1969 HB566 Committee of Conference Amendment

HOUSE BILL NO. 566 Introduced by
Rep. Johnson of Grafton Dist. 9
Rep. Raiche of Hillsboro Dist. 34
Referred to Committee on Judiciary

STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE

In the year of Our Lord one thousand nine hundred and sixty-nine

AN ACT

providing, that under the access to public records statute, certain executive sessions must be open to the public.

Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:

1 Meetings Open. Amend RSA 91-A:2 (supp) as inserted by 1967, 251:1 by striking out said section and inserting in place thereof the following: 91-A:2 Meetings Open to the Public. All public proceedings shall be open to the public, and all persons shall be permitted to attend any meetings of those bodies or agencies. 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.

2 Executive Sessions. Amend RSA 91-A:3, I (supp) as inserted by 1967, by striking out said paragraph and inserting in place thereof the following: 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. Decisions made during any executive session as provided in paragraph II must be made available to the public 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 record of all actions shall be available for public inspection promptly, except as provided for in paragraph II.

3 Effective Date. This act shall take effect sixty days after its passage.