Mont. Code Ann. » TITLE 2. GOVERNMENT STRUCTURE AND ADMINISTRATION · CHAPTER 3. PUBLIC PARTICIPATION IN GOVERNMENTAL OPERATIONS · Part 2. Open Meetings
Montana Code Annotated

Mont. Code Ann. § 2-3-201 (2026)

Legislative Intent -- Liberal Construction

✓ current as of May 2026
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  1. MCA Contents
  2. TITLE 2
  3. CHAPTER 3
  4. Part 2
  5. 2-3-201 Legislative intent -- liberal construction

TITLE 2. GOVERNMENT STRUCTURE AND ADMINISTRATION

CHAPTER 3. PUBLIC PARTICIPATION IN GOVERNMENTAL OPERATIONS

Part 2. Open Meetings

Legislative Intent -- Liberal Construction

2-3-201. Legislative intent -- liberal construction. The legislature finds and declares that public boards, commissions, councils, and other public agencies in this state exist to aid in the conduct of the peoples' business. It is the intent of this part that actions and deliberations of all public agencies shall be conducted openly. The people of the state do not wish to abdicate their sovereignty to the agencies which serve them. Toward these ends, the provisions of the part shall be liberally construed.

History: En. Sec. 1, Ch. 159, L. 1963; R.C.M. 1947, 82-3401.

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 22 cases (3 in the last 5 years), 1980–2025 · leading case: Schoof v. Nesbit, 2014 MT 6 (Mont. 2014).
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Schoof v. Nesbit, 2014 MT 6 (Mont. 2014). · cites it 16× “” Section 2-3-201, MCA. To that end, “actions and deliberations of all public agencies shall be conducted openly.”
Associated Press v. Crofts, 2004 MT 120 (Mont. 2004). · cites it 15× “Section 2-3-201, MCA (2001). To that end, the provisions of the open meeting laws are to be liberally construed.”
Jones v. Montana Univ. Sys., 2007 MT 82 (Mont. 2007). · cites it 4× “2d 604 (1994), § 2-3-101, MCA, and § 2-3-201, MCA, although Petitioners leave their relevancy to the reader to ascertain.”
SJL of Montana Assocs. Ltd. P'ship v. City of Billings, 867 P.2d 1084 (Mont. 1993). · cites it 12× “The legislature's intent, clearly expressed in § 2-3-201, MCA, is that [a]ctions and deliberations of all public agencies shall be conducted openly.”
Common Cause v. Statutory Comm. to Nominate Candidates for Comm'r of Political Practices, 868 P.2d 604 (Mont. 1994). · cites it 6× “Section 2-3-203(1), MCA, provides, in pertinent part: All meetings of public or governmental bodies, boards, bureaus, commissions, agencies of the state, or any political subdivision of the state or organizations or agencies supported in whole or in part by public funds or…”
Willems v. SEC. of State Lind, 2014 MT 82 (Mont. 2014). · cites it 8× “It related back to the date of the original pleading because it “assert[ed] a claim or defense that arose out of the 9 conduct, transaction, or occurrence set out—or attempted to be set out—in the original pleading.” M.”
Raap v. Wolf Point Sch. Dist., 2018 MT 58 (Mont. 2018). · cites it 5× “" Section 2-3-201, MCA. Courts must liberally construe Article II, Section 9, and § 2-3-201, MCA, to the end that all deliberations of public bodies and agencies remain open to the public except as otherwise clearly provided under recognized exceptions to the constitutional…”
Bd. of Trs. v. Bd. of Cnty. Commissioners, 606 P.2d 1069 (Mont. 1980). · cites it 4× “Montana also has a number of statutes which protect this right to an “open meeting”, sections 2-3-201, MCA, et seq. Section 2-3-201 provides: “The legislature finds and declares that public boards, commissions, councils, and other public agencies in this state exist to aid in…”
Boulder Monitor v. Jefferson High Sch. Dist. No. 1, 2014 MT 5 (Mont. 2014). · cites it 27× “” Section 2-3-201, MCA. A “meeting” is “the convening of a quorum1 of the constituent membership of a public agency .”
Bryan v. Yellowstone Cnty. Elementary Sch. Dist. No. 2, 2002 MT 264 (Mont. 2002). “The Legislature has promulgated guidelines to protect the Article II, Section 9, guarantees in Montana’s open meeting statutes, codified at § 2-3-201, et seq., MCA. One of these open meeting statutes, § 2-3-203(1), MCA, provides: All meetings of public or governmental bodies,…”
Moe v. Butte-Silver Bow Cnty., 2016 MT 103 (Mont. 2016). “This provision is implemented by §§ 2-3-201 through -221, MCA. Section 2-3-203, MCA, provides, “The presiding officer of any meeting may close the meeting during the time the discussion relates to a matter of individual privacy and then if and only if the presiding officer…”
Goyen v. City of Troy, 915 P.2d 824 (Mont. 1996). · cites it 2× “Consequently, Goyen had a right to be notified of that discussion, regardless of whether Denton's assertion of her own privacy interest was reason enough to close the meeting. While the council asserts they took no action in executive session other than to recommend to Denton…”
Goldstein v. Comm'n on Practice of the Supreme Court, 2000 MT 8 (Mont. 2000). “2d 604, 607 , we noted that the rights, which Article II, Section 9, guarantees, are protected and implemented primarily through Montana’s open meeting statutes, codified at §§ 2-3-201 through 221, MCA. One of these statutes, § 2-3-203(1), MCA, provides: All meetings of public…”
Obert v. State, 2024 MT 270 (Mont. 2024). · cites it 2× “II, § 9; §§ 2-3-201, -202, -203, -212, and 2-6-1003(1), MCA (2015-21).”
Sonstelie v. Bd. of Trs. for Sch. Dist. No. 10, 658 P.2d 413 (Mont. 1983). · cites it 2× “, MCA, and the Montana Open Meeting Act, section 2-3-201 et seq., MCA, provide the statutory guidelines to protect those constitutional guarantees.”
State v. Zwart, 2014 MT 5 (Mont. 2014). · cites it 13× “” Section 2-3-201, MCA. A “meeting” is “the convening of a quorum1 of the constituent membership of a public agency .”
Choteau Acantha v. Gianforte, 2025 MT 76 (Mont. 2025). · cites it 2× “Although a university policy committee was not formally created by a government entity to accomplish a specific function, we recognized the committee as a public body, reasoning that because the committee addressed such issues as legislative strategy, budget planning and use of…”
Schoof v. Nesbit, 2014 MT 6 (Mont. 2014). · cites it 8× “” Section 2-3-201, MCA. To that end, “actions and deliberations of all public agencies shall be conducted openly.”
Citizens for Open Gov't, Inc. v. City of Polson, 2015 MT 55 (Mont. 2015). “The public has the right to observe deliberations of public bodies “except in cases in which the demands of individual privacy clearly exceed the merits of public disclosure.”
Bd. of Trs. v. Bd. of Count (Mont. 1980). · cites it 4× “Montana also has a number of statutes which protect this right to an "open meeting", sections 2-3-201, MCA, et seq. Section 2-3-201 provides: "The legislature finds and declares that public boards, commissions, councils, and other public agencies in this state exist to aid in…”
ACORN v. State, 2024 MT 182 (Mont. 2024). · cites it 2× “§ 2-3-212, MCA (providing for costs and fees in “right to know” enforcement actions); see also § 2-3-202, MCA (defining “meeting” under Mont.”
In re the Comm'n on Unauthorized Practice of Law, 246 Mont. 1 (Mont. 1990). “Meetings of the Commission shall be subject to § 2-3-201 et seq., MCA. (d) Effective Date.”
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