“Making a Difference in Your

Community”

Thursday, Sept. 6Loras College

Dubuque, Iowa

Sponsored by . . .

Your local newspaper

The Iowa Freedom of Information Council

The Iowa Newspaper Foundation.

Welcome!Welcome

Your hosts

Your name, your position, your newspaper name here

Our theme tonight:

How to participate meaningfully and

responsibly in your local government

Results of statewide poll taken last fall:

Iowans overwhelmingly support values of open and transparent government.

In fact, they wish government was even more open.

However, they don’t know much about the nuts-and-bolts ways of participating in their local government.

What we’ll cover tonight:

How to participate in a government meeting

How to obtain a government record

Where you can turn for help and information

Your First Amendment rights (and the limits on those rights!)

Take-away “toolkit for democracy” of resources

How to participate in a government meeting:

A hypothetical situation

You are concerned that looming budget cuts will hurt the quality of your child’s education. You hear that the school board is going to discuss next year’s budget at its meeting this week.

Question:

Can you attend the meeting?

Answer:

The Iowa open meetings law (Chapter 21 of the Iowa Code) spells out what sorts of government bodies must open their meetings to the public.

It also defines what kinds of gatherings of officials are considered “meetings” for purposes of the law.

Answer:

School boards are covered by the open meetings law, so yes, you can attend the meeting.

Answer:

Question:

The school board has appointed a task force of local citizens to look into closing one of the district’s schools to save money.

Are the task force’s meetings open to the public?

Answer:

If a committee is formally created, by the main government body and exercises some sort of policy-making authority, then yes, it must follow the open meetings law.

Many ad hoc committees may not be required to follow the law, but are often encouraged to hold open meetings for good public policy reasons.

Answer:

In this situation, if the school-closings task force was formally created by the board, and especially if it has the authority to set policy, then it probably is required to follow the law.

Answer:

Question:

The task force is going to make its report at the next school board meeting.

How do you find out where the meeting will be and what is on the agenda?

 

Question:

Can you get copies of the board packets so you can read them before the meeting?

Answer:

The open meetings law requires government bodies to give notice before a meeting: Time, date, place of meeting and agenda Posted in a prominent place at the

government body’s office or at the building where the meeting will be held

At least 24 hours before the meeting

Answer:

Many government bodies also now post meeting notice and agendas on their websites, and allow you to sign up to receive the agendas via e-mail.

Answer:

Contact the government body’s clerk or secretary before the meeting to request a copy of the material to be discussed at the meeting. You may have to pay for copying and postage.

Question:

You would like to comment during the meeting. Can you do that?

Answer:

You have no legal right to comment, but most bodies allow citizens to request to be added to the agenda and/or allow a time for public comment.

Answer:

Most government websites contain information on how to request to be added to the meeting agenda.

Usually: Contact the government body’s secretary, clerk or administrative assistant the week before the meeting.

Question:

The school board members want to go into closed session to discuss the task force report. Can they do that?

Answer:

The law allows a government body to go into closed session only for certain reasons.

Examples . . .

To meet with their attorney in some instances.

To discuss personnel issues in certain circumstances.

To discuss the purchase or sale of real estate in some circumstances.

Procedures that government officials must follow to close a meeting:

They must specify which exemption is being used.

Two-thirds of the total membership or all of those present must vote for closure.

Each person’s vote must be recorded in the minutes. (No secret ballots!)

In closed session:

Officials can’t discuss anything other than the reason they went into closed session.

They must come back into open session to conduct any final action.

Remember . . .

Most of the time, nothing in the law requires a government body to hold a closed session.

The presumption is that government meetings should be open.

Answer:

In this situation, unless the school board is discussing selling a school building, or unless litigation is imminent, the meeting should be open.

Question:

If the school board votes to go into closed session, how do you appeal the decision to close the meeting?

 

Answer:

Seek permission to speak and explain why you think closure is inappropriate in this instance.

However, if you are not successful in persuading the body to keep the meeting open, leave peacefully and then document your protest.

Question:

How do you get a copy of the minutes after the meeting?

Answer:

City councils, school boards and county supervisors are required to publish their minutes in the local newspaper.

 

Answer:

Many government agencies also publish minutes on their websites, will send them to you via e-mail or you can ask the body’s secretary/clerk/administrative assistant to send you a copy.

How to obtain a public record:

A hypothetical situation

You are thinking of buying a house in a pretty neighborhood.

However, the houses were built on an old creek watershed, and some of them flood when there is heavy rain.

How to obtain a public record:

The city hired a consultant, who recommends that the government buy some of the houses and tear them down, and also install new storm sewers.

How to obtain a public record:

Question:

Can you get a copy of the consultant’s report?

Answer:

According to the Iowa public records law (Chapter 22 of the Iowa Code), a public record is any document, in any medium, of or belonging to a government body or government official.

Answer:

So yes, the report that the consultant gave to the city is a public record.

Question:

How do you obtain a copy of the report?

Answer:

Submitting a request for public records can be done in person, electronically, in writing or by phone.

Each government body should have at least one person designated to handle records requests.

Question:

You have a deadline for making a decision on buying the house. Can you get the report right away or do you have to wait?

Answer:

Most routine records requests should be handled immediately, but the law allows for a “good faith, reasonable” delay that shouldn’t exceed 20 calendar days and ordinarily should not exceed 10 business days.

Work with the record custodian, especially on complicated requests.

Question:

Will you have to pay something for a copy of the consultant’s report? If so, how much?

Answer:

Government bodies are allowed to charge “reasonable” fees for fulfilling records requests.

These fees should be communicated in advance, can include only the actual cost of providing the service and cannot include ordinary expenses of running the office.

Question:

The city clerk says you can’t have a copy of the report; the city is keeping it confidential because people in the neighborhood are afraid that if it is made public, it will hurt their property values.

Can she do that?

Answer:

The law does allow government bodies to keep some records confidential.

Examples . . .

Medical records and academic records

Peace officers’ investigative reports

Some information in government employees’ and officials’ personnel files

Answer:

Start out assuming that every document belonging to government is a public record.

If officials want to withhold, they have to give a legal reason.

Answer:

In this situation, there probably isn’t a valid legal reason for the city clerk to keep the consultant’s report secret.

Obtaining help

You have questions about whether you have the right to attend a government meeting or obtain a copy of a record.

Where do you turn for help?

 

The Iowa Public Information Board

This spring, the governor signed a law creating a board that will help government officials comply with the state open meetings and records laws, and that will help citizens who have questions or concerns about their rights under the laws.

The new board will . . .

Answer questions.

Issue advice or orders.

Attempt to resolve complaints informally.

Investigate complaints.

Act to enforce the law.

The Iowa Public Information Board

The Public Information Board Act becomes effective July 2013.

Until then, see your “toolkit” for a list of resources for information.

Your right to free speech— and its limits

Amendment I to the U.S. Constitution

“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”

Article I: Bill of Rights, Section 7, Iowa Constitution

“Every person may speak, write, and publish his sentiments on all subjects, being responsible for the abuse of that right. No law shall be passed to restrain or abridge the liberty of speech, or of the press. In all prosecutions or indictments for libel, the truth may be given in evidence to the jury, and if it appears to the jury that the matter charged as libellous was true, and was published with good motives and for justifiable ends, the party shall be acquitted.”

Article I: Bill of Rights, Section 20, Iowa Constitution

“The people have the right freely to assemble together to counsel for the common good; to make known their opinions to their representatives and to petition for a redress of grievances.”

Limits on those rights

These freedoms are not unlimited, though the courts have set a high bar that the government must leap when it wants to restrict these fundamental human rights.

For example . . .

The government can enact reasonable time, place and manner restrictions on speech in order to ensure the public peace and safety.

Libel laws allow compensation in cases where published lies hurt someone’s reputation and/or business.

Invasion of privacy laws allow people to sue over unwarranted intrusion into their personal space and lives.

The law of obscenity attempts to protect children from sexually oriented material.

Americans arguably enjoy more right to free speech than any other people on earth.

Even what many consider “hate speech” is protected, in the name of encouraging a robust, uninhibited “marketplace of ideas.”

But . . .

“With great power comes great responsibility.”

(with apologies to “Spider-Man”)

Thank you!

Questions?