Citizens familiar with sunshine battles over government meetings and public records know that a key area of potential abuse is the part of the state's Open Meetings Law that lets public bodies go behind closed doors to discuss certain legal matters with their lawyers.

The law says, "The public body may consider and give instructions to an attorney concerning the handling or settlement of a claim, judicial action, mediation, arbitration, or administrative procedure." It also says flatly, "General policy matters may not be discussed in a closed session." And yet public bodies sometimes indulge in improper closed-session discussions or let legitimate conversations stray afield.

The latest apparent example is from Union County, near Charlotte. Union Commissioner Roger Lane says the county's elected board has talked behind closed doors at least twice this summer about county sewer policies generally -- including how to distribute its limited number of permits -- instead of specific legal disputes.

"I think in retrospect that maybe we were out of order on that," Lane told The Charlotte Observer last week. "... The questions that we are bringing up do not require, for the most part, legal advice. All we're doing is moving sewerage around the county."

David Lawrence, a sunshine law expert at the UNC-Chapel Hill School of Government, said public officials are not supposed to ponder privately such policy questions as: "Is this a good idea? What is this going to do to development? What is this going to do to our tax base?"

Alas, there's essentially no penalty for breaking the law.

("Your right to know" offers a quick lesson on public records and meetings. Staff writer Matthew Eisley can be reached at matthew.eisley@newsobserver.com, 829-4538 or The News & Observer, 215 S. McDowell St., Raleigh, N.C. 27602.)