Submission Date
Question
Our public library Board of Trustees is wondering if the meetings of their committees (Personnel Committee, Finance Committee, Policy Review Committee, etc) need to adhere to the requirements of the NYS Open Meetings Law like we do with the full Board Meetings. Because ED § 260-a mentions cities with a population of over one million (we do not reach this threshold), some say that the committee meetings do not need to adhere to the requirements of the Open Meetings Law, but others argue that this part of Education Law doesn't seem to delineate between Full Board meetings and Committee meetings, so if we follow the OML requirements for one, we should follow them for all. However, this would represent a huge shift in how our Board gets its work done, as they do not currently advertise the committee meetings or post minutes, and they frequently conduct these meetings via Zoom.
Answer
It’s true that for all libraries and library systems in New York State cities with more than one million people (currently and for the foreseeable future, just New York City[1]), all committees of library boards of trustees must comply with the Open Meetings Law (OML), pursuant to Education Law Section 260-a.[2]
However, for libraries in New York State cities with less than one million people (all New York cities other than the City of New York), as well as libraries in towns[3] and on Indian reservations,[4] there are a couple other factors that determine whether committees have to follow the OML.
First, outside New York City, a committee of an association library’s board does not have to follow the OML, because while Education Law Section 260-a applies to the boards of association libraries and to committees of association library boards in cities with more than one million people (New York City’s libraries are association libraries), it does not apply to association library board committees in cities with less than one million people, in towns, or on Indian reservations.
Second, as stated in the recent answer for Using a Board Committee to Authorize Changes During Library Construction Project, a committee that has the power to make decisions on behalf of a public library must follow the OML. This is because the OML applies to:
… any entity, for which a quorum is required in order to conduct public business and which consists of two or more members, performing a governmental function for the state or for an agency or department thereof, or for a public corporation as defined in section sixty-six of the general construction law, or committee or subcommittee or other similar body consisting of members of such public body or an entity created or appointed to perform a necessary function in the decision-making process for which a quorum is required in order to conduct public business and which consists of two or more members. [OML § 102(2), emphasis added]
A committee that includes members of the public as voting members does not have to follow the OML, because such a committee cannot make decisions on behalf of its library (“perform a necessary function in the decision-making process”).
The OML clarifies that a “necessary function in the decision-making process shall not include the provision of recommendations or guidance which is purely advisory and which does not require further action by the state or agency or department thereof or public corporation as defined in section sixty-six of the general construction law.”
In short, association library committees outside New York City and “purely advisory” committees do not currently have to follow the OML, while all other committees do.[5]
This answer was guest-written by paralegal Nathan Feist, who specializes in municipal law and open government matters including compliance with the Open Meetings Law and the Freedom of Information Law.
[1]^ If the Town of Hempstead (pop. 793,409) were to incorporate as a city, it would come close and become the 18th most populous U.S. city, surpassing Seattle, Washington D.C., Las Vegas, and Boston.
[2]^ See Open Meetings Law 2022 Library Board Chart and Checklist for the Ask the Lawyer guide on OML compliance.
[3]^ Each village in New York State is in exactly one town. Some hamlets and census-designated places span more than one town, but every inch of the state is claimed by either a town, city, or Indian reservation.
[4]^ The Education Law uses this term to refer to lands governed by sovereign indigenous nations or tribes.
[5]^ There is some ambiguity for what the Education Law calls “Indian libraries.” Some sections of the law refer to these libraries as public libraries, while others list them separately, making it unclear whether they fall under the public libraries that must follow the OML pursuant to Education Law Section 260-a.