June 21, 1977

THE HONORABLE WILEY F. MITCHELL, JR.
Member, Senate of Virginia

76-77 308A

This is in reply to your recent letter wherein you ask whether a chance meeting of two or more members of a local governing body at a social function or elsewhere is subject to the opening meeting requirements of the Freedom of Information Act as amended by Chapter 677, [1977] Acts of Assembly, effective July 1, 1977.

Section 2.1-343, Code of Virginia (1950), as amended, requires that all "meetings" of public bodies, including local governing bodies, shall be public meetings. Section 2.1-341(a) defines what constitutes a "meeting" required to be public. Prior to its amendment by Chapter 677, §2.1-341(a) provided, in relevant portion:

". . . Nothing in this chapter shall be construed as to define a meeting as a chance meeting of two or more members of a public body, or as an informal assemblage of the constituent membership at which matters relating to the exercise of official functions are not discussed."

This provision excluded from the definition of "meetings," required to be public, chance gatherings of two or more members of a local governing body, provided official business of the governing body was not discussed. Chance meetings at which official business of the governing body was discussed did constitute a "meeting" required to be public under §2.1-341(a) prior to its recent amendment. See Opinion to the Honorable William N. Alexander, II, Commonwealth's Attorney for Franklin County, dated March 19, 1976, and found in the Report of the Attorney General (1975-76) at 412.

Section 2.1-341(a) was amended by Chapter 677 so as to replace the above-quoted provision with the following provision: ". . . Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to make unlawful the gathering or attendance of two or more members of a body or entity at any place or function where no part of the purpose of such gathering or attendance is the discussion or transaction of any public business, and such gathering or attendance was not called or prearranged with any purpose of discussing or transacting any business of the body or entity."

The amended provisions of §2.1-341(a) set forth above, in my opinion, provide that, effective July 1, 1977, a chance gathering of two or more members of a governing body at a social function or elsewhere does not constitute a "meeting" required to be public, even where such gathering results in discussion of official business among members of the governing body, provided discussion of official business was not the purpose of the gathering and the gathering was not prearranged for the purpose of discussing official business.