Request By:
Mr. Mason Vansant
Department of Commerce
Capital Plaza Tower
Frankfort, Kentucky 40601
Opinion
Opinion By: Robert F. Stephens, Attorney General; By: Carl Miller, Assistant Attorney General
You have requested an opinion of the Attorney General pertaining to the Kentucky Open Meetings Law, KRS 61.805-61.850. Your question is whether the Kentucky Port and River Development Commission is required to give notice to the news media when a quorum of the Commission attends a professional or social event, such as a convention held out of the state, in the same manner as when a quorum of the members meet to discuss or take action on the business of the Commission.
It is our opinion that when a quorum of the Commission attends a meeting which is convened by an authority or association other than the Commission, such a meeting is not a meeting of a quorum of the Commission within the meaning of KRS 61.810. It is only when the Commission itself by the direction of the chairman or some of its members convenes the meeting that the Open Meetings Law comes into play. For example, if a quorum of the members of the Commission attend a regional or national convention of Riverport Authorities, it is not necessary that the news media be notified that the members are attending such a convention. By the same token, when a quorum of the members of the Commission attend a social event which is hosted by other than the Commission there would be no need to notify the news media of such attendance.