Bill Text: MI SB0514 | 2019-2020 | 100th Legislature | Introduced
Bill Title: Civil rights: open meetings; rules ensuring an opportunity for public comment at a meeting of a public body; provide for. Amends sec. 3 of 1976 PA 267 (MCL 15.263).
Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Democrat 3-1)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2019-09-12 - Referred To Committee On Judiciary And Public Safety [SB0514 Detail]
Download: Michigan-2019-SB0514-Introduced.html
SENATE BILL NO. 514
September 12, 2019, Introduced by Senators
ALEXANDER, GEISS, BULLOCK and BARRETT and referred to the Committee on
Judiciary and Public Safety.
A bill to amend 1976 PA 267, entitled
"Open meetings act,"
by amending section 3 (MCL 15.263), as amended by 2018 PA 485.
the people of the state of michigan enact:
Sec. 3. (1) All meetings of a public body shall must be open to the public and shall must be held in a place available to the general public. All persons shall must 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 does not depend on 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 must be made at a meeting open to the public. For purposes of any meeting subject to this subsection, except a meeting of any state legislative body, the public body shall establish the following procedures to accommodate the absence of any member of the public body due to military duty:
(a) Procedures by which the absent member may participate in, and vote on, business before the public body, including, if feasible, procedures that ensure 2-way communication.
(b) Procedures by which the public is provided notice of the absence of the member and information about how to contact that member sufficiently in advance of a meeting of the public body to provide input on any business that will come before the public body.
(3) All deliberations of a public body constituting a quorum of its members shall must take place at a meeting open to the public except as provided in this section and sections 7 and 8.
(4) A person shall must 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 may 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. Subject to the limitation just described applicable only to the rules of the legislature or a house of the legislature, a public body's rules established and recorded under this subsection must ensure all of the following:
(a) Every meeting of the public body will include a public comment period that will not be prevented by concluding the meeting before commencement of the public comment period.
(b) During the public comment period of a meeting of the public body, each attending member of the public who wishes to may have at least 3 minutes to address the public body directly concerning any matter before the public body. For purposes of this subdivision, a person is an attending member of the public and must be given an appropriate position in the public comment queue if that person arrives at the meeting any time before the public comment period is completed.
(c) A meeting of the public body will not conclude before completion of the public comment period of the meeting.
(6) A person shall must 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, if the 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 must 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.
