- Posted by: NiquelleAllen
- Apr 05,2024
- 0 comments
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Friday, April 5, 2024
STATEMENT OF DIRECTOR NIQUELLE ALLEN REGARDING THE D.C. COUNCIL'S APRIL 1, 2024 PRIVATE "GATHERING"
Director Niquelle Allen presented the following public statement to the Board of Ethics and Government Accountability (Board) during the Board's April 4, 2024, public meeting:
***
The Office of Open Government's meeting monitoring activity included the Council of the District of Columbia's ("D.C. Council") meeting regarding the deal with Monumental for the Washington Wizards and Washington Capitals to Remain in D.C.
On April 1, 2024, D.C. Council Chairman Mendelson assembled a majority of the D.C. Council members in his office to receive a briefing on the terms of the city’s deal with Monumental Sports. There was no public notice of that meeting, which Chairman Mendelson described as a “gathering.” The Office of Open Government has received several inquiries regarding the legality of this meeting. The “gathering” on April 1, 2024 was a meeting under the Open Meeting Act’s (OMA) definition of a meeting. The majority of the D.C. Council was present to “consider, conduct, or advise on public business.” However, the D.C. Council’s rules may support Chairman Mendelson’s characterization of the event, to a degree. The gathering of a quorum of Councilmembers in Chairman Mendelson’s office to receive a briefing about the Monumental deal was a meeting according to the OMA, and arguably under D.C. Council Rules, but it appears to be exempt from public notice requirements. An explanation follows.
D.C. Official Code § 2-575(f) provides that the D.C. Council may promulgate its own rules regarding the conduct of its meetings. But the D.C. Council’s rules must align with the Open Meetings Act’s definition of a meeting. The definition is set forth in D.C. Official Code § 2-574(1): “Meeting means any gathering of a quorum of the members of a public body, including hearings and roundtables, whether formal or informal, regular, special, or emergency, at which the members consider, conduct, or advise on public business, including gathering information, taking testimony, discussing, deliberating, recommending, and voting . . . .” The D.C. Council has promulgated its own open-meeting rules: Article III.H of the Rules of Organization and Procedure for the Council of the District of Columbia, Resolution 25‑1. Those rules provide that certain D.C. Council activities, where a quorum of the members convene, do not require public notice. Rule 373(a)(1) requires notice to the Council Secretary from “one Councilmember attending [a] meeting [of the Council] …at least 48 hours before the meeting, unless emergency circumstances require less notice.” However, Rule 373(e) excludes certain meetings from the notice provisions if the D.C. Councilmembers assembled do not take official action. Such meetings include “administrative meetings, breakfast meetings, open discussions, or other gathering of the Council when no official action is expected to take place.” The gathering of the majority of the D.C. Council on April 1, 2024, appears to fall under Rule 373(e), based on the facts reported by the media.
While I have not taken a formal position on the matter, I am providing this summary for the public’s benefit, since the matter is newsworthy. The Office of Open Government will continue to monitor this situation and I will provide additional information if it is necessary.
***
[Note: The Director did not discuss closed meeting exemptions under the OMA or D.C. Council rules, only whether the gathering was considered a meeting.]
CONTACT: Niquelle Allen, Director of Open Government or Louis Neal, Chief Counsel, at opengovoffice@dc.gov or 202-481-3411.