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Advance Public Availability of Meeting Agendas

Reference Number: MTAS-3022
Reviewed Date: 11/25/2025

Municipalities are required to post agendas 48 hours prior to regular governing body meetings: 

At least forty-eight (48) hours prior to a regular meeting, a state governing body or a local governmental body shall make available to the public, at no charge, the agenda for the upcoming regular meeting in a place accessible to the public. The agenda must reasonably describe the matters to be deliberated or acted upon during the public meeting. T.C.A. § 8-44-110(a). 

Municipal governing bodies may take up matters not listed on the published agenda only if "the body follows its bylaws or properly adopted rules and procedures and complies with all other applicable state laws." T.C.A. § 8-44-110(b). Cities may not circumvent the law's requirements by adding matters to agendas during meetings "for the purpose of avoiding public disclosure of business to be considered by the....local governmental body." T.C.A. § 8-44-110(c). 

The law requires that if a city has a website, the city "shall make an agenda available to the public through the website. The website is considered a place that is accessible to the public for purposes of compliance with subsection (a)." T.C.A. § 8-44-110(d).