Public Meeting Notice and Agenda Requirements

​(resulting from S11 signed by Gov. Haley June 8, 2015)

Staff Contact:
None

1.  All public bodies, which include municipal councils, public utility boards, municipal planning commissions, boards of zoning appeals, architectural review boards and all other boards, commissions or committees appointed by council, are subject to public meeting notice and agenda requirements contained in Section 30-4-80 of the South Carolina Code of Laws as amended (Freedom of Information Act).

2.  Regular meetings

      • All public bodies must give written public notice of their regular meetings at the beginning of each calendar year.
      • The annual meeting notice must include the dates, times, and places of all regularly scheduled meetings.
      • An agenda for regularly scheduled meetings must be posted on a bulletin board in a publicly accessible place at the office or meeting place of the public body and on a public website maintained by the body, if any, at least 24 hours prior to such meetings.

3.  Special, called or rescheduled meeting

  • The 2015 amendment to Section 30-4-80 of the South Carolina Code of Laws as amended contains conflicting language regarding the posting of public notice and agendas for special meetings and the terms: special, called and rescheduled meetings are not defined. Out of an abundance of caution, the Association recommends that all meetings, regardless of type, follow the more stringent requirement for posting notice and agendas for meetings.
  • All public bodies must post a public notice for any special, called or rescheduled meetings on a bulletin board in a publicly accessible place at the office or meeting place of the public body and on the municipality’s website, if any.
  •  A public meeting notice must include the agenda, date, time and place of the meeting, and must be posted as early as is practicable but not later than 24 hours before the meeting.

4.  Restrictions on amending an agenda

  • Once an agenda for a regular, called, special or rescheduled meeting is posted, no items may be added to the agenda without an additional 24 hours notice to the public, which must be made in the same manner as the original posting.
  • After the meeting begins, an item, which is not a final action and for which public comment has been or will be received at a publicly noticed meeting, may be added to the agenda by a two-thirds vote of the members present and voting. The Municipal Association and the SC Press Association have created a flow chart to outline the process for amending an agenda.
  • After the meeting begins, an item, which is a final action and/or for which there will be no opportunity for public comment, may be added to the agenda by a

- a two-thirds vote of the members present and voting and

- a finding that an emergency or exigent circumstance exist

5.  Other Provisions

  • Public meeting notice and agenda requirements do not apply to emergency meetings of public bodies.
  • The requirements of Section 30-4-80 of the South Carolina Code of Laws as amended does not relieve a public body of any notice requirement regarding any statutorily required public hearing.