STATE OF OKLAHOMA

1st Session of the 53rd Legislature (2011)

HOUSE BILL 1085	By:	Murphey

AS INTRODUCED

An Act relating to public bodies; amending 25 O.S. 2001, Section 304, as last amended by Section 4, Chapter 378, O.S.L. 2010 (25 O.S. Supp. 2010, Section 304), which relates to the Oklahoma Open Meeting Act; adding the Legislature to definition of public body; removing the Legislature from exclusion of definition of public body; amending 51 O.S. 2001, Sections 24A.3, as last amended by Section 4, Chapter 199, O.S.L. 2005 and 24A.5, as last amended by Section 34, Chapter 16, O.S.L. 2006 (51 O.S. Supp. 2010, Sections 24A.3 and 24A.5), which relate to the Oklahoma Open Records Act; adding the Legislature to definition of public body; removing the Legislature or legislators from exclusion of definition of public body; excluding documentation of certain communications in which legislator is intended recipient; repealing 25 O.S. 2001, Section 309, which relates to meetings conducted by the Legislature; and providing an effective date.  

BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA:
SECTION 1.     AMENDATORY     25 O.S. 2001, Section 304, as last amended by Section 4, Chapter 378, O.S.L. 2010 (25 O.S. Supp. 2010, Section 304), is amended to read as follows:
Section 304.  As used in the Oklahoma Open Meeting Act:
1.  “Public body” means the Legislature, the governing bodies of all municipalities located within this state, boards of county commissioners of the counties in this state, boards of public and higher education in this state and all boards, bureaus, commissions, agencies, trusteeships, authorities, councils, committees, public trusts or any entity created by a public trust, including any committee or subcommittee composed of any of the members of a public trust or other legal entity receiving funds from the Rural Economic Action Plan Fund as authorized by Section 2007 of Title 62 of the Oklahoma Statutes, task forces or study groups in this state supported in whole or in part by public funds or entrusted with the expending of public funds, or administering public property, and shall include all committees or subcommittees of any public body.  Public body shall not include the state judiciary, the Council on Judicial Complaints when conducting, discussing, or deliberating any matter relating to a complaint received or filed with the Council, the Legislature, or administrative staffs of public bodies, including, but not limited to, faculty meetings and athletic staff meetings of institutions of higher education when those staffs are not meeting with the public body, or entry-year assistance committees.  Furthermore, public body shall not include the multidisciplinary team provided for in subsection C of Section 1-502.2 of Title 63 of the Oklahoma Statutes or any school board meeting for the sole purpose of considering recommendations of a multidisciplinary team and deciding the placement of any child who is the subject of the recommendations.  Furthermore, public body shall not include meetings conducted by stewards designated by the Oklahoma Horse Racing Commission pursuant to Section 203.4 of Title 3A of the Oklahoma Statutes when the stewards are officiating at races or otherwise enforcing rules of the Commission;
2.  “Meeting” means the conduct of business of a public body by a majority of its members being personally together or, as authorized by Section 307.1 of this title, together pursuant to a videoconference.  Meeting shall not include informal gatherings of a majority of the members of the public body when no business of the public body is discussed;
3.  “Regularly scheduled meeting” means a meeting at which the regular business of the public body is conducted;
4.  “Special meeting” means any meeting of a public body other than a regularly scheduled meeting or emergency meeting;
5.  “Emergency meeting” means any meeting called for the purpose of dealing with an emergency.  For purposes of the Oklahoma Open Meeting Act, an emergency is defined as a situation involving injury to persons or injury and damage to public or personal property or immediate financial loss when the time requirements for public notice of a special meeting would make such procedure impractical and increase the likelihood of injury or damage or immediate financial loss;
6.  “Continued or reconvened meeting” means a meeting which is assembled for the purpose of finishing business appearing on an agenda of a previous meeting.  For the purposes of the Oklahoma Open Meeting Act, only matters on the agenda of the previous meeting at which the announcement of the continuance is made may be discussed at a continued or reconvened meeting; and
7.  “Videoconference” means a conference among members of a public body remote from one another who are linked by interactive telecommunication devices permitting both visual and auditory communication between and among members of the public body and members of the public.  During any videoconference both the visual and auditory communications functions of the device shall be utilized.  Whenever the term “teleconference” appears in any law in relation to a meeting of a public body, it shall be deemed to mean a videoconference as defined in this paragraph.
SECTION 2.     AMENDATORY     51 O.S. 2001, Section 24A.3, as last amended by Section 4, Chapter 199, O.S.L. 2005 (51 O.S. Supp. 2010, Section 24A.3), is amended to read as follows:
Section 24A.3  As used in this act:
1.  "Record" means all documents, including, but not limited to, any book, paper, photograph, microfilm, data files created by or used with computer software, computer tape, disk, record, sound recording, film recording, video record or other material regardless of physical form or characteristic, created by, received by, under the authority of, or coming into the custody, control or possession of public officials, public bodies, or their representatives in connection with the transaction of public business, the expenditure of public funds or the administering of public property.  "Record" does not mean:
a.	computer software,
b.	nongovernment personal effects,
c.	unless public disclosure is required by other laws or regulations, vehicle movement records of the Oklahoma Transportation Turnpike Authority obtained in connection with the Authority's electronic toll collection system,
d.	personal financial information, credit reports or other financial data obtained by or submitted to a public body for the purpose of evaluating credit worthiness, obtaining a license, permit, or for the purpose of becoming qualified to contract with a public body,
e.	any digital audio/video recordings of the toll collection and safeguarding activities of the Oklahoma Transportation Turnpike Authority,
f.	any personal information provided by a guest at any facility owned or operated by the Oklahoma Tourism and Recreation Department or the Board of Trustees of the Quartz Mountain Arts and Conference Center and Nature Park to obtain any service at the facility or by a purchaser of a product sold by or through the Oklahoma Tourism and Recreation Department or the Quartz Mountain Arts and Conference Center and Nature Park,
g.	a Department of Defense Form 214 (DD Form 214) filed with a county clerk, including any DD Form 214 filed before the effective date of this act, or
h.	except as provided for in Section 2-110 of Title 47 of the Oklahoma Statutes,
(1)	any record in connection with a Motor Vehicle Report issued by the Department of Public Safety, as prescribed in Section 6-117 of Title 47 of the Oklahoma Statutes,
(2)	personal information within driver records, as defined by the Driver’s Privacy Protection Act, 18 United States Code, Sections 2721 through 2725, which are stored and maintained by the Department of Public Safety, or
(3)	audio or video recordings of the Department of Public Safety;
2.  "Public body" shall include, but not be limited to, the Legislature, any office, department, board, bureau, commission, agency, trusteeship, authority, council, committee, trust or any entity created by a trust, county, city, village, town, township, district, school district, fair board, court, executive office, advisory group, task force, study group, or any subdivision thereof, supported in whole or in part by public funds or entrusted with the expenditure of public funds or administering or operating public property, and all committees, or subcommittees thereof.  Except for the records required by Section 24A.4 of this title, "public body" does not mean judges, justices, or the Council on Judicial Complaints, the Legislature, or legislators;
3.  "Public office" means the physical location where public bodies conduct business or keep records;
4.  "Public official" means any official or employee of any public body as defined herein; and
5.  "Law enforcement agency" means any public body charged with enforcing state or local criminal laws and initiating criminal prosecutions, including, but not limited to, police departments, county sheriffs, the Department of Public Safety, the Oklahoma State Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs Control, the Alcoholic Beverage Laws Enforcement Commission, and the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation.
SECTION 3.     AMENDATORY     51 O.S. 2001, Section 24A.5, as last amended by Section 34, Chapter 16, O.S.L. 2006 (51 O.S. Supp. 2010, Section 24A.5), is amended to read as follows:
Section 24A.5  All records of public bodies and public officials shall be open to any person for inspection, copying, or mechanical reproduction during regular business hours; provided:
1.  The Oklahoma Open Records Act, Sections 24A.1 through 24A.28 of this title, does not apply to records specifically required by law to be kept confidential including:
a.	records protected by a state evidentiary privilege such as the attorney-client privilege, the work product immunity from discovery and the identity of informer privileges,
b.	records of what transpired during meetings of a public body lawfully closed to the public such as executive sessions authorized under the Oklahoma Open Meeting Act, Section 301 et seq. of Title 25 of the Oklahoma Statutes,
c.	personal information within driver records as defined by the Driver’s Privacy Protection Act, 18 United States Code, Sections 2721 through 2725, or
d.	information in the files of the Board of Medicolegal Investigations obtained pursuant to Sections 940 and 941 of Title 63 of the Oklahoma Statutes that may be hearsay, preliminary unsubstantiated investigation-related findings, or confidential medical information, or
e.	documentation of personal communications in which a legislator is the intended recipient from a person who is exercising rights secured by the Constitution of the United States or the Constitution of the State of Oklahoma and who is not a member of the Legislature and who is not registered as a lobbyist in accordance with the rules established by the Oklahoma Ethics Commission.
2.  Any reasonably segregable portion of a record containing exempt material shall be provided after deletion of the exempt portions; provided however, the Department of Public Safety shall not be required to assemble for the requesting person specific information, in any format, from driving records relating to any person whose name and date of birth or whose driver license number is not furnished by the requesting person.
The Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation shall not be required to assemble for the requesting person any criminal history records relating to persons whose names, dates of birth, and other identifying information required by the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation pursuant to administrative rule are not furnished by the requesting person.
3.  Any For any request for a record which contains individual records of persons, and when the cost of copying, reproducing or certifying each individual record is otherwise prescribed by state law, the cost may be assessed for each individual record, or portion thereof requested as prescribed by state law.  Otherwise, a public body may charge a fee only for recovery of the reasonable, direct costs of record copying, or mechanical reproduction.  Notwithstanding any state or local provision to the contrary, in no instance shall the record copying fee exceed twenty-five cents ($0.25) per page for records having the dimensions of eight and one-half (8 1/2) by fourteen (14) inches or smaller, or a maximum of One Dollar ($1.00) per copied page for a certified copy.  However, if the request:
a.	is solely for commercial purpose, or
b.	would clearly cause excessive disruption of the essential functions of the public body,
then the public body may charge a reasonable fee to recover the direct cost of record search and copying; however, publication in a newspaper or broadcast by news media for news purposes shall not constitute a resale or use of a record for trade or commercial purpose and charges for providing copies of electronic data to the news media for a news purpose shall not exceed the direct cost of making the copy.  The fee charged by the Department of Public Safety for a copy in a computerized format of a record of the Department shall not exceed the direct cost of making the copy unless the fee for the record is otherwise set by law.
Any public body establishing fees under this act shall post a written schedule of the fees at its principal office and with the county clerk.
In no case shall a search fee be charged when the release of records is in the public interest, including, but not limited to, release to the news media, scholars, authors and taxpayers seeking to determine whether those entrusted with the affairs of the government are honestly, faithfully, and competently performing their duties as public servants.
The fees shall not be used for the purpose of discouraging requests for information or as obstacles to disclosure of requested information.
4.  The land description tract index of all recorded instruments concerning real property required to be kept by the county clerk of any county shall be available for inspection or copying in accordance with the provisions of the Oklahoma Open Records Act; provided, however, the index shall not be copied or mechanically reproduced for the purpose of sale of the information.
5.  A public body must provide prompt, reasonable access to its records but may establish reasonable procedures which protect the integrity and organization of its records and to prevent excessive disruptions of its essential functions.
6.  A public body shall designate certain persons who are authorized to release records of the public body for inspection, copying, or mechanical reproduction.  At least one person shall be available at all times to release records during the regular business hours of the public body.
SECTION 4.     REPEALER     25 O.S. 2001, Section 309, is hereby repealed.
SECTION 5.  This act shall become effective November 1, 2011.

53-1-6288	AM	01/14/11