Minnesota Legislature
HF 2958
as introduced - 86th Legislature (2009 - 2010) Posted on 02/15/2010 09:44am
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A bill for an act
relating to state government; making changes to the Open Meeting Law;
amending Minnesota Statutes 2008, sections 13D.01; 13D.02, subdivisions 1, 4;
13D.021, subdivisions 1, 4; 13D.04.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:
Section 1.
Minnesota Statutes 2008, section 13D.01, is amended to read:
13D.01 MEETINGS MUST BE OPEN TO THE PUBLIC; EXCEPTIONS.
Subdivision 1.
deleted text begin In executive branch, local governmentdeleted text end new text begin Open meetings;
definitionsnew text end .
new text begin (a) new text end All meetingsdeleted text begin , including executive sessions,deleted text end new text begin of a public bodynew text end must be
open to the publicnew text begin .
new text end
new text begin
(b) For purposes of this section, "meeting" means a quorum of members of a public
body assembling in person or by other electronic means to discuss, deliberate, or decide
matters of public business. A meeting does not include the participation of any members
of a public body in an online forum accessible to all members of the public, such as
a public blog or other interactive public internet forum.
new text end
new text begin
(c) "Public body" means a quorum of any multimember state or local governing
body when required or permitted by law to conduct public business in a meeting. The
term also includes a quorum of a committee or subcommittee or other similar body of a
state agency or local governing body and a statewide public pension plan as defined in
section 356A.01, subdivision 24, or a local public pension plan governed by section 69.77,
sections 69.771 to 69.775, or chapter 354A, 422A, or 423B.
new text end
deleted text begin
(a) of a state
deleted text end
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(1) agency,
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deleted text begin
(2) board,
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deleted text begin
(3) commission, or
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deleted text begin
(4) department,
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deleted text begin
when required or permitted by law to transact public business in a meeting;
deleted text end
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(b) of the governing body of a
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(1) school district however organized,
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(2) unorganized territory,
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(3) county,
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(4) statutory or home rule charter city,
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deleted text begin
(5) town, or
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deleted text begin
(6) other public body;
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(c) of any
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(1) committee,
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(2) subcommittee,
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(3) board,
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(4) department, or
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(5) commission,
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deleted text begin
of a public body; and
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deleted text begin
(d) of the governing body or a committee of:
deleted text end
deleted text begin (1) a statewide public pension plan defined in section 356A.01, subdivision 24; ordeleted text end
deleted text begin (2) a local public pension plan governed by section 69.77, sections 69.771 to 69.775,
or chapter 354A, 422A, or 423B.deleted text end
Subd. 2.
Exceptions.
This chapter does not apply
(1) to meetings of the commissioner of corrections;
(2) to a state agency, board, or commission when it is exercising quasi-judicial
functions involving disciplinary proceedings; or
(3) as otherwise expressly provided by statute.
Subd. 3.
Subject of and grounds for closed meeting.
Before closing a meeting, a
public body shall state on the record the specific groundsnew text begin , including the applicable statutory
section,new text end permitting the meeting to be closed and describe the subject to be discussed.
Subd. 4.
Votes to be kept in journal.
(a) The votes of the members of the
deleted text begin state agency, board, commission, or department; or of the governing body, committee,
subcommittee, board, department, or commissiondeleted text end new text begin public bodynew text end on an action taken in a
meeting required by this section to be open to the public must be recorded in a journal
kept for that purpose.
(b) The vote of each member must be recorded on each appropriation of money,
except for payments of judgments, claims, and amounts fixed by statute.
Subd. 5.
Public access to journal.
The journal must be open to the public during all
normal business hours where records of the public body are kept.
Subd. 6.
Public copy of members' materials.
(a) In any meeting which under
subdivisions 1, 2, 4, and 5, and section 13D.02 must be open to the public, at least onenew text begin
papernew text end copy of any printednew text begin or electronicnew text end materials relating to the agenda items of the
meeting prepared or distributed by or at the direction of the deleted text begin governingdeleted text end new text begin publicnew text end body or
its employees and:
(1) distributed at the meeting to all members of the deleted text begin governingdeleted text end new text begin publicnew text end body;
(2) distributed before the meeting to all members; or
(3) available in the meeting room to all members;
shall be available in the meeting room for inspection by the public while the deleted text begin governingdeleted text end new text begin
publicnew text end body considers their subject matter.new text begin If the public body has a Web site, the meeting
materials provided to the members must be posted on the public body's Web site prior
to the meeting.
new text end
(b) This subdivision does not apply to materials classified by law as other than
public as defined in chapter 13, or to materials relating to the agenda items of a closed
meeting held in accordance with the procedures in section 13D.03 or other law permitting
the closing of meetings.
new text begin Subd. 7. new text end
new text begin Public recording of meetings. new text end
new text begin
A public body must establish policies to
ensure that members of the public can record and photograph public meetings in a manner
that is not disruptive.
new text end
Sec. 2.
Minnesota Statutes 2008, section 13D.02, subdivision 1, is amended to read:
Subdivision 1.
Conditions.
A meeting governed by section 13D.01, subdivisions 1,
2, 4, and 5, and this section may be conducted by interactive television so long as:
(1) all members of the body participating in the meeting, wherever their physical
location, can hear and see one another and can hear and see all discussion and testimony
presented at any location at which at least one member is present;
(2) members of the public present deleted text begin at the regular meeting location of the bodydeleted text end can
hear and see all discussion and testimony and all votes of members of the bodynew text begin , by
attending a location where at least one member is present or by monitoring the meeting
electronically from a remote locationnew text end ;
(3) at least one member of the body is physically present at the regular meeting
location; and
(4) each location at which a member of the body is present is open and accessible
to the public.
Sec. 3.
Minnesota Statutes 2008, section 13D.02, subdivision 4, is amended to read:
Subd. 4.
Notice of regular and all member sites.
If interactive television is used to
conduct a regular, special, or emergency meeting, the public body shall provide notice of
the regular meeting location and notice of any site where a member of the public body
will be participating in the meeting by interactive television. The timing and method of
providing notice must be as described in section 13D.04.new text begin If the public body has a Web
site, a Web site notice must be posted prior to the meeting.new text end
Sec. 4.
Minnesota Statutes 2008, section 13D.021, subdivision 1, is amended to read:
Subdivision 1.
Conditions.
A meeting governed by this section and section 13D.01,
subdivisions 1, 2, 4, and 5, may be conducted by telephone or other electronic means so
long as the following conditions are met:
(1) the presiding officer, chief legal counsel, or chief administrative officer for
the affected deleted text begin governingdeleted text end new text begin publicnew text end body determines that an in-person meeting or a meeting
conducted under section 13D.02 is not practical or prudent because of a health pandemic
or an emergency declared under chapter 12;
(2) all members of the body participating in the meeting, wherever their physical
location, can hear one another and can hear all discussion and testimony;
(3) members of the public present at the regular meeting location of the body
can hear all discussion and testimony and all votes of the members of the body, unless
attendance at the regular meeting location is not feasible due to the health pandemic or
emergency declaration;
(4) at least one member of the body, chief legal counsel, or chief administrative
officer is physically present at the regular meeting location, unless unfeasible due to the
health pandemic or emergency declaration; and
(5) all votes are conducted by roll call, so each member's vote on each issue can be
identified and recorded.
Sec. 5.
Minnesota Statutes 2008, section 13D.021, subdivision 4, is amended to read:
Subd. 4.
Notice of regular and all member sites.
If telephone or another electronic
means is used to conduct a regular, special, or emergency meeting, the public body
shall provide notice of the regular meeting location, of the fact that some members may
participate by telephone or other electronic means, and of the provisions of subdivision 3.
The timing and method of providing notice is governed by section 13D.04 of the Open
Meeting Law.new text begin If the public body has a Web site, a Web site notice must be posted prior
to the meeting.
new text end
Sec. 6.
Minnesota Statutes 2008, section 13D.04, is amended to read:
13D.04 NOTICE OF MEETINGS.
Subdivision 1.
Regular meetings.
A schedule of the regular meetings of a public
body shall be kept on file at its primary offices.new text begin A schedule of the regular meetings must
be posted on the public body's Web site, or if there is no Web site, published annually in a
newspaper of general circulation within the area of the public body's authority.new text end If a public
body decides to hold a regular meeting at a time or place different from the time or place
stated in its schedule of regular meetings, it shall give the same notice of the meeting that
is provided in this section for a special meeting.
Subd. 2.
Special meetings.
(a) For a special meeting, except an emergency meeting
or a special meeting for which a notice requirement is otherwise expressly established by
statute, the public body shall post written notice of the date, time, place, and purpose of
the meeting on the principal bulletin board of the public body, or if the public body has
no principal bulletin board, on the door of its usual meeting room.new text begin When the principal
bulletin board or door of the public body's usual meeting room is not generally accessible
to the public, the public body must post the notice in an area available for public viewing.
If the public body has a Web site, the public body must post notice of the date, time, place,
and purpose of the special meeting on the Web site. The notice must be posted on the
principal bulletin board or usual meeting room door and the Web site, if applicable, at
least three business days before the date of the meeting.
new text end
(b) The notice shall also be mailed or otherwise delivered to each person who has
filed a written request for notice of special meetings with the public body. This notice
shall be deleted text begin posted anddeleted text end mailed or delivered at least threenew text begin businessnew text end days before the date of the
meeting.
(c) As an alternative to mailing or otherwise delivering notice to persons who have
filed a written request for notice of special meetings, the public body may publish the
notice once, at least threenew text begin businessnew text end days before the meeting, in the official newspaper of
the public body or, if there is none, in a qualified newspaper of general circulation within
the area of the public body's authority.
(d) A person filing a request for notice of special meetings may limit the request to
notification of meetings concerning particular subjects, in which case the public body is
required to send notice to that person only concerning special meetings involving those
subjects.
(e) A public body may establish an expiration date for requests for notices of special
meetings pursuant to this subdivision and require refiling of the request once each year.
(f) Not more than 60 days before the expiration date of a request for notice, the
public body shall send notice of the refiling requirement to each person who filed during
the preceding year.
Subd. 3.
Emergency meetings.
(a) For an emergency meeting, the public body shall
make good faith efforts to provide notice of the meeting to each news medium that has filed
a written request for notice if the request includes the news medium's telephone number.
(b) Notice of the emergency meeting shall be given by telephone or by any other
method used to notify the members of the public body.
(c) Notice shall be provided to each news medium which has filed a written request
for notice as soon as reasonably practicable after notice has been given to the members.
(d) Notice shall include the subject of the meeting. Posted or published notice of
an emergency meeting is not requirednew text begin unless the public body has a Web site and has the
ability to post the notice on its Web site prior to the meetingnew text end .
(e) An "emergency" meeting is a special meeting called because of circumstances
that, in the judgment of the public body, require immediate consideration by the public
body.
(f) If matters not directly related to the emergency are discussed or acted upon at
an emergency meeting, the minutes of the meeting shall include a specific description
of the matters.
(g) The notice requirement of this subdivision supersedes any other statutory notice
requirement for a special meeting that is an emergency meeting.
Subd. 4.
Recessed or continued meetings.
(a) If a meeting is a recessed or
continued session of a previous meeting, and the time and place of the meeting was
established during the previous meeting and recorded in the minutes of that meeting, then
no further published or mailed notice is necessary.
(b) For purposes of this subdivision, the term "meeting" includes a public hearing
conducted pursuant to chapter 429 or any other law or charter provision requiring a public
hearing by a public body.
Subd. 5.
Closed meetings.
The notice requirements of this section apply to closed
meetings.
Subd. 6.
State agencies.
For a meeting of deleted text begin an agency, board, commission, or
department of the statedeleted text end new text begin a public bodynew text end :
(1) the notice requirements of this section apply only if a statute governing meetings
of the deleted text begin agency, board, or commissiondeleted text end new text begin public bodynew text end does not contain specific reference to the
method of providing notice; and
(2) all provisions of this section relating to publication are satisfied by publication in
the State Registernew text begin and on the agency's Web sitenew text end .
Subd. 7.
Actual notice.
If a person receives actual notice of a meeting of a public
body at least 24 hours before the meeting, all notice requirements of this section are
satisfied with respect to that person, regardless of the method of receipt of notice.