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.
Amend the bill by striking out section 91-A:2 and inserting in its place the following section: 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 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. 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.
Further amend the bill by striking out section 91-A:3 and inserting in its place the following section: 91-A:3 Executive sessions. 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. 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. 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.
Effective date. This act shall take effect thirty days after passage.