"(a) No executive or secret session shall be held by any of the following named boards, commissions or courts of Alabama, namely: Alabama public service commission; school commissions of Alabama; board of adjustment; state or county tax commissions; any county commission, any city commission or municipal council; or any other body, board or commission in the state charged with the duty of disbursing any funds belonging to the state, county or municipality, or board, body or commission to which is delegated any legislative or judicial function; except, that executive or secret sessions may be held by any of the above named boards or commissions when the character or good name of a woman or man is involved.
"(b) Any person or persons violating any of the provisions of this section shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and, upon conviction, shall be fined not less than $10.00 nor more than $500.00. Any person who remains in attendance upon any meeting of any of the above named boards or bodies which is being held in secret or executive session shall be deemed guilty of violating the provisions of this section."
"A. The Advertiser Company, etc., v. Wallis, etc., et al.
"The Commissioner of Mental Health and Mental Retardation of the State of Alabama and the Governor of Alabama, pursuant to Act No. 84-242, Acts of Alabama 1984, constitute a public corporation known as the Department of Mental Health and Mental Retardation of the State of Alabama ('Department'). The Commissioner, as chief administrative official in charge of the operation of the Department, held a meeting for the purpose of resolving differences between the Department and a labor union and of consummating and executing a contract with that labor union regarding conditions
of employment of employees at state mental facilities. The meeting was held on July 10, 1984, at the Department offices, 200 Interstate Park, Montgomery, Alabama. The public and the media were barred from this meeting. It consumed three hours.
"Those who attended the meeting were the Commissioner, the Associate Commissioner for Personnel and Administration, the Department Director of Administrative Services, the State Labor Commissioner, and the business manager, president, and secretary-treasurer of the union. The subject matter of the meeting was the negotiation of a contract with a labor union regarding public employees; and there existed a very serious situation with the possibility of a strike, walk-out, call-in or some other interruption in essential mental health services. Such a strike would have had a substantial negative impact on the operation of the mental health system.
"Principal items discussed at the meeting were asserted delays in the grievance procedures; overtime policies; union participation in policy making procedures; and enforcement of automobile traffic regulations at and near the mental hospitals.
"The pervasive subject matter of the meeting was the union contract. At this meeting an agreement was reached as to all major issues; and a written contract embodying the agreement was signed by the Commissioner for the Department a few days later. Among the duties of the Department is that of disbursing funds belonging to the State of Alabama. The Advertiser Company [a newspaper publisher] contends that discussion of the character or names of individuals did not constitute a significant part of this meeting. The Department contends that such discussion did occur as a part of the meeting. It is contended by the Advertiser Company that the negotiations and subsequent union contract were illegal and in violation of the Alabama Supreme Court's decision in Nichols v. Bolding, 277 So.2d 868 (1973), because there was no express statutory or constitutional authority permitting the Department, a public body, to contract with a labor union regarding wages, hours or conditions of employment of public employees.
"B. The Advertiser Company, etc., v. Baggiano, etc.
"The Alabama Medicaid Program is a cooperative state and federal program designed to provide medical services to eligible indigent persons in the state. Federal statutes, rules and regulations govern how a state may administer this cooperative program. In addition, the state has established its own rules and regulations under which, in conjunction with the federal rules, the program is administered. In Alabama, the program is conducted by the Alabama Medicaid Agency which contracts with hospitals, physicians, nursing homes, pharmacists, medical equipment suppliers, and other similar 'providers' of medical services to provide services to those Alabama residents who are eligible for Medicaid benefits. Pursuant to such contracts, the providers submit claims to the Medicaid Agency for reimbursement for medical services rendered by said providers to eligible Medicaid patients. After reviewing and approving a claim from a provider, the Medicaid Agency makes payment to the provider by drawing from both state and federal funds.
"The Medicaid Agency operates as an arm of the Office of the Governor of Alabama. The Governor of the State of Alabama was designated by Executive Order No. 83, September 26, 1977, as the single state agency to develop and administer the state plan for medical assistance, which is otherwise known as 'Medicaid.' The Governor of Alabama delegated by executive order his responsibility for administering the program to the 'Alabama Medicaid Agency.' The Governor appoints the Medicaid Commissioner to oversee the administration of this program. Mrs. Faye S. Baggiano is the current commissioner of Medicaid.
"In 1984, the Medicaid Agency performed an audit on one of its providers, Baptist Medical Center in Montgomery, Alabama. The purpose of the audit was to review and examine expenditures of the provider to assure that the provider had properly reported medical expenditures to Medicaid. On November 16, 1984, a meeting was held between members of the Alabama Medicaid Agency and Baptist Medical Center to discuss the results of the audit. This meeting is known in accounting terminology as an 'audit exit interview,' which is typically a meeting held at the end of an audit to resolve problems before publishing the audit findings. The meeting with Baptist Medical Center was to afford the provider an opportunity to comment on the audit and offer suggestions before the audit became final. This audit process is part of the normal functions of the Medicaid Agency.
"At the November 16, 1984, meeting, there was no promulgation, revision or formulation of any rule, regulation or policy regarding the administration or conduct of the Alabama Medicaid Agency or the Alabama Medicaid Program. The meeting was held for the purpose of discussing with officials of a private entity, Baptist Medical Center, questions arising as a result of an audit of the provider's neo-natal care unit.
"The public, including members of the media, were excluded from this meeting and it was held in executive or secret session. Present at the meeting from Medicaid Agency were its Commissioner; its chief auditor and her supervisor, [the] Medicaid Agency fiscal manager; three additional Agency auditors; the head of its hospital program; the chief of its program integrity; and its attorney. Present for Baptist Medical Center were its...
