(a) 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 at the regular meeting location of the body can hear and see all discussion and testimony and all votes of members of the body;
(3) at least one member of the body is physically present at the regular meeting location;
(4) all votes are conducted by roll call so each member's vote on each issue can be identified and recorded; and
(5) each location at which a member of the body is present is open and accessible to the public.
(b) A meeting satisfies the requirements of paragraph (a), although a member of the public body participates from a location that is not open or accessible to the public, if the member has not participated more than three times in a calendar year from a location that is not open or accessible to the public, and:
(1) the member is serving in the military and is at a required drill, deployed, or on active duty; or
(2) the member has been advised by a health care professional against being in a public place for personal or family medical reasons. This clause only applies when a state of emergency has been declared under section 12.31, and expires 60 days after the removal of the state of emergency.
Each member of a body participating in a meeting by interactive television is considered present at the meeting for purposes of determining a quorum and participating in all proceedings.
If interactive television is used to conduct a meeting, to the extent practical, a public body shall allow a person to monitor the meeting electronically from a remote location. The body may require the person making such a connection to pay for documented marginal costs that the public body incurs as a result of the additional connection.
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.
A school board conducting a meeting under this section may use interactive technology with an audio and visual link to conduct the meeting if the school board complies with all other requirements under this section.
The minutes for a meeting conducted under this section must reflect the names of any members appearing by interactive television and state the reason or reasons for the appearance by interactive television.
1957 c 773 s 1; 1967 c 462 s 1; 1973 c 123 art 5 s 7; 1973 c 654 s 15; 1973 c 680 s 1,3; 1975 c 271 s 6; 1981 c 174 s 1; 1983 c 137 s 1; 1983 c 274 s 18; 1984 c 462 s 27; 1987 c 313 s 1; 1990 c 550 s 2,3; 1991 c 292 art 8 s 12; 1991 c 319 s 22; 1994 c 618 art 1 s 39; 1997 c 154 s 2; 1Sp2011 c 11 art 2 s 1; 2019 c 33 s 1-3; 2020 c 74 art 1 s 1
Official Publication of the State of Minnesota
Revisor of Statutes