Government and civic life
🚪 Idaho Open Meeting Law in Depth
Read Idaho Code 74-201 through 74-208 section by section: which boards are covered, what counts as a meeting, the notice, agenda, executive session, minutes and recording rules, and how to document a suspected violation and push it through the cure process or to a prosecutor.
Data reference
- Known Idaho Open Meeting Law Violations: the kinds of violations the law covers and the documented Idaho cases from 2017 to 2026, with dates, findings and outcomes.
Idaho Open Meeting Law, Idaho Code 74-201 to 74-208 · Attorney General's manual (July 2026)
- 1Who the Law CoversUse the definitions in Idaho Code 74-202 to decide whether a board, committee or task force has to meet in the open, and spot the handful of bodies the law leaves out.14 min
- 2What Counts as a MeetingWork out when a gathering, phone call, email chain or site visit becomes a meeting under 74-202, using the definitions of decision, deliberation and quorum.15 min
- 3Notice, Agendas and Action ItemsCheck any meeting against the clocks and agenda rules in 74-204: five days and 48 hours for regular meetings, 24 hours for special ones, real emergencies, action items, consent agendas and late amendments.16 min
- 4Executive Sessions, Subsection by SubsectionRead every purpose in 74-206(1), the two-thirds roll call and citation rules, the ban on final action, and the 2024 Idaho Supreme Court ruling that narrowed the trade-and-commerce exception.17 min
- 5Minutes, Votes and the Right to RecordKnow what 74-205 requires in minutes, how long minutes and recordings are kept, why secret ballots are banned, and how the 2026 recording right in 74-203(6) works.15 min
- 6Public Comment Versus Public HearingsLearn why the open meeting law guarantees the right to attend but not to speak, and which Idaho statutes do require hearings or comment: budgets, fee increases, land use and school boards.14 min
- 7Remote and Electronic MeetingsApply 74-203(5) to phone, video and hybrid meetings: who must be physically present, what the public must be able to hear, how votes work remotely, and where electronic deliberation crosses the line.13 min
- 8Violations, Cures, Penalties and Key CasesLearn what 74-208 does when a board breaks the law: void actions, the 14-plus-14-day cure, $250, $1,500 and $2,500 penalties, who enforces, private suits and their deadlines, and the Idaho cases that shape all of it.18 min
- 9Documenting and Reporting a Suspected ViolationFollow a step-by-step method to preserve evidence, get the records, check them in the Open-Meetings Compliance Tracker, send a 74-208(7) notice, track the deadlines and describe the finding fairly.18 min