On September 10, 2025, the North Dakota Attorney General’s Office released an opinion regarding the Jacobson Memorial Hospital Care Center and its obligations under open meetings laws.
The opinion addressed two main questions: whether the hospital care center qualifies as a “public entity” subject to open meetings requirements, and whether it violated those laws by restricting public access to specific meetings held on May 31, 2022, and June 28, 2022.
According to the opinion, “The Jacobson Memorial Hospital Care Center is a ‘public entity’ subject to the open meetings laws to the extent it is supported by or expends public funds.” The document further clarified that “The Jacobson Memorial Hospital Care Center did not violate the open meetings laws by refusing public access to its May 31, 2022, and June 28, 2022, meetings because the meetings did not relate to public funds.”
The full text of Opinion #2025-O-12 is available for review through the North Dakota Attorney General’s Office website.
