1.1 	A bill for an act
1.2 	relating to the Minnesota Veterans Homes Board; authorizing the board to 
1.3 	conduct certain meetings by telephone or other electronic means;amending 
1.4 	Minnesota Statutes 2004, section 198.003, by adding a subdivision.
1.5 	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

1.6 	Section 1. Minnesota Statutes 2004, section 198.003, is amended by adding a 
1.7 	subdivision to read:
1.8 		Subd. 6.Meetings by telephone or other electronic means. (a) Notwithstanding 
1.9 	sections 13D.01 and 13D.02 of the Open Meeting Law, the Minnesota Veterans Homes 
1.10 	Board of Directors may conduct a meeting of its members by telephone or other electronic 
1.11 	means so long as the following conditions are met:
1.12 	(1) all members of the board participating in the meeting, wherever their physical 
1.13 	location, can hear one another and can hear all discussion and testimony;
1.14 	(2) members of the public present at the regular meeting location of the board can 
1.15 	hear all discussion and testimony and all votes of the members of the board;
1.16 	(3) at least one member of the board, the executive director, or an attorney for the 
1.17 	agency is physically present at the regular meeting location; and
1.18 	(4) all votes are conducted by roll call, so each member's vote on each issue can be 
1.19 	identified and recorded.
1.20 	(b) Each member of the board participating in a meeting by electronic means is 
1.21 	considered present at the meeting for purposes of determining a quorum and participating 
1.22 	in all proceedings.
1.23 	(c) If telephone or another electronic means is used to conduct a meeting, to the 
1.24 	extent practical, the board shall allow a person to monitor the meeting electronically from 
2.1 	a remote location. The board may require the person making such a connection to pay for 
2.2 	documented marginal costs that the board incurs as a result of the additional connection.
2.3 	(d) If telephone or another electronic means is used to conduct a regular, special, or 
2.4 	emergency meeting, the agency shall provide notice of the regular meeting location, of 
2.5 	the fact that some members may participate by electronic means, and of the provisions 
2.6 	of paragraph (c). The timing and method of providing notice is governed by section 
2.7 	13D.04 of the Open Meeting Law.