Open Meetings Law in Idaho

Idaho's open meetings law starts with a line worth knowing by heart: the formation of public policy "is public business and shall not be conducted in secret" (Idaho Code 74-201). Sections 74-201 through 74-208 turn that into rules you can check against any agenda. This lesson covers the law as it read in October 2026. The legislature amended 74-203 in both 2025 and 2026 (the recording right is the 2026 change), so read the current text before you cite it.

What counts as a meeting

The definitions are in 74-202. A governing body is the members of any public agency with two or more members that can make decisions or recommendations. That reaches past city councils and county commissions to school boards, library boards, planning and zoning commissions, highway and water districts, and advisory committees that make recommendations.

A meeting is when a governing body convenes "to make a decision or to deliberate toward a decision." Deliberation means receiving or exchanging information or opinion about a decision. Casual talk of a general nature that doesn't relate to a pending matter isn't deliberation. Three commissioners at a ball game talking about the weather: not a meeting. The same three in a parking lot talking about next week's rezone: that's the problem the law was written for. The definitions also turn on whether a quorum is present, so count heads.

Members can attend by phone or video, but at least one member, the director or the chief administrative officer must be physically present at the noticed location so the public can attend in person, and members' discussion must be audible to that public (74-203(5)). No decision may be made by secret ballot (74-203(1)).

Notice and agendas

74-204 sets the clock:

Meeting type	Meeting notice	Agenda notice
Regular	5 calendar days (or an annual schedule, for bodies that meet at least monthly on a fixed schedule)	48 hours
Special	24 hours	24 hours
Executive session only	24 hours, stating the reason and the specific legal authority	24 hours
Emergency	Notice can be skipped only for a real emergency involving injury, damage or immediate financial loss, and the reason must be stated at the start of the meeting

Notices and agendas must be posted in a prominent place at the agency's main office, and also online if the agency has a website or social media presence. The agency must keep a list of news media that ask to be notified and make a good faith effort to tell them. If you write regularly about a body, ask in writing to be put on that list.

Action items

Any item that needs a vote must be marked as an "action item" on the agenda. Consent agendas, where routine items pass in one vote, are allowed, but not for ordinances, fee resolutions, or items needing more than a simple majority. Any member can pull an item off the consent agenda for separate discussion.

Changing the agenda

Late changes have rules. An amendment posted 48 hours or more before a regular meeting (24 for special) just takes effect. One posted later has to be approved by a vote at the meeting. An item added after the meeting starts needs a motion stating the reason and why it wasn't on the original agenda, and the board can't take final action on it unless it declares an emergency, which goes in the minutes. When you see "added item" in minutes followed by a final vote, check this.

Recording the meeting

Since July 1, 2026, 74-203(6) says no one attending an open meeting may be prevented from recording it, meaning audio, video or photographs. The body may keep order, but can't prohibit or unreasonably restrict recording or remove someone for it. The protection doesn't apply to executive sessions, to meetings in Idaho Department of Correction or Department of Juvenile Corrections facilities, or to Commission of Pardons and Parole proceedings. Bring a tripod and stay out of the aisle.

Executive sessions

A closed session is legal only under 74-206, and the rules are strict:

• The motion must name the specific subsection that authorizes it.
• A roll call vote, recorded in the minutes, with two-thirds approval.
• Only listed purposes, such as hiring for a specific vacancy, evaluating or disciplining an employee, acquiring real property, considering records exempt under the Public Records Act, talking with legal counsel about pending or imminently likely litigation, talking with a risk manager about a pending claim, and certain labor contract matters.
• The mere presence of the agency's lawyer isn't enough to justify a legal-counsel session.
• Switching to a topic not named in the motion is itself a violation.
• No final action or final decision may be made in executive session (74-206(3)).

Exceptions are to be "narrowly construed." Filling a vacancy in an elected office and talking about staffing needs in general are expressly excluded from the hiring purpose.

Minutes of every meeting must list members present, all motions and their disposition, and the vote results (74-205). Executive session minutes must cite the authorizing subsection and give enough detail to identify the topic without defeating its purpose.

Legislative committees fall under their own section, 74-207: open at all times except in extraordinary circumstances set out in each chamber's rules.

When the rules are broken

74-208 gives the consequences:

• Any action taken at, or resulting from deliberation at, a noncompliant meeting is null and void.
• Members who participate face civil penalties up to $250, up to $1,500 for a knowing violation, and up to $2,500 for a repeat knowing violation within 12 months.
• The attorney general enforces against state agencies. County prosecutors enforce against local ones, with a special prosecutor when county commissioners are involved.
• Any affected person can sue in magistrate court to require compliance. A suit to void an action must be filed within 30 days of the decision. Other suits have 180 days. Private suits can't produce penalties or damages.
• An agency can cure a violation. After written notice, it has 14 days to publicly acknowledge or deny the violation, and if it acknowledges, 14 more days to void the actions. A cure blocks the $250 penalty.

For a reporter, the written notice is the useful tool. A short letter to the clerk naming the meeting, the subsection you think was violated and why, starts the clock, and the agency's public response is itself a story either way. The Attorney General's Open Meeting Law Manual explains each section with examples.