Minnesota Session Laws - 1987, Regular Session

  

                         Laws of Minnesota 1987 

                        CHAPTER 313-S.F.No. 1272 
           An act relating to public meetings; requiring certain 
          notice for all meetings; amending Minnesota Statutes 
          1986, section 471.705, by adding a subdivision. 
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
    Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 1986, section 471.705, is 
amended by adding a subdivision to read: 
    Subd 1c.  [NOTICE OF MEETINGS.] (a) [REGULAR MEETINGS.] A 
schedule of the regular meetings of a public body shall be kept 
on file at its primary offices.  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 subdivision for a special meeting.  
    (b) [SPECIAL MEETINGS.] 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.  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 posted and mailed or 
delivered at least three days before the date of the meeting.  
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 
three 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.  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.  A public body may establish 
an expiration date for requests for notices of special meetings 
pursuant to this paragraph and require refiling of the request 
once each year.  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.  
    (c) [EMERGENCY MEETINGS.] 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.  Notice of the emergency meeting shall be given by 
telephone or by any other method used to notify the members of 
the public body.  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.  Notice shall include the subject of the meeting.  
Posted or published notice of an emergency meeting shall not be 
required.  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.  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.  
    (d) [RECESSED OR CONTINUED MEETINGS.] 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.  For 
purposes of this clause, 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.  
    (e) [CLOSED MEETINGS.] The notice requirements of this 
subdivision apply to closed meetings.  
    (f) [STATE AGENCIES.] For a meeting of an agency, board, 
commission, or department of the state, (i) the notice 
requirements of this subdivision apply only if a statute 
governing meetings of the agency, board or commission does not 
contain specific reference to the method of providing notice, 
and (ii) all provisions of this subdivision relating to 
publication shall be satisfied by publication in the state 
register.  
    (g) [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 subdivision are satisfied with 
respect to that person, regardless of the method of receipt of 
notice.  
    (h) [LIABILITY.] No fine or other penalty may be imposed on 
a member of a public body for a violation of this subdivision 
unless it is established that the violation was willful and 
deliberate by the member. 
    Approved May 28, 1987