From Kentucky A.G. opinion 26-01, released Jan. 5 but just posted on Westlaw:
The "basic policy" of the Open Meetings Act … "is that the formation of public policy is public business and shall not be conducted in secret and the exceptions provided for by KRS 61.810 or otherwise provided for by law shall be strictly construed." Under KRS 61.840, "[n]o condition other than those required for the maintenance of order shall apply to the attendance of any member of the public at any meeting of a public agency" and "[a]ll agencies shall permit news media coverage, including but not limited to recording and broadcasting."
The Office has previously found that "KRS 61.840 vests members of the public with a virtually unconditional right to attend all meetings of a public agency." Indeed, the only conditions of attendance permitted by the Act are "those required for the maintenance of order."
Regarding the recording of public meetings, the Office has found that public agencies that did not allow members of the public to record their meetings violated KRS 61.840…. For the purpose of KRS 61.840, there is little difference between recording a meeting on a cellphone and live-streaming a meeting on a cellphone. Indeed, KRS 61.840 also requires the "broadcasting" of public meetings to be permitted.
