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Are you curious about how the government is handling certain issues? Wonder what’s being said about topics that affect you or your business? A lot happens before the final decisions are made, so we want to share with you a notice that was sent to us from the office of Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller. According to the attorney general:

“Public bodies occasionally schedule retreats or “working sessions’ separate from regularly scheduled meetings in order to discuss policy issues or examine new ideas. Retreats and working sessions are covered by Iowa’s Open Meetings Law and cannot be held in private unless grounds exist to close the session.

“Here are some legal guidelines for holding retreats or working sessions:

• “Discussions of policy issues – even when no votes are taken – are covered by the Open Meetings Law. … A meeting is covered if a quorum of the public body deliberates on matters within the scope of the body’s policy-making duties.

• “Retreats and working sessions should be held at a location accessible to the public. All meetings, including retreats and working sessions, must be held at a place reasonably accessible to the public. The public body may select a more casual location than is generally used for regularly scheduled meetings, as long as the public has reasonable access.

• “Agenda materials should be provided to members of the public, unless confidential. Copies of agenda materials should be provided to members of the public upon request. … Documents may be withheld only if confidential under a specific provision of law.

• “Agendas may include a social break, such as lunch or dinner, in connection with retreats or working sessions. As long as the social break is truly just social and not a continuation of deliberation on policy matters, the social break is not part of the meeting subject to the Open Meetings Law.”

For more information, call the Iowa Citizens’ Aide/Ombudsman Office toll-free at (888) 426-6283.”