The Attorney General has noted that a Public Hearing and a Public Meeting are not one and the same and that holding only a public meeting does not satisfy the requirement of holding a public hearing on a matter. The public hearing may occur immediately preceding the public meeting, or even as an agenda item within a public meeting (should be clearly delineated in the agenda and any notice and the public entity should both announce the opening of the public hearing and, after holding hearing, announce the closure of the public hearing on the matter before moving on to other agenda items ).

A.#2 Yes, a public hearing is subject to the requirements of the Open Meetings Law, including the taking of minutes, as it meets the definition of a meeting under the Open Meetings Law. The definition of “meeting” for the purposes of the Open Meetings Law under R.S. 42:1113(A)(2) includes any gathering at which a public entity receives information on a matter of public importance.