Civil-Liberties Group Gets Warning From State Official

The New York State Attorney General’s office made an informal warning to the American Civil Liberties Union, urging it not to adopt any bylaws changes that would inhibit board members from discussing internal operations in public, reports The New York Times.

Several board members said they had been told that an official of the New York attorney general’s office, Gerald Rosenberg, had contacted an ACLU staff member about his concerns. Mr. Rosenberg would not comment specifically on what he told the staff member, but he did say that, in general, “if a public charity did adopt as a bylaw or a binding resolution that barred its directors from discussing public policy outside the boardroom, it might well be of concern to us.”

The American Civil Liberties Union discussed such prohibitions at a a board meeting over the weekend, but did not take any action.