The following opinion is presented on-line for informational use only and does not replace the official version. (Mich Dept of Attorney General Web Site - www.ag.state.mi.us) STATE OF MICHIGAN FRANK J. KELLEY, ATTORNEY GENERAL Opinion No. 5595 November 20, 1979 OPEN MEETINGS ACT: Sequestration of witnesses at meeting convened to consider contract grievance The Open Meetings Act does not permit a public body to sequester witnesses at a public meeting convened to consider a contract grievance. Honorable James K. Dressel State Representative The Capitol Lansing, Michigan 48909 You have requested my opinion on the following question: May a public body, such as a board of education, sequester witnesses (1) at a public meeting convened to consider a contract grievance? Section 3 of the Open Meetings Act, 1976 PA 267, MCLA 15.263; MSA 4.1800(13), provides, in pertinent part: '(1) All meetings of a public body shall be open to the public and shall be held in a place available to the general public. All persons shall be permitted to attend any meeting except as otherwise provided in this act. '(4) A person shall not be required as a condition to attendance at a meeting of a public body to register or otherwise provide his name or other information or otherwise to fulfill a condition precedent to attendance. '(6) A person shall not be excluded from a public meeting except for a breach of the peace actually committed at the meeting.' The only exceptions to the general rule that all public meetings must be open to all members of the public are contained in section 8 of the Act, which sets forth eight specific situations in which a public body may meet in closed session. None of these exceptions provide for the sequestering of a witness during an open meeting. In Wexford County Prosecutor v Pranger, 83 Mich App 197; 268 NW2d 344 (1978), the Michigan Court of Appeals stated that the Legislature intended that closed session exceptions should be strictly construed in order to limit the situations which are not open to the public. Under this standard, the court held that the exception permitting a public body to meet in closed session for strategy and negotiation purposes connected with the negotiation of a collective bargaining agreement could not be utilized by a public body convening to consider a grievance lodged under a current contract. The grievance hearing must be held in open session. Accordingly, it is my opinion that the Open Meetings Act, supra, does not permit a public body to sequester witnesses at a public meeting convened to consider a contract grievance. Frank J. Kelley Attorney General (1)