84-1408 Declaration of intent; meetings open to public. - Nebraska Statutes

84-1408. Declaration of intent; meetings open to public.It is hereby declared to be the policy of this state that the formation of public policy is public business and may not be conducted in secret.Every meeting of a public body shall be open to the public in order that citizens may exercise their democratic privilege of attending and speaking at meetings of public bodies, except as otherwise provided by the Constitution of Nebraska, federal statutes, and the Open Meetings Act. SourceLaws 1975, LB 325, § 1; Laws 1996, LB 900, § 1071; Laws 2004, LB 821, § 35.AnnotationsNebraska's public meetings laws do not apply to school board deliberations pertaining solely to disputed adjudicative facts. McQuinn v. Douglas Cty. Sch. Dist. No. 66, 259 Neb. 720, 612 N.W.2d 198 (2000).The primary purpose of the public meetings law is to ensure that public policy is formulated at open meetings. Marks v. Judicial Nominating Comm., 236 Neb. 429, 461 N.W.2d 551 (1990).The public meetings law is broadly interpreted and liberally construed to obtain the objective of openness in favor of the public, and provisions permitting closed sessions must be narrowly and strictly construed. Grein v. Board of Education of Fremont, 216 Neb. 158, 343 N.W.2d 718 (1984).