E-mail Discussion Among Members of Public Body Violates Sunshine Laws

Ohio’s Sunshine Laws are in the news this week. On March 3, 2016, the Ohio Supreme Court ruled in White v. King that private, prearranged discussion of public business by a majority of a public body’s members either in-person or by electronic means such as telephone or e-mail, violates the Ohio Open Meetings Act. The ruling allows former Olentangy Local School District Board member Adam White to proceed with his lawsuit against the school board for violating the Open Meetings Act. According to White, the alleged violations arose when four members of the school board conducted a series of private email exchanges in order to draft a public response to an editorial in the Columbus Dispatch that had criticized the school board.

Under ORC 121.22, public officials are required to take official action and conduct all deliberations on official business in meetings that are open to the public. The 5-2 decision, written by Justice O’Donnell, found that allowing public officials to discuss public business via private email exchanges would subvert the purpose of the Open Meetings Act.

To learn more about Sunshine Laws, check out this post from our series during Sunshine Week.