At the beginning of each year, the SC Freedom of Information Act requires all public bodies to give written notice of their regularly scheduled meetings. This annual notice needs to provide a date, time and location for each of a city's regular meetings.
The notice must appear on a bulletin board in a publicly accessible place at the public body's office or meeting space. Public bodies that maintain a website must place the annual notice there as well.
These posting requirements are similar to the FOIA requirements for posting individual meeting agendas. Those agendas also need to be placed on a publicly accessible bulletin board at the meeting place, and posted on websites, if available. Public bodies also need to provide these agendas to all those individuals, news outlets and organizations who request that the body send agendas to them. The body needs to publicize the agenda in this way at least 24 hours in advance of the meeting.
Annual notices and meeting agendas are frequently associated with city and town councils, but the FOIA rules apply to several other public bodies as well. The rules apply to all of these:
- City and town councils
- Public utility boards
- Planning commissions
- Boards of zoning appeals
- Architectural review boards
- All other boards, commissions and committees appointed by a city or town council
Find the Public Officials Guide to Compliance with the S.C. Freedom of Information Act at www.scpress.org.