Public Meeting Complaint Process

 

Complainst may be made to Oregon Government Ethics Commission at the following link: https://www.oregon.gov/ogec/public-records/pages/complaints.aspx.

 

There are mandatory prerequisites for submitting Public Meetings Law complaints to OGEC. These prerequisites also apply to executive session complaints. If you fail to satisfy the mandatory prerequisites before filing your complaint with OGEC, your complaint will be dismissed.

If you believe a Public Meetings Law violation has occurred:

1. You must submit a written grievance to the public body at issue. The public body may identify on its website the person to whom the grievance should be submitted. The grievance must be submitted within 30 calendar days of the alleged violation occurring and must include:

   1. The date of submission.

   2. The name and contact information of the person filing the grievance.

   3. The date of the meeting when the alleged violation occurred.

   4. A description of the facts and circumstances of the alleged violation.

2. You must give the public body up to 21 days to respond to your written grievance. The public body's written response should acknowledge receipt of the grievance and address it in one of the following ways:

   1. Deny the facts and circumstances alleged in the grievance. Provide the public body's version of events and why those facts are not a violation of the law.

   2. Admit to the facts and circumstances alleged in the grievance, but deny that they are a violation of the law.

   3. Admit to the facts and circumstances alleged in the grievance and that they are a violation of the law. Explain the steps the governing body will take to address the violation.

3. You can submit a complaint to OGEC only after steps 1 and 2 are completed. When you submit your complaint, you must include proof that you satisfied the mandatory prerequisites. Proof includes documentation of your written grievance and the public body's response. If they did not respond within 21 days, proof may include affirmation of the public body's non-response.

 

If you fail to complete these steps before filing your complaint with OGEC, your complaint will be dismissed.