Attorney General's Opinion 1970-71 #445

March 29, 1971

THE HONORABLE PAUL W. MANNS
Member, Senate of Virginia

70-71 445

This is in reply to your letter of March 18, 1971, in which you pose the following question:

"Under the Virginia Freedom of Information Act, which says that 'No resolution, ordinance, rule, contract, regulation or motion, adopted, passed or agreed to in an executive or closed meeting shall become effective unless such public body, following such meeting, reconvenes in open meeting and takes a vote of the membership. . . ,' is it your opinion that action taken at a meeting not announced to the public and at which the public is not represented is valid and shall become effective?"

The language which you quote is found in § 2.1-344 of the Code relating to executive or closed meetings. When such meetings are held for the purposes set forth in (1) through (7) of that section, compliance with (b) and (c) of that section is required. These read:

"(b) No meeting shall become an executive or closed meeting unless there shall have been recorded an affirmative vote to that effect by the public body holding such meeting.

"(c) No resolution, ordinance, rule, contract, regulation or motion adopted, passed or agreed to in an executive or closed meeting shall become effective unless such public body, following such meeting, reconvenes in open meeting and takes a vote of the membership on such resolution, ordinance, rule, contract, regulation or motion."

Therefore, I am of the opinion that subsection (c) which you quote is applicable only to executive or closed meetings and that the action taken at all other meetings is valid and effective. I am also of the opinion that action taken following an executive or closed meeting is valid where the public body has followed the provisions of subsection (c).