Changes effective 1 Sep 1969 by session law 1969, 482. Prior version was effective 26 Aug 1967 by session law 1967, 251.

91-A:2 Meetings Open to the Public.

All public proceedings [are]shall be open to the public, and all persons [are]shall be permitted to attend any meetings of [these]those bodies or agencies[, and m]. Minutes of all such meetings, including names of members, persons appearing before the bodies or agencies, and a brief description of the subject matter discussed and final decisions shall be promptly recorded and open to public inspection within seventy-two hours of the public meeting, except as provided by section 5 of this chapter, and shall be treated as permanent records of any body or agency, without exception. Except in an emergency, a notice of the time and place of each such meeting shall be posted in two appropriate public places or shall be printed in a newspaper of general circulation in the city or town at least twenty-four hours, excluding Sunday and legal holidays, prior to such meetings. An emergency shall mean a situation where immediate undelayed action is deemed to be imperative and the minutes of the meeting shall clearly spell out the need for the emergency meeting. If the charter of any city or guide lines set down by the appointing authority requires a broader public access to official meetings and records than herein described, such charter provisions or guide lines shall take precedence over the requirements of this chapter.

91-A:3 Executive Sessions.

I. Nothing contained in this chapter shall be construed to prevent these bodies or agencies from holding executive sessions for conducting deliberations, but, subject to the provisions of paragraph II, all sessions at which information, evidence or testimony in any form is received shall be open to the public. D[but any d]ecisions made during any executive session as provided in paragraph II must be [recorded and ] made available [for]to the public [inspection promptly, and n]at the termination of the session unless divulgence of the information would be likely to affect adversely the reputation of any person or impair the effectiveness of the action. No ordinances, orders, rules, resolutions, regulations, contracts, appointments or other official actions shall be finally approved in executive session except as provided in paragraph II. [The conditions of this section do not apply to executive sessions of the committees of the general court.] The record of all actions shall be available for public inspection promptly, except as provided for in paragraph II.