Open Meetings Law — Open Meetings & Public Notice Law

Sunshine Score

32/100

Weak

Methodology v0.1

Advance Notice	2 days
Public Comment	Not required, written accepted
Closed Sessions	7 permitted categories
Minutes	Required
Recording	Not required
Remote Participation	Not allowed
Enforcement	Voidable, legislature exempt

How is this score calculated? →

Agenda & Notice Requirements

Regular Meetings

2 days

Special Meetings

2 days

Emergency Meetings

0 hours

Online posting: Not required

Post notice at least 48 hours before meeting on principal bulletin board or at door of meeting room; mail, email, or deliver to news media who have requested it

Agenda changes at meeting: Allowed — majority vote

Public Participation

Public Comment

Not required

Written Comment

Allowed

North Carolina Open Meetings Law (G.S. § 143-318.9 et seq.) does not mandate a general public comment period. Separately, local government land use decisions (G.S. § 160D-406) require public hearings with comment rights, but those are not part of the OML. Bodies set their own comment policies for general meetings.

Virtual Meetings

Member Remote Participation

Not allowed

Counts Toward Quorum

No

Public Remote Comment

Not allowed

G.S. § 143-318.13(a) addresses notice/access for electronic meetings but provides no explicit authority for remote quorum or remote voting for general governing boards. Physical in-person quorum required. Remote meetings permitted only during declared states of emergency under G.S. § 166A-19.24.

Closed Sessions

Closed (executive) sessions: Allowed under specific circumstances

Permitted Categories

Meeting Minutes

Minutes Required

Yes

Online posting: Not required

Content requirements: date, time, place, members present, all motions/votes/results with individual votes if requested (N.C.G.S. § 143-318.10)

Recording & Broadcast

Recording Required

No

Broadcast Required

No

Enforcement

Violation Effect

Voidable

Standing to Sue

Any person

Enforcement Body

Superior Court, District Attorney

Scope

This law applies to:

Legislature: Exempt (follows own rules)

Accessibility & Language Access

ADA accessibility: ADA Title II applies to all public meetings. The state statute does not add requirements beyond federal law; reasonable accommodations must be provided on request.

Language access: No statutory language-access mandate beyond federal Civil Rights Act Title VI obligations for recipients of federal funds.

Sources & References

Full text of law →

Notes

| minutes_publication_days: NULL — N.C.G.S. §143-318.10 requires public bodies to keep full and accurate minutes (which are public records) but specifies no publication deadline in days.