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 to the public. Amend RSA 91-A:2 (supp) as inserted by 1967, 251:1 by inserting in line five after the word "chapter" the following (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 meeting. Emergency shall mean a situation where immediate undelayed action is deemed to be imperative.) so that said section as amended shall read as follows: 91-A:2 Meetings Open to the Public. All public proceedings are open to the public, and all persons are permitted to attend any meetings of these bodies or agencies, and minutes of such meetings shall be promptly recorded and open to public inspection, except as provided by section 5 of this chapter. 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 meeting. Emergency shall mean a situation where immediate undelayed action is deemed to be imperative. If the charter of any city or guide lines set down by the appointing authority requires 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.
[1]2 [Access to Public Records]Executive Sessions.
Amend RSA 91-A:3, I (supp) as inserted by 1967, [251:1] by striking out
[in line two the word "but"]said paragraph and inserting
in place thereof the following[ (for conducting deliberations, but subject
to the provisions of paragraph II of this section, all sessions at which
information, evidence or testimony in any form is received shall be open
to the public and) so that said paragraph as amended shall read as follows]:
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[ of this section],
all sessions at which information, evidence or testimony in any form is
received shall be open to the
public[ and any d]. Decisions
made during any executive session
as provided in paragraph
II,
must be
[recorded and]
made available
[for]to the
public
[inspection promptly,]
at the termination of the session unless divulgence of the
information would
defeat the lawful purpose
of the action[ and n]. 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,
provided, however, that the records of any executive action
may remain confidential so long as their publication would defeat the
lawful purposes of the action, but no longer.
The conditions of this section do not apply to executive sessions of the
committees of the general court.
[2]3 Effective Date.
This act shall take effect sixty days after its passage.