By Alabama Public Radio
Montgomery, AL – Alabama has a new open meetings law. Governor Bob Riley signed the legislation Tuesday afternoon. It outlines how government boards must meet publicly and how they must notify the public about their meetings. Senator Zeb Little and Representative Blaine Galliher sponsored the legislation. Little says the law will do more to provide accountability in government than any other piece of legislation. Governor Riley says citizens will no longer be shut out of public meetings. He also says the new law is another step toward making Alabama's government more accountable and more transparent. Similar efforts to pass a stronger open meetings law failed to pass the legislature during the past 12 years. But now, Senator Zeb Little says their next goal is to pass a new open records law.