Bill Text: MI HB6509 | 2017-2018 | 99th Legislature | Introduced

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Bill Title: Civil rights; open meetings; partisan caucuses; remove open meetings exemption. Amends secs. 3, 7, 8 & 13a of 1976 PA 267 (MCL 15.263 et seq.). TIE BAR WITH: HB 6510'18

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2018-11-28 - Bill Electronically Reproduced 11/27/2018 [HB6509 Detail]

Download: Michigan-2017-HB6509-Introduced.html

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HOUSE BILL No. 6509

 

 

November 27, 2018, Introduced by Rep. Howrylak and referred to the Committee on Government Operations.

 

     A bill to amend 1976 PA 267, entitled

 

"Open meetings act,"

 

by amending sections 3, 7, 8, and 13a (MCL 15.263, 15.267, 15.268,

 

and 15.273a), section 3 as amended by 2016 PA 504 and sections 7

 

and 8 as amended and section 13a as added by 1996 PA 464.

 

THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT:

 

     Sec. 3. (1) All meetings of a public body shall be open to the

 

public and shall be held in a place available to the general

 

public. All persons shall be permitted to attend any meeting except

 

as otherwise provided in this act. The right of a person to attend

 

a meeting of a public body includes the right to tape-record, to

 

videotape, to broadcast live on radio, and to telecast live on

 

television the proceedings of a public body at a public meeting.

 

The exercise of this right shall not be dependent upon the prior

 

approval of the public body. However, a public body may establish

reasonable rules and regulations in order to minimize the

 

possibility of disrupting the meeting.

 

     (2) All decisions of a public body shall be made at a meeting

 

open to the public.

 

     (3) All deliberations of a public body constituting a quorum

 

of its members shall take place at a meeting open to the public

 

except as provided in this section and sections 7 and 8. For

 

purposes of this subsection, public body includes a partisan caucus

 

of members of a state or local legislative or governing body to

 

consider matters before the legislative or governing body.

 

     (4) A person shall not be required as a condition of

 

attendance at a meeting of a public body to register or otherwise

 

provide his or her name or other information or otherwise to

 

fulfill a condition precedent to attendance.

 

     (5) A person shall be permitted to address a meeting of a

 

public body under rules established and recorded by the public

 

body. The legislature or a house of the legislature may provide by

 

rule that the right to address may be limited to prescribed times

 

at hearings and committee meetings only.

 

     (6) A person shall not be excluded from a meeting otherwise

 

open to the public except for a breach of the peace actually

 

committed at the meeting.

 

     (7) This act does not apply to the following public bodies,

 

but only when deliberating the merits of a case:

 

     (a) The Michigan compensation appellate commission operating

 

as described in either of the following:

 

     (i) Section 274 of the worker's disability compensation act of

1969, 1969 PA 317, MCL 418.274.

 

     (ii) Section 34 of the Michigan employment security act, 1936

 

(Ex Sess) PA 1, 421.34.

 

     (b) The state tenure commission created in section 1 of

 

article VII of 1937 (Ex Sess) PA 4, MCL 38.131, when acting as a

 

board of review from the decision of a controlling board.

 

     (c) The employment relations commission or an arbitrator or

 

arbitration panel created or appointed under 1939 PA 176, MCL 423.1

 

to 423.30.

 

     (d) The Michigan public service commission created under 1939

 

PA 3, MCL 460.1 to 460.11.

 

     (8) This act does not apply to an association of insurers

 

created under the insurance code of 1956, 1956 PA 218, MCL 500.100

 

to 500.8302, or other association or facility formed under that act

 

as a nonprofit organization of insurer members.

 

     (9) This act does not apply to a committee of a public body

 

that adopts a nonpolicymaking resolution of tribute or memorial,

 

which resolution is not adopted at a meeting.

 

     (10) This act does not apply to a meeting that is a social or

 

chance gathering or conference not designed to avoid this act.

 

     (11) This act does not apply to the Michigan veterans' trust

 

fund board of trustees or a county or district committee created

 

under 1946 (1st Ex Sess) PA 9, MCL 35.602 to 35.610, when the board

 

of trustees or county or district committee is deliberating the

 

merits of an emergent need. A decision of the board of trustees or

 

county or district committee made under this subsection shall be

 

reconsidered by the board or committee at its next regular or

special meeting consistent with the requirements of this act.

 

"Emergent need" means a situation that the board of trustees, by

 

rules promulgated under the administrative procedures act of 1969,

 

1969 PA 306, MCL 24.201 to 24.328, determines requires immediate

 

action.

 

     Sec. 7. (1) A 2/3 roll call vote of members elected or

 

appointed and serving is required to call a closed session, except

 

for the closed sessions permitted under section 8(a), (b), (c),

 

(g), (i), and (j). (h), and (i). The roll call vote and the purpose

 

or purposes for calling the closed session shall be entered into

 

the minutes of the meeting at which the vote is taken.

 

     (2) A separate set of minutes shall be taken by the clerk or

 

the designated secretary of the public body at the closed session.

 

These minutes shall be retained by the clerk of the public body,

 

are not available to the public, and shall only be disclosed if

 

required by a civil action filed under section 10, 11, or 13. These

 

minutes may be destroyed 1 year and 1 day after approval of the

 

minutes of the regular meeting at which the closed session was

 

approved.

 

     Sec. 8. A public body may meet in a closed session only for

 

the following purposes:

 

     (a) To consider the dismissal, suspension, or disciplining of,

 

or to hear complaints or charges brought against, or to consider a

 

periodic personnel evaluation of, a public officer, employee, staff

 

member, or individual agent, if the named person requests a closed

 

hearing. A person requesting a closed hearing may rescind the

 

request at any time, in which case the matter at issue shall be

considered after the rescission only in open sessions.

 

     (b) To consider the dismissal, suspension, or disciplining of

 

a student if the public body is part of the school district,

 

intermediate school district, or institution of higher education

 

that the student is attending, and if the student or the student's

 

parent or guardian requests a closed hearing.

 

     (c) For strategy and negotiation sessions connected with the

 

negotiation of a collective bargaining agreement if either

 

negotiating party requests a closed hearing.

 

     (d) To consider the purchase or lease of real property up to

 

the time an option to purchase or lease that real property is

 

obtained.

 

     (e) To consult with its attorney regarding trial or settlement

 

strategy in connection with specific pending litigation, but only

 

if an open meeting would have a detrimental financial effect on the

 

litigating or settlement position of the public body.

 

     (f) To review and consider the contents of an application for

 

employment or appointment to a public office if the candidate

 

requests that the application remain confidential. However, except

 

as otherwise provided in this subdivision, all interviews by a

 

public body for employment or appointment to a public office shall

 

be held in an open meeting pursuant to this act. This subdivision

 

does not apply to a public office described in subdivision (j).(i).

 

     (g) Partisan caucuses of members of the state legislature.

 

     (g) (h) To consider material exempt from discussion or

 

disclosure by state or federal statute.

 

     (h) (i) For a compliance conference conducted by the

department of commerce under section 16231 of the public health

 

code, Act No. 368 of the Public Acts of 1978, being section

 

333.16231 of the Michigan Compiled Laws, 1978 PA 368, MCL

 

333.16231, before a complaint is issued.

 

     (i) (j) In the process of searching for and selecting a

 

president of an institution of higher education established under

 

section 4, 5, or 6 of article VIII of the state constitution of

 

1963, to review the specific contents of an application, to conduct

 

an interview with a candidate, or to discuss the specific

 

qualifications of a candidate if the particular process of

 

searching for and selecting a president of an institution of higher

 

education meets all of the following requirements:

 

     (i) The search committee in the process, appointed by the

 

governing board, consists of at least 1 student of the institution,

 

1 faculty member of the institution, 1 administrator of the

 

institution, 1 alumnus of the institution, and 1 representative of

 

the general public. The search committee also may include 1 or more

 

members of the governing board of the institution, but the number

 

shall not constitute a quorum of the governing board. However, the

 

search committee shall not be constituted in such a way that any 1

 

of the groups described in this subparagraph constitutes a majority

 

of the search committee.

 

     (ii) After the search committee recommends the 5 final

 

candidates, the governing board does not take a vote on a final

 

selection for the president until at least 30 days after the 5

 

final candidates have been publicly identified by the search

 

committee.

     (iii) The deliberations and vote of the governing board of the

 

institution on selecting the president take place in an open

 

session of the governing board.

 

     Sec. 13a. If the governing board of an institution of higher

 

education established under section 4, 5, or 6 of article VIII of

 

the state constitution of 1963 violates this act with respect to

 

the process of selecting a president of the institution at any time

 

after the recommendation of final candidates to the governing

 

board, as described in section 8(j), 8(i), the institution is

 

responsible for the payment of a civil fine of not more than

 

$500,000.00. This civil fine is in addition to any other remedy or

 

penalty under this act. To the extent possible, any payment of

 

fines imposed under this section shall be paid from funds allocated

 

by the institution of higher education to pay for the travel and

 

expenses of the members of the governing board.

 

     Enacting section 1. This amendatory act takes effect 90 days

 

after the date it is enacted into law.

 

     Enacting section 2. This amendatory act does not take effect

 

unless Senate Bill No.____ or House Bill No. 6510 (request no.

 

05687'18 a) of the 99th Legislature is enacted into law.