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Commissioners confirm closed session covered only pending litigation under New Mexico Open Meetings Act
Summary
The board of commissioners voted to confirm that a recent executive session held under the New Mexico Open Meetings Act, Section 10-15-1(H), addressed only pending litigation and that no action was taken during that session.
The board of commissioners voted to confirm that a recent executive session held under the New Mexico Open Meetings Act, Section 10-15-1(H), addressed only pending litigation and that no formal action was taken during that closed session.
The confirmation came after a roll-call acknowledgement during the public meeting. An unidentified board member cited the statute by name and said, "New Mexico Open Meetings Act section 10 s 15 Dash 1 h, which authorized us to go into executive session. We discussed directing or pending litigation and no action was taken. So with that, we, we need a motion to confirm that that was all that we had discussed." A motion and a second were made; Bowen, Carlson and Trust answered "Yes" when called.
Nut graf: The vote documents the board's compliance with the state open-meetings law by recording the statutory authority used to close the meeting and by formally stating that no binding action occurred in the executive session.
According to the transcript, the board moved to reconvene in public and then moved to confirm the scope of the closed-session discussion. The transcript records brief roll-call acknowledgements from three members: Bowen, Carlson and Trust, each responding "Yes." The transcript does not identify who made the motion or who seconded it by name.
Discussion: The board member who announced the statutory basis described the subject of the executive session as "directing or pending litigation" and explicitly said "no action was taken." The meeting record in the transcript shows the board returned to open session and sought formal confirmation that the closed session had not extended beyond the stated purpose.
Decision: The motion to confirm the content of the executive session was seconded and carried by the members recorded in the transcript. The transcript does not record any dissenting votes or abstentions.
Ending: The transcript provides no further details about the underlying litigation, the names of the motion mover or seconder, or any follow-up steps. The only legal authority cited in the record is the New Mexico Open Meetings Act, Section 10-15-1(H).
