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ATTORNEY GENERAL
www.inass.gov/ago
1 Unless
otherwise indicated, all dates in this letter refer to the year 2015.
Despite being dated August 4, our office received a copy of the Committee's response on August 21.
3 For the sake of clarity, we will refer to you in the third person.
2
Committee's jurisdiction. Further, the e-mail suggested that discussion of the mediation be
added to the agenda for an upcoming meeting. Discussions of whether the body should consider
or take action on specific topics at a future meeting also concern public business within a body's
jurisdiction. See OML 2013-27; OML 2011-38. Therefore, by sending the e-mail at issue to a
quorum of the Committee, Ms. Appy violated the Open Meeting Law. See OML 2014-148. We
find that this violation was not intentional. Ms. Appy believed that her actions did not constitute
deliberation and were therefore permissible under the Open Meeting Law. For the reasons
stated, however, this was not the case.
CONCLUSION
For the reasons stated above, we find that Ms. Appy individually violated the Open
Meeting Law. We order the Committee's immediate and future compliance with the Open
Meeting Law's requirements, and we caution that similar future violations may be considered
evidence of intent to violate the law. We also order that the Committee release to the public,
within 14 days following its receipt of this letter, Ms. Appy's July 7 e-mail.
We now consider the complaint addressed by this determination to be resolved. This
determination does not address any other complaints that may be pending with our office or the
Committee. Please feel free to contact the Division of Open Government at (617) 963 - 2540 if
you have any questions.
Sincerely,
Kevin W. Manganaro
Assistant Attorney General
Division of Open Government
cc:
Virapranh Douangmany
Amherst-Pelham Regional School Committee
This determination was issued pursuant to G.L. c. 30A, 23(c). A public body or any
member of a body aggrieved by a final order of the Attorney General may obtain judicial
review through an action filed in Superior Court pursuant to G.L. c. BOA, 23(d). The
complaint must be filed in Superior Court within twenty-one days of receipt of a final
order.