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. 6835 February 13, 1995 OPEN MEETINGS ACT: Conducting intermediate school board annual budget meeting by means of interactive television SCHOOLS AND SCHOOL DISTRICTS: Conducting intermediate school board annual budget meeting by means of interactive television An intermediate school district may permit some representatives of constituent district boards to attend its annual budget meeting by means of interactive television. Honorable Allen Lowe State Representative The Capitol Lansing, Michigan You have asked if an intermediate school board may permit some representatives of constituent district boards to attend its annual budget meeting by means of interactive television. 1976 PA 451, section 624(2), MCL 380.624(2); MSA 15.4624(2), requires that not later than March 1 of each year, every intermediate school board shall submit an annual general fund operating budget to a meeting of one board of education member from each of the constituent districts who represents that district. At the meeting, the intermediate school board president shall preside and the intermediate secretary shall keep the minutes. The representative members determine the maximum amount of the intermediate school district general fund operating budget but have no power to make final determinations on specific line items within the budget. Each of the constituent district representatives that is present has a vote and a majority of the members present and voting is needed to establish the maximum amount of the budget. The proposal involved in your inquiry is to permit representatives of constituent districts to appear at the annual general fund budget meeting through interactive television. The constituent district representatives appearing through interactive television would be connected to the remaining representatives at a central site where the meeting is held. Resolution of your question requires a determination whether this meeting is subject to the Open Meetings Act (OMA), 1976 PA 267, MCL 15.261 et seq; MSA 4.1800(11) et seq, and if it is, whether the OMA permits use of interactive television. Section 2(a) of the OMA defines a "public body," in pertinent part, as: [A]ny state or local legislative or governing body, including a board, commission, committee, subcommittee, authority, or council, which is empowered by state ... statute ... to exercise governmental or proprietary authority or perform a governmental or proprietary function.... Opinions of this office have consistently concluded that governmental boards, commissions, committees, subcommittees, authorities, or councils vested with final decision-making authority on a particular matter are public bodies under the OMA. See, OAG, 1989-1990, No 6652, p 359, 360 (July 25, 1990), and opinions cited therein. See, also, Menominee County Taxpayers Alliance, Inc v Menominee County Clerk, 139 MichApp 814, 818-819; 362 NW2d 871 (1984), 1v den 422 Mich 977 (1985). The group of constituent district representatives is a local governmental body specifically created by state statute. Section 624(2) states that "[t]he maximum amount of the budget shall not exceed that approved by the majority of the school board representatives of constituent districts." Such a determination is final and unquestionably constitutes an "exercise [of] governmental ... authority" under section 2(a) of the OMA. The group of constituent district representatives is, therefore, a public body as that term is defined in the OMA. Section 2(b) of the OMA defines "meeting" as: [T]he convening of a public body at which a quorum is present for the purpose of deliberating toward or rendering a decision on a public policy. The purpose of the annual meeting required by section 624(2) of 1976 PA 451 is to establish the maximum amount of an intermediate school district general fund operating budget. Although the body may not make determinations on specific line items, it clearly has the statutory authority to limit the aggregate general fund expenditures of the intermediate school district. The establishment of the maximum amount of the intermediate school district general fund operating budget is a decision on a public policy. Thus, the annual budget meeting of the constituent district representatives under section 624(2) is a meeting as that term is defined in the OMA and must be conducted in accordance with that statute. Research has failed to disclose any judicial decisions addressing the use of interactive television for public meetings under the OMA or similar statutes of other states. However, in Goode v Dep't of Social Services, 143 MichApp 756, 759-760; 373 NW2d 210 (1985), 1v den 424 Mich 882 (1986), the Court of Appeals held that contested case hearings of the Michigan Department of Social Services (DSS), which were required to be conducted in compliance with the OMA, could be held by teleconference calls without violating that act. (1) The Court recognized that although it was desirable to observe all the participants, it was not mandatory under the OMA. Id. at 760. The Court's holding in Goode, supra, provides authority for a public body to conduct a meeting under the OMA without all of the participants being physically present in the same room. The use of interactive television enhances the public's access to the meetings. The medium is certainly more desirable than the teleconferencing medium sanctioned in Goode because the representatives and any members of the public attending the meeting through interactive television will be seen as well as heard. In order to comply with the OMA, the meeting must satisfy the openness and notice requirements in that act. See generally, 1976 PA 267, supra, sections 3 through 5. Moreover, the central site must be set up so that interaction among all the representatives of the constituent districts, whether they be on or off that site, and interested members of the public is possible. It is my opinion, therefore, that an intermediate school district may permit some representatives of constituent district boards to attend its annual budget meeting by means of interactive television. Frank J. Kelley Attorney General (1 Although the Supreme Court denied leave to appeal in Goode, the Court granted leave in a related case that raised challenges to the use of telephone conference hearings by DSS as being inconsistent with specific administrative rules promulgated by DSS)