Most governments have not complied with open meetings training law

More than 60 percent of the state's local governments have not complied with a 2013 state law requiring training in Maryland's Open Meetings Act.

Monica Johnson, chairwoman of the state's Open Meetings Compliance Board, said the numbers reveal there is "lots of room for improvement."

"I really think that folks want to do the right thing to the extent they know what it is and how to do it," she said. "Part of the key is getting the message out that this is the law of the land. Sometimes it takes time."

State legislators passed a law in 2013 requiring all government boards, commissions, task forces or other bodies that fall under the requirements of the Open Meetings Act to designate a person to take a training class. Under the law, governments were required to notify the state attorney general's office of the person identified for training and when the training was completed. Governments had six months from the effective date of the law, Oct 1, 2013, to comply.

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Open Meetings Act training list