In the midst of a natural disaster, pandemic influenza or other widespread calamity, must a public body still follow the Open Meetings Act, including the requirement that members attend in person? For the most part, the answer is Yes. 

First, if the normal meeting place of the public body is available, even during a declared emergency, there is no relaxation of any requirement of Ohio Revised Code Section 121.22, the Open Meetings Act.

However, if due to a declared emergency it becomes “imprudent, inexpedient, or impossible to conduct the affairs of local government” at the regular or usual place, the governing body may meet at an alternate site previously designated (by ordinance, resolution or other manner) as the emergency location of government, according to R.C. 5502.24(B). If the governing body is forced to exercise its powers and functions at such an alternate site during a declared emergency, “[s]uch powers and functions may be exercised in the light of the exigencies of the emergency without regard to or compliance with time-consuming procedures and formalities prescribed by law pertaining thereto, ...” Id. “For example, the mechanics of the competitive bidding process may be cumbersome and require lengthy waiting periods that cannot be afforded in the event of an emergency.” (Ohio Att’y Gen. Ops, 2009 OAG 034) This language has not yet been interpreted by the courts with respect to Ohio’s Open Meetings Act, but it may give a public body some leeway on specific Open Meeting requirements which it objectively determines meet the “time-consuming procedures and formalities” exception, in the exigent circumstances of a pandemic or other emergency.

However, a public body may not meet by teleconference, even during a declared emergency and even if doing so seems a “time-consuming procedure or formality. “[B]ecause R.C. 5502.24(B) assumes public officials are in attendance at the alternate location, the statute does not appear to consider meeting by teleconference as a viable substitute for an in-person meeting of a public body, even during a declared emergency.”  Id. 

See Ohio Attorney Gen. Opinion 2009 OAG 034, available at www.OhioAttorneyGeneral.gov/Opinions, and Ohio Revised Code Sections 5502.21 through 5502.51 (emergency management) for more guidance on this subject.