All fifty states and the District of Columbia have enacted open meetings laws. These laws generally require state and local agencies, commissions, boards, and councils to provide advance notice to the public of their meetings, to permit any member of the public to attend them (although not necessarily to participate), and to provide minutes, transcripts or recordings of meetings upon request at little or no cost. While many of these laws are similar to the Government in the Sunshine Act and the Federal Advisory Committee Act in certain respects, significant variation exists on a state-by-state basis.

Choose your state from the list below for state-specific information on open meetings laws. (Note: This guide currently covers only the 15 most populous states and the District of Columbia. We hope to add additional states to the guide at a later date.)