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County trainer reviews changes to Utah open‑meetings law during required training
Summary
Commission members received annual training on the Open and Public Meetings Act, including a new statutory definition of "meeting" and a change that eliminates the newspaper-posting requirement; staff emphasized careful agenda specificity and bans on private email/text deliberations.
Linda led the Centerville Basin Planning Commission through the required annual training on the Utah Open and Public Meetings Act, telling commissioners about recent statutory changes and how the county expects them to operate in light of those changes.
The new statutory definition, Linda said, narrows what counts as a meeting but also creates a new "convening" concept: "a meeting now means a gathering of a public or specified body" under Utah Code 52-4-103 sub 6, and must be "convened" by an authorized chairperson to trigger Open Meetings Act obligations. She also noted a procedural change: "The newspaper is no longer required," meaning counties do not have to publish notices in prescribed printed locations, though adequate public notice and a reasonably specific agenda are still required.
Staff emphasized practical precautions for commissioners: prepare specific agenda items (avoid entries like "review old business"), include date/time/place and sufficiently detailed descriptions, avoid taking official action in closed sessions without following statutory roll‑call and affidavit requirements where applicable, and do not use email or group texts to deliberate. "Don't text each other during the meeting," Linda said, advising that substantive discussion should occur in public so the record is clear.
The training closed with a reminder that closed meetings are allowed only for statutorily enumerated reasons, that minutes and recordings must be preserved and that staff attorneys are available for guidance. Commissioners asked technical follow-ups about Zoom recordings and how to document site-visit observations; staff recommended placing factual findings on the record so they can be defended on appeal.
