2015 -- S 0719

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LC001875

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     STATE OF RHODE ISLAND

IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY

JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2015

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A N   A C T

RELATING TO STATE AFFAIRS AND GOVERNMENT - OPEN MEETINGS

     Introduced By: Senator Michael J. McCaffrey

     Date Introduced: March 18, 2015

     Referred To: Senate Judiciary

     It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:

     SECTION 1. Sections 42-46-6 and 42-46-7 of the General Laws in Chapter 42-46

entitled "Open Meetings" are hereby amended to read as follows:

     42-46-6. Notice. -- (a) All public bodies shall give written notice of their regularly

scheduled meetings at the beginning of each calendar year. The notice shall include the dates,

times, and places of the meetings and shall be provided to members of the public upon request

and to the secretary of state at the beginning of each calendar year in accordance with subsection

(f).

      (b) Public bodies shall give supplemental written public notice of any meeting within a

minimum of forty-eight (48) hours, excluding weekends and state holidays in the count of hours,

before the date commencement time of the meeting. This notice shall include the date the notice

was posted, the date, time and place of the meeting, and a statement specifying the nature of the

business to be discussed. Copies of the notice shall be maintained by the public body for a

minimum of one year. Nothing contained herein shall prevent a public body, other than a school

committee, from adding additional items to the agenda by majority vote of the members. School

committees may, however, add items for informational purposes only, pursuant to a request,

submitted in writing, by a member of the public during the public comment session of the school

committee's meetings. Said informational items may not be voted upon unless they have been

posted in accordance with the provisions of this section. Such additional items shall be for

informational purposes only and may not be voted on except where necessary to address an

unexpected occurrence that requires immediate action to protect the public or to refer the matter

to an appropriate committee or to another body or official.

      (c) Written public notice shall include, but need not be limited to, posting a copy of the

notice at the principal office of the public body holding the meeting, or if no principal office

exists, at the building in which the meeting is to be held, and in at least one other prominent place

within the governmental unit, and electronic filing of the notice with the secretary of state

pursuant to subsection (f); however, nothing contained herein shall prevent a public body from

holding an emergency meeting, upon an affirmative vote of the majority of the members of the

body when the meeting is deemed necessary to address an unexpected occurrence that requires

immediate action to protect the public. If an emergency meeting is called, a meeting notice and

agenda shall be posted as soon as practicable and shall be electronically filed with the secretary of

state pursuant to subsection (e) and, upon meeting, the public body shall state for the record and

minutes why the matter must be addressed in less than forty-eight (48) hours in accordance with §

42-46-6(b) and only discuss the issue or issues which created the need for an emergency meeting.

Nothing contained herein shall be used in the circumvention of the spirit and requirements of this

chapter.

      (d) Nothing within this chapter shall prohibit any public body, or the members thereof,

from responding to comments initiated by a member of the public during a properly noticed open

forum even if the subject matter of a citizen's comments or discussions were not previously

posted, provided such matters shall be for informational purposes only and may not be voted on

except where necessary to address an unexpected occurrence that requires immediate action to

protect the public or to refer the matter to an appropriate committee or to another body or official.

Nothing contained in this chapter requires any public body to hold an open forum session, to

entertain or respond to any topic nor does it prohibit any public body from limiting comment on

any topic at such an open forum session. No public body, or the members thereof, may use this

section to circumvent the spirit or requirements of this chapter.

      (e) A school committee may add agenda items not appearing in the published notice

required by this section under the following conditions:

      (1) The revised agenda is electronically filed with the secretary of state pursuant to

subsection (f), and is posted on the school district's website and the two (2) public locations

required by this section at least forty-eight (48) hours in advance of the meeting in accordance

with § 42-6-6(b) ;

      (2) The new agenda items were unexpected and could not have been added in time for

newspaper publication;

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      (3) Upon meeting, the public body states for the record and minutes why the agenda

items could not have been added in time for newspaper publication and need to be addressed at

the meeting;

      (4) A formal process is available to provide timely notice of the revised agenda to any

person who has requested that notice, and the school district has taken reasonable steps to make

the public aware of this process; and

      (5) The published notice shall include a statement that any changes in the agenda will be

posted on the school district's web site and the two (2) public locations required by this section

and will be electronically filed with the secretary of state at least forty-eight (48) hours in advance

of the meeting in accordance with § 42-46-6(b).

      (f) All notices required by this section to be filed with the secretary of state shall be

electronically transmitted to the secretary of state in accordance with rules and regulations which

shall be promulgated by the secretary of state. This requirement of the electronic transmission and

filing of notices with the secretary of state shall take effect one year after this subsection takes

effect.

      (g) If a public body fails to transmit notices in accordance with this section, then any

aggrieved person may file a complaint with the attorney general in accordance with § 42-46-8.

     42-46-7. Minutes. – Minutes and audio recordings. -- (a) All public bodies shall keep

written minutes of all their meetings. The minutes shall include, but need not be limited to:

      (1) The date, time, and place of the meeting;

      (2) The members of the public body recorded as either present or absent;

      (3) A record by individual members of any vote taken; and

      (4) Any other information relevant to the business of the public body that any member of

the public body requests be included or reflected in the minutes.

      (b) (1) A record of all votes taken at all meetings of public bodies, listing how each

member voted on each issue, shall be a public record and shall be available, to the public at the

office of the public body, within two (2) weeks of the date of the vote. The minutes shall be

public records and unofficial minutes shall be available, to the public at the office of the public

body, within thirty-five (35) days of the meeting or at the next regularly scheduled meeting,

whichever is earlier, except where the disclosure would be inconsistent with §§ 42-46-4 and 42-

46-5 or where the public body by majority vote extends the time period for the filing of the

minutes and publicly states the reason.

      (2) In addition to the provisions of subdivision (b)(1), all volunteer fire companies,

associations, fire district companies, or any other organization currently engaged in the mission of

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extinguishing fires and preventing fire hazards, whether it is incorporated or not, and whether it is

a paid department or not, shall post unofficial minutes of their meetings within twenty-one (21)

days of the meeting, but not later than seven (7) days prior to the next regularly scheduled

meeting, whichever is earlier, on the secretary of state's website.

      (c) The minutes of a closed session shall be made available at the next regularly

scheduled meeting unless the majority of the body votes to keep the minutes closed pursuant to

§§ 42-46-4 and 42-46-5.

      (d) All public bodies within the executive branch of the state government and all state

public and quasi-public boards, agencies and corporations, and those public bodies set forth in

subdivision (b)(2), shall keep official and/or approved minutes of all meetings of the body and

shall file a copy of the minutes of all open meetings with the secretary of state for inspection by

the public within thirty-five (35) days of the meeting; provided that this subsection shall not apply

to public bodies whose responsibilities are solely advisory in nature.

      (e) All minutes and unofficial minutes required by this section to be filed with the

secretary of state shall be electronically transmitted to the secretary of state in accordance with

rules and regulations which shall be promulgated by the secretary of state. If a public body fails to

transmit minutes or unofficial minutes in accordance with this subsection, then any aggrieved

person may file a complaint with the attorney general in accordance with § 42-46-8.

     (f) All public bodies shall make electronic audio recordings of all open and closed

meetings to be on permanent file. The electronic audio recordings of open meetings shall be a

public record and shall be made available to the public on electronic file disk for a fee not to

exceed one dollar ($1.00), at the office of the public body. The electronic audio recordings of a

closed session shall be made available to the public on electronic file disk for a fee not to exceed

one dollar ($1.00), at the office of the public body, after the next regularly scheduled meeting

unless the majority of the body votes to keep the minutes closed pursuant to §§ 42-46-4 and 42-

46-5.

     SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage.

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EXPLANATION

BY THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL

OF

A N   A C T

RELATING TO STATE AFFAIRS AND GOVERNMENT - OPEN MEETINGS

***

     This act would exclude weekends and state holidays from the calculation of the forty-

eight (48) hour public notice requirement, and require audio recordings to be made of all open

and closed meetings of public bodies.

     This act would take effect upon passage.

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