No one knows what goes on behind closed doors…

My grandma used to say “you can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make them drink.”  I guess you can also lead a board member to an educational institution, but you can’t make them learn.  In particular, there are board members of an educational institution in the state that seem determined to continue to violate the sunshine law.

Apparently they have regular, “private” luncheon meetings before their official board meetings.  No notice, no exceptions cited.  Well, perhaps they sit around the luncheon table, all of them, and discuss their grandchildren.  Perhaps they are talking today about Christmas shopping.  Surely, given conditions in that part of the state, they’ll be talking about power outtages or darkened light bulbs.  Maybe, just maybe, if they start discussing the board’s business, a light bulb will suddenly go on in the brain of one member, who’ll suggest to this board that such discussions belong in the official meeting and NOT in this informal, “social” gathering for lunch purposes. 

“Theterm “public meeting” shall not include an informal gathering ofmembers of a public governmental body for ministerial or socialpurposes when there is no intent to avoid the purposes of this chapter
…” the law says.  Social gatherings are fine.  It troubles me, though, that this statute talks about “intent.”  Yes, I imagine legislators, who wrote this, were trying to say that they wanted to differentiate between a social gathering for social purposes and a business meeting masquerading as a social gathering.  But would a court then make one prove that there was an “intent” to break the law when this group of governors of this august educational institution start “accidentally” discussing public business over porridge and bread?

It wouldn’t surprise me.  And it wouldn’t be the first time a court has given a “free pass” to a group gathering for a meal behind closed doors.