About Executive Sessions
The Oregon form of government requires an informed public aware of the deliberations and decisions of governing bodies and the information upon which such decisions were made. It is the intent of the Public Meetings Law that decisions of governing bodies be arrived at openly.
The Public Meetings Law authorizes governing bodies to meet in executive session in certain limited situations. Executive sessions are "any meeting or part of a meeting of a governing body which is closed to certain persons for deliberation on certain matters." [ORS192.610(2)]. Meetings held in executive session are subject to Public Meetings Law.
The Oregon Government Ethics Commission (OGEC) has jurisdiction over the executive session provisions of Oregon Public Meetings Law. These provisions cover the reasons a governing/public body may enter into an executive session
and the process requirements.
Executive Session Advice
How do you open and close executive sessions?
ORS 192.660(1) provides that a governing body may hold an executive
session after the presiding officer has identified the statutory authorization for
holding the executive session. The Commission’s interpretation is that an
executive session begins when members of the public are removed or
excluded from the executive session meeting. The Commission has adopted an
Administrative Rule (OAR 199-040-0015) to clarify how to open and close an
executive session.
The Administrative Rule explains that the
announcement of the statutory
authorization or other lawful basis for the
executive session must be made in public,
prior to entering the executive session:
If it is a stand-alone executive
session or if it occurs before a public
meeting, the public announcement
must be made in a properly issued
meeting notice.
If the executive session is held in
conjunction with a public meeting,
the announcement must be made
during the portion of the meeting that
is open to the public. (OAR 199-040-
0015(2)).
The Rule also clarifies that an “executive
session ends when the meeting ceases to
be closed to the public.” The Rule
explains that if a public meeting will be
held again after the executive session, the
governing body must use reasonable
means to give actual notice to interested
persons that the meeting is again a public
meeting. (OAR 199-040-0015(3)).
This point is further clarified in the
Attorney General’s Public Records and
Meetings Manual 2019:
A governing body meeting in executive
session must return to public session
before taking final action. This
requirement cannot be circumvented by
simply announcing, in executive session,
that the meeting is now open, and then
proceeding without affording interested
persons a chance to attend. If a public
meeting will be held again after the
executive session, the desirable practice
would be to announce, before the
executive session, a specific time for
returning to open session. Otherwise,
reasonable means must be used to give
actual notice to interested persons that the
meeting is again a public meeting. If the
executive session has been short, it may
be sufficient to open the door and
announce to persons in the hall that the
meeting is open to the public. But clearly,
returning to an unscheduled and
unannounced “open session,” for which
those attending the previous session have
no notice and no opportunity to attend,
does not comply with the law. (§ II.E.2).
What should you do if the executive session discussion is off topic?
Discussions in an executive session must be limited to the topics authorized by the
statutory provisions cited for that executive session.
The topic(s) discussed in an executive session must be limited to those topics
expressly permitted by the specific provision(s) under which the executive
session was convened. Members of governing bodies may not discuss topics
in executive session other than those delineated in ORS 192.660 or other state
law permitting an executive session, even if the additional topics care related to
the issue concerning which the governing body convened the executive
session. (OAR 199-040-0220(1)).
If a governing body member is in an executive
session and realizes that the topics being discussed
are unauthorized or exceed the scope permitted by
the statutory provisions cited, that governing body
member should:
State their objection to discussing the
unauthorized topic.
Announce on the record that they are
leaving the executive session.
Leave the executive session
Who is responsible for ensuring executive sessions comply with Public Meetings Law?
Members of the governing body of the public body are responsible for ensuring that public meetings and executive sessions comply with Public Meetings Law.
When OGEC receives a complaint alleging a violation may have occurred, any investigations opened will be against the individual members of the governing body. Each member will be subject to any civil penalties assessed by the Commission. Complaints regarding the executive session provisions of the Public Meetings Law cannot be opened against the public body's staff or the public body itself.
When can you hold an executive session for hiring?
A governing body of a public body can meet in executive session to talk about hiring a public officer, employee, staff member or individual agent. Statues can be found in ORS 192.660(2(a) and ORS 192.660(7)(d)(A-D).
We have created a four step checklist that reviews the prerequisites that must be met before meeting in execuitve session.
4 Steps for Considering Employment in Executive Session (PDF)
Have questions about executive sessions?
OGEC staff can provide advice and
guidance on the application of the provisions in ORS 192.660 to future
or hypothetical circumstances. If you have questions about the
application of the executive session provision or whether they might
apply to a specific situation, you can contact the OGEC staff by calling
(503) 378-5105 or emailing mail@ogec.oregon.gov.