Can a Mississippi county board of supervisors give just one hour of notice for a special meeting under the Open Meetings Act, or do they have to follow the longer five-day requirement in the supervisors' statute?
Plain-English summary
Harrison County's attorney asked whether the board of supervisors could rely on the Open Meetings Act's one-hour notice rule (Section 25-41-13(1)) for a special meeting, instead of the five-day notice rule in the supervisors' chapter (Section 19-3-19).
The AG said no. The two statutes both apply, and the board has to satisfy both.
Section 25-41-13(1) is the Open Meetings Act provision. It applies to any public body that has statutorily prescribed meeting times, places, and procedures. For special meetings, the board must post notice within one hour after the meeting is called in a prominent place at the building where the body normally meets. If the body has a website with the capability to update it, the special-meeting notice must also be posted to the website at least one hour before the meeting.
Section 19-3-19(2) is the supervisors-specific procedural statute. It says that special meetings can be called by the president, the vice president (in the president's absence), or any three members. Notice must be given for at least five days, by advertisement posted at the courthouse door or published in a newspaper of the county. The notice must be entered in full on the minutes. The notice has to specify each matter of business to be transacted, and the board cannot transact any business not specified in the notice.
The AG read the two statutes together. Section 25-41-13(1) opens with: "Any public body which holds its meetings at such times and places and by such procedures as are specifically prescribed by statute shall continue to do so." That is a clear textual signal that the Open Meetings Act layers on top of, rather than replaces, the existing statutory procedure. So the supervisors' five-day rule continues to apply, and the one-hour posting requirement is added.
A footnote acknowledges the COVID-19 declared state of emergency in effect when the opinion issued. The Mississippi Ethics Commission had issued guidance on Open Meetings Act compliance during the pandemic, but the AG's authority is limited to prospective state law and cannot opine on Ethics Commission guidance. Executive orders under Section 33-15-11(b)(17) might also affect application; if any are in effect, those control to the extent of the conflict.
What this means for you
For Mississippi boards of supervisors and county attorneys
Special-meeting compliance is a five-step checklist:
- The president, vice president (in absence of president), or any three members call the meeting.
- Set a meeting date at least five days out (so the five-day notice can run).
- Post notice at the courthouse door OR publish in a county newspaper, with the notice listing each matter of business.
- Within one hour of calling the meeting, post notice in a prominent place at the meeting building. If you have a website with update capability, post to the website at least one hour before the meeting.
- Enter the notice in full on the minutes of the meeting.
Skipping the five-day publication is not an option. Skipping the one-hour posting is not an option either. Both requirements apply, and a special meeting that fails on either could be challenged as void.
The notice has to specify the matters of business. The board cannot act on items not on the notice. This is a substantive constraint, not just procedural. If a new issue comes up that needs immediate action, the board should call another special meeting, give the proper notice, and then act.
The "courthouse door OR newspaper" choice gives boards flexibility. A courthouse door posting is fine; a newspaper run is fine. Many boards do both as belt-and-suspenders.
For chancery clerks
Make sure the meeting notice is entered in full on the minutes, not just referenced. The statute specifically requires "the notice thereof, whether posted or published in a newspaper, shall be entered in full on the minutes of said meeting."
If the board calls a special meeting, your records should include:
- The signed call by the president, vice president, or three members
- A copy of the notice as posted or published
- The date of posting at the courthouse door or publication
- The website posting (if applicable) with a screenshot or print
- The full notice text in the minutes
These records establish compliance if anyone challenges the meeting later.
For Mississippi citizens following county government
If your county board of supervisors holds a special meeting, you should be able to find notice at the courthouse door or in the county newspaper at least five days before. The notice should list every item of business to be discussed. If the board acts on something that was not on the notice, the action is procedurally suspect and could be challenged.
For Mississippi newspaper publishers
Counties have an ongoing need to publish special-meeting notices. The five-day publication option remains a primary compliance route under Section 19-3-19. Boards may also use courthouse-door posting (which avoids the publication cost), but newspaper publication remains common because it reaches more residents.
Common questions
Q: Does the five-day rule apply to regular meetings?
A: No, only to special meetings. Regular meetings have established times and places.
Q: What counts as a "special meeting"?
A: Any meeting that is not a regular scheduled meeting. Including emergency meetings, recess meetings (in the special-meeting sense), and called interim meetings.
Q: Can a special meeting be called with less than five days' notice?
A: Section 19-3-19 does not provide an emergency exception within its five-day rule. If a true emergency requires faster action, executive orders during a declared emergency or other specific statutory authority might modify the timing. Absent that, the five-day rule controls.
Q: What if the courthouse is closed (weekend, holiday) when the meeting is called?
A: The one-hour posting and the five-day notice are separate. The five-day notice runs from posting or publication, so post or publish as soon as practicable. The one-hour posting requires posting "in a prominent place available to examination and inspection by the general public in the building in which the public body normally meets" within an hour of calling the meeting.
Q: Can the notice be amended to add items after posting?
A: A special meeting cannot transact business not specified in the notice. If you need to add an item, you generally need to call another special meeting with proper notice for the added item. Amendments to the notice within the five-day window may be possible if they extend rather than shorten the notice period for the new item; consult counsel.
Q: Does the website-posting requirement apply only to counties with websites?
A: It applies to public bodies that "have a website and have the capability to update the website." If the county has no website or cannot update it, this part of the requirement does not apply, but the courthouse posting and the five-day publication still do.
Q: What is the consequence of holding a special meeting without proper notice?
A: Action taken at an improperly noticed meeting can be challenged. Courts may invalidate the action, especially when a citizen or party with standing brings a timely challenge. The exact remedy depends on the action and the harm.
Q: Does this rule apply to other county boards (e.g., county hospital boards)?
A: This opinion is specific to boards of supervisors. Other public bodies have their own statutory procedures. The Open Meetings Act applies generally and the layered-on top reasoning would apply to any other body with a specific statutory procedure.
Q: What about boards that meet jointly with another body?
A: Notice has to satisfy each body's requirements. If the supervisors meet jointly with another board, the supervisors' notice rules still apply to the supervisors' portion of the meeting.
Q: Do executive orders under emergency declarations modify these rules?
A: They can. The footnote in this opinion notes that executive orders under Section 33-15-11(b)(17) may affect application during a declared emergency. Check whether any current executive order modifies the requirements.
Background and statutory framework
Mississippi's special-meeting rules for boards of supervisors come from the original supervisors' chapter (now Title 19) and predate the Open Meetings Act in their core structure. The five-day notice rule and the courthouse-door-or-newspaper publication options reflect the era's preferences.
The Open Meetings Act (Section 25-41-1 et seq.) was added later, with the goal of opening public-body meetings to public scrutiny. Section 25-41-13(1) was the legislature's approach to bodies that already had specific statutory procedures: keep using those procedures, plus add the one-hour posting requirement.
The "shall continue to do so" language in Section 25-41-13(1) is the textual hook the AG used. It tells public bodies with existing statutory procedures to keep following those procedures, with the one-hour-posting addition.
The result is layered notice: five days for the publication or posting, one hour for the prominent location notice. Both requirements apply.
The COVID-19 footnote is dated. The Ethics Commission had issued guidance on virtual meetings and other accommodations during the pandemic. Whether any of that guidance is still in force depends on the current state of emergency declarations and any legislative or judicial activity since 2021.
The "specify each matter of business" rule in Section 19-3-19 is a significant constraint. It is the basis for many challenges to special-meeting actions when boards stray into items not noticed. The notice has to list each item; the board can only act on the listed items.
Citations and references
Statutes:
- Miss. Code Ann. § 19-3-19, special meetings of boards of supervisors (call, notice, scope of business)
- Miss. Code Ann. § 25-41-13, Open Meetings Act notice requirements
- Miss. Code Ann. § 33-15-11(b)(17), governor's executive-order authority during emergencies
Source
- Landing page: https://attorneygenerallynnfitch.com/divisions/opinions-and-policy/recent-opinions/
- Original PDF: https://attorneygenerallynnfitch.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/T.Holleman-October-29-2021-Notice-of-Special-Meetings.pdf
Original opinion text
October 29, 2021
Tim C. Holleman, Esq.
Attorney for Harrison County Board of Supervisors
1720 23rd Avenue
Gulfport, Mississippi 39501
Re: Notice of Special Meetings
Dear Mr. Holleman:
The Office of the Attorney General has received your request for an official opinion.
Question Presented
You ask if it is sufficient for the Harrison County Board of Supervisors to comply with the notice provisions of Mississippi Code Annotated Section 25-41-13(1) prior to a special meeting, rather than the provisions of Section 19-3-19.[^1]
Brief Response
No. Boards of supervisors are subject to Section 19-3-19, which prescribes specific notice requirements for their special meetings, in addition to the provisions of Section 25-41-13(1).
Applicable Law and Discussion
Pursuant to Section 25-41-13(1), a public body that has statutorily prescribed meeting times, places and procedures must provide meeting notice, including notice for special meetings, within an hour after such meeting is called. That section provides, in part:
(1) Any public body which holds its meetings at such times and places and by such procedures as are specifically prescribed by statute shall continue to do so and no additional notice of such meetings shall be required except that:
(a) A notice of the place, date, hour and subject matter of any recess meeting, adjourned meeting, interim meeting or any called special meeting shall be posted within one (1) hour after such meeting is called in a prominent place available to examination and inspection by the general public in the building in which the public body normally meets . . . ; and
(b) Except as otherwise provided by law, a notice of a called special meeting shall be posted to the public body's website, if the public body has a website and has the capability to update the website, not less than one (1) hour before the meeting . . . .
Miss. Code Ann. § 25-41-13 (emphasis added). As set forth above, this section applies to public bodies that hold meetings in accordance with times, places, and procedures specifically proscribed by statute. In turn, Section 19-3-19 sets forth the procedures for boards of supervisors to call special meetings. Subsection (2) provides:
The president, or the vice president in the absence or disability of the president, or any three (3) members of the board, may call special meetings when deemed necessary. Notice shall be given of all special meetings, for at least five (5) days, by advertisement posted at the courthouse door, or published in a newspaper of the county, and the notice thereof, whether posted or published in a newspaper, shall be entered in full on the minutes of said meeting. The notice of a special meeting, shall specify each matter of business to be transacted thereat, and at such special meetings business shall not be transacted which is not specified in the order or notice for such meeting.
The notice provisions of Section 25-41-13 that requires a one (1) hour posting of notice prior to a called special meeting by boards of supervisors is supplemental, but not an alternative, to the provisions of Section 19-3-19. Reading the two statutory provisions together, we are of the opinion that the one (1) hour posting requirement in Section 25-41-13(1) is in addition to the five (5) day requirement of Section 19-3-19.
If this office may be of any further assistance to you, please do not hesitate to contact us.
Sincerely,
LYNN FITCH, ATTORNEY GENERAL
By: /s/ Phil Carter
Phil Carter
Special Assistant Attorney General
[^1]: We recognize that as of the issuance of this opinion, Mississippi is currently under a declared state of emergency due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The Mississippi Ethics Commission has issued guidance to assist public bodies on compliance with the Open Meetings Act during the pandemic. However, as our authority is limited to issuing opinions on prospective questions of state law, we can offer no opinion on the Ethics Commission guidance. We further note that this opinion may be or may become affected by any applicable executive orders issued by the Governor pursuant to Section 33-15-11(b)(17).