Freedom of Information

The following is presented as a service to residents of the Hidden Lake Association

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The Hidden Lake Association, Inc., is a political subdivision of the State of Connecticut as described in the Special Acts of the State of Connecticut, 1937, Senate Bill No. 684 An Act Incorporating the Hidden Lake Association. As a result, meetings of the Association fall under the rules of the Connecticut Freedom of Information Act. Below is a summary of some of the laws that apply to our meetings.

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1. All Meetings are public: All of our meetings, Board of Governors, Committes, and the Annual Meeting, are open to the public. 

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2. Agenda available not less than 24 hours before meetings: The agenda of regular meetings must be available not less than 24 hours before the meeting, and posted on the Association website*. 

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3. Additions to agenda by 2/3 vote of members present: Any subsequent business not included in the filed agenda may be considered and acted upon with a 2/3 vote of the members present.

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4. Motion and Votes published on website within 48 hours: The votes of each member of the Board of Governors at their meetings must be reduced to writing and made available for public inspection within 48 hours. This information must also be recorded in the minutes of the meeting. As the Hidden Lake Association does not maintain an office, the motion and voting should be available on the Association website within 48 hours of the meeting.

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5. Minutes published on website not later than 7 days after meeting: Minutes of ALL Association Meetings (BOG, Committee, Annual, Special) must be available for public inspection and published on the Association website not later than 7 days after the date of the meeting. Again, because the Association does not maintain an office, the minutes must be on the website.

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6. Meeting Schedule for the year sent to Secretary of State and published on website: The Association must file with the Secretary of State, no later than January 31st of each year, the schedule of regular meetings of the Association, and must post the schedule on the Association website.

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7. Registering members' names: No member of the public shall be required, as a condition to attendance at a meeting, to register the member's name, or furnish other information, or complete a questionnaire or otherwise fulfill any condition precedent to the member's attendance.

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8. Executive Session only by 2/3 vote:  A public agency may hold an executive session, as defined in subdivision (6) of section 1-200, upon an affirmative vote of two-thirds of the members of such body present and voting, taken at a public meeting and stating the reasons for such executive session, as defined in section 1-200.

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9. Email voting prohibited:  All votes need to be taken at a properly noticed meeting in public. 

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10. Committee Meeting Agenda and Minutes: MpMeetings of committees, must be properly noticed, open to the public, and followed by minutes that are available in 7 days, and published on the website.

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*Note: Publishing on the Website - The following is a direct quote from an email conversation we had with the Public Education Officer of the Freedom of Information Commission concerning the HLA's lack of an office and publishing information on HLA's website:  

“The law requires minutes to be available in seven days. So, whether or not they choose to post them on a website, they must be available in seven days for public consumption. . . Without a physical office where anyone can go to peruse minutes, putting them on the website would be a logical solution. I have seen situations where the commission has ordered a small district like yours to establish an office so that minutes and other documents could be available to the public. And to be clear, ‘public’ means anyone, not just members.” 

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Links:

Information from Public Education Officer FOIC  

Freedom of Information Highlights  

Connecticut Freedom of Information Commission

Sec. 1-225 Freedom of Information  

 

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