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FREEDOM OF INFORMATION COMMISSION |
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In
the Matter of a Request |
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Advisory Opinion #39 |
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Comprehensive Planning Division, Office of Policy and Management, Applicant |
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On October 24, 1979, the Commission considered and agreed to respond to the request for an advisory opinion filed by the Comprehensive Planning Division, Office of Policy and Management.
In its request, the applicant states that pursuant to Conn. Gen. Stats. §§25-5b-25-5d, the Secretary of the Office of Policy and Management and the Commissioners of Environmental Protection and Health Services are responsible for statewide water resources management planning. In furtherance of this statutory mandate, these state officials established a technical staff coordinating group known as the Interagency Water Resources Planning Board (hereinafter referred to as the "IWRPB").
In essence, the applicant seeks the Commission's opinion as to whether the meetings of the IWRPB are meetings of a public agency subject to the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act.
At the outset, it is important to note that the legislature conferred certain duties jointly upon the Office of Policy and Management and the Departments of Environmental Protection and Health Services with respect to water resources management planning. These duties are set forth generally in Conn. Gen. Stats. §25‑5b(a) which provides that the above mentioned agencies
... shall establish a continuing planning process and shall prepare and periodically update jointly a statewide long‑range plan for the management of the water resources of the state. In carrying out such preparation the aforesaid agencies shall: (1) Design a unified planning program and budget; (2) coordinate regional water and sewer facilities plans and provide technical or financial assistance to regional planning agencies in the preparation of regional water and sewer facilities plans which are required by the federal government as a prerequisite for grants to municipalities for the construction of certain water and sewer facilities.
Conn. Gen. Stats. §25‑5b(c) further provides that
[u]pon completion of each planning document and when adopted by the commissioner of environmental protection, the commissioner of health services and the secretary of the office of policy and management, said plan shall be submitted to the general assembly.
To implement the "continuing process" and to prepare and update the statewide long-range plan for water resources management, the above-mentioned Secretary and Commissioners assign personnel from their respective agencies to meet periodically. It is this group of staff members that is known as the IWRPB and together, they serve as a technical advisory board to the three officials statutorily responsible for water resources management planning. The board also provides a forum for local and interlocal agencies and others concerned with water resources management and works with legislative committees involved with that subject.
It is the Commission's opinion that the IWRPB constitutes a public agency within the meaning of Conn. Gen. Stats. §1-18a(a). That subsection defines public agency in relevant part as
... any executive, administrative or legislative office of the state ... and any state ... agency, [or] any department, institution, bureau, board, commission or official of the state.…
The IWRPB clearly falls within the broad language of this provision. It is a board created and designated jointly by the responsible state agencies, pursuant to legislative direction, to establish a continuing planning process and, presumably, to help update the plan described in §25-5b. In sum, it forms a significant part of the interdepartmental system for water resources management planning. As such, it operates as a multi‑member entity that conducts a portion of the public's business as it relates to this area of concern.
Having concluded that the IWRPB is a public agency, the Commission can now address the fundamental question raised by the applicant ‑‑ i.e., whether the meetings of the IWRPB are subject to the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act. In this regard, "meeting" is defined in Conn. Gen. Stats. §1‑18a(b) as
... any hearing or other proceeding of a public agency, any convening or assembly of a quorum of a multi‑member public agency, whether in person or by means of electronic equipment, to discuss or act upon a matter over which the public agency
has supervision, control, jurisdiction or advisory power. "Meeting" shall not include an administrative or staff meeting of a single member public agency....
The meetings of the IWRPB are not meetings of a single‑member public agency. Although the composition of the IWRPB is not fixed by law, it is comprised of assigned personnel from the staffs of three state agencies that jointly determine its membership. When a quorum of its members meets, it does so to discuss or act upon matters over which the IWRPB has advisory power, if not supervision, control or jurisdiction.
Consequently, it is the Commission's opinion that such meetings are subject to the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act whenever they are held for a purpose related to water resources management.
The Commission does not wish to burden any agency, especially small, under-staffed ones such as the IWRPB, with additional administrative duties. In this case, however, the additional obligations imposed are critical to effectuating the policy of open government embodied in the Freedom of Information Act. While the requirements of the Act, particularly those set forth in Conn. Gen. Stats. §1-21, do entail some additional work, they also help realize one of the General Assembly's basic goals in enacting this legislation. That goal, as expressed by Senator Julianelle, co‑chairman of the committee that introduced the Freedom of Information Act, is to assure that "actions taken by public agencies be taken openly and their deliberations be conducted openly...." Senate Proceedings, 1975 General Assembly, Vol. 13, Part 5, pp. 2323‑2324. See also, House Proceedings, 1975 General Assembly, Vol. 18, Part 8, p. 3911. Only with an appreciation of this policy will government conduct the public's business in a manner that enhances both public understanding and confidence.
By Order of the Freedom of
Information Commission
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Judith A. Lahey, Chairman of
of the Freedom of Information
Commission
Date ___________________
Ordered_________________
Leslie Ann McGuire, Clerk of the Commission