A state board is investigating if so-called informal “pre-meetings” of members of Maryland’s Board of Public Works violate open meeting laws.

The Maryland Open Meetings Compliance Board opened an investigation this week after a reporter from the Kent County News filed a citizen complaint about gatherings before the BPW’s regularly scheduled meetings. The meetings have been an occasional tradition for several decades, though Comptroller Peter Franchot recently began skipping them to avoid violating sunshine laws.