Press Release  AG Campbell Releases Annual Report On Efforts To Enforce And Ensure Compliance With Open Meeting Law

BOSTON — Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell today released an annual report highlighting the activities of her office’s Division of Open Government, which is responsible for enforcing the Commonwealth’s Open Meeting Law (OML). As it has done since 2010, the Division worked to ensure that public bodies conducted business in a transparent manner in 2025. 

According to the report, in 2025, the Attorney General’s Office (AGO) received 395 OML complaints for review, an increase from the 364 complaints received in 2024. In total, the Division issued 264 determination and declination letters, resolving 306 separate complaints.

The Division found a violation of the OML in approximately 56% of the complaints it reviewed, up two percentage points from 2024. Many complaints alleged multiple separate violations of the OML. The most frequently occurring violations in 2025 were:

• Insufficiently specific meeting notice
• Inaccurate/insufficiently detailed meeting minutes
• Deliberation outside of a posted meeting
• Convening in executive session for improper purpose
• Meetings not accessible to the public

The remedial actions most frequently ordered by the Division were:

• Immediate and future compliance with the OML
• Create, approve or amend meeting minutes

• Review and release executive session minutes

The Division’s primary goal is to ensure that all public bodies understand and comply with the OML. To help meet this goal, in 2025, the Division trained more than 1,220 people on the law’s requirements and hosted 19 public webinars. Additionally, the Division received and responded to approximately 1,482 inquiries to its helpline.

The Division of Open Government was created in 2010 to educate, provide resources, and enforce the OML. Individuals who believe a public body has violated the OML may find a complaint form on the AGO website. Additional questions may be directed to the Division by calling (617) 963-2540, or by emailing openmeeting@mass.gov. 

The Division of Open Government consists of Acting Director Elizabeth Carnes Flynn, Assistant Attorneys General Kerry Kilcoyne and Matthew Lindberg, and Paralegal Natalie Reyes.

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