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:
In the opening of Chapter 91-A, add the following: (before 91-A:) DECLARATION OF PUBLIC POLICY ON OPEN MEETINGS: The legislature finds and declares that public proceedings exist to aid in the conduct of the people's business. Therefore, it is the intent of the legislature that deliberations at such meetings be conducted openly, and actions be taken openly.
[1 Meetings open to the public.] Amend
[RSA 91-A:2 (supp) as inserted by 1967, 251:1]the bill by
striking out section 91-A:2 and 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] its place the following section:
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
board members and
persons appearing before the bodies or agencies,
shall be promptly recorded and open to public
inspection within
72
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.
[E]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.
The minutes of all such meetings shall contain a brief description of
the subject matter discussed, parties involved, and final decision of
the board.
[2 Executive Sessions.]Further [A]amend
[RSA 91-A:3, I (supp) as inserted by 1967,]the bill by striking out
[said paragraph]section 91-A:3 and
inserting in its place [thereof] the following section:
[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.
[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
defeat the lawful purpose
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,
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.]
Decisions
made during any executive
session,
as provided in paragraph
II,
must be
made available
for the public verbally, or in writing,
at the termination of the executive session
and a formal record of the subject matters discussed
and the decisions made shall be made available for public inspection
within 72 hours of the executive session, provided, however, that
decisions with respect to land transactions as provided in paragraph II
(d) may remain confidential so long as their publication would be
adverse to the community interest, but no longer.
The conditions of this section shall not apply to executive sessions of
committees of the General Court.
Further amend the bill by striking out section 91-A:7, as inserted by 1967 251:7 and inserting in its place the following section: 91-A:7 Violation: Any person aggrieved by a violation of this chapter may petition the superior court for injunctive relief. The courts shall give proceedings under this chapter priority on the court calendar. Any action taken by any board or agency in violation of this chapter, after determination by the court, shall be null and void.
[3] Effective date.
This act shall take effect [sixty]thirty days after [its] passage.