Supreme Court Rules on Amending Meeting Agendas

Two years after the state Court of Appeals ruled on the case of Lambries vs. Saluda County related to amending public body meeting agendas, the South Carolina Supreme Court today overturned the lower court’s decision.

The Supreme Court ruling concluded “FOIA’s notice statue does not require an agenda to be issued for a regularly scheduled meeting, and FOIA contains no prohibition on the amendment of an agenda for a regularly scheduled meeting…”

"We agree with the ruling of the Supreme Court based on state law; however, we believe the best practice for cities is to have an agenda for all meetings posted a minimum of 24 hours in advance of the meeting," said Miriam Hair, the Municipal Association’s executive director. "This practice helps councils efficiently and effectively handle the public’s business. 

"Public notice of the agenda is also an effective way to keep the public informed as to what the council will discuss at its next meeting. However, we acknowledge that there may be unusual circumstances when a council may need to amend an agenda at the time of the meeting to address a critical and unanticipated situation.”