Proposed Rule which is open to the public. At a hearing, members of the public are invited to give testimony or otherwise submit comments on a Proposed Rule.
A key difference between meetings and hearings is that people can give live evidence to the panel. Anyone who gives evidence can be asked questions about their evidence by the other party and by the panel.
The complaint must be filed using the Open Meeting Law complaint form available on the Attorney General's website. Public bodies, or in the case of local public bodies the municipal clerk, should provide members of the public with a copy of the complaint form upon request.
Any person willfully violating any provision of the open meetings law is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, can be summarily removed from the board unless otherwise provided by law.
Filing a Complaint with the Public Body The complaint must be filed within 30 days of the date of the violation, or the date the complainant could reasonably have known of the violation. The complaint must be filed on a Complaint Form available on the Attorney General's website, .mass/ago/openmeeting.
