12102649D
HOUSE BILL NO. 1105
Offered January 11, 2012
Prefiled January 11, 2012
A BILL to amend and reenact §2.2-3708 of
the Code of Virginia, relating to the Virginia Freedom of Information Act;
electronic communication meetings.
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Patron-- Greason
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Committee Referral Pending
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Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:
1. That §2.2-3708 of the Code of Virginia is amended
and reenacted as follows:
§2.2-3708. Electronic communication meetings; applicability;
physical quorum required; notice; report.
A. Except as expressly provided in subsection G H
of this section or §2.2-3708.1, no local governing body, school board, or any
authority, board, bureau, commission, district or agency of local government,
any committee thereof, or any entity created by a local governing body, school
board, or any local authority, board, or commission shall conduct a meeting
wherein the public business is discussed or transacted through telephonic,
video, electronic or other communication means where the members are not
physically assembled. Nothing in this section shall be construed to prohibit
the use of interactive audio or video means to expand public participation. If such expanded
public participation is provided, a member of the
public shall pay the documented
marginal cost that a public body may
incur in expanding public participation.
B. Except as provided in subsection D of §2.2-3707.01, state
public bodies may conduct any meeting wherein the public business is discussed
or transacted through electronic communication means, provided (i) at least one member of the public body is
physically present at the primary location identified in the notice; (ii) a quorum of the public body is physically
assembled present and participating
in the meeting, either electronically or in person,
at one primary or central any of
the meeting location,
(ii) locations; (iii) notice of the meeting has been given in accordance
with subsection C, and
(iii) D; (iv)
each member participating in the meeting is
identified at the beginning of the meeting; (v) all members of the public body participating in the
meeting are able to hear or
see, as applicable, each other and to
be seen or heard, as applicable, by all
persons attending the meeting at any of the meeting locations; and (vi) the remote locations, from which any
additional members of the public body participate through
electronic communication means, are open to the public. All persons attending
the meeting at any of the meeting locations shall be afforded the same
opportunity to address the public body as persons attending the primary or central
location. State public bodies,
however, may meet by electronic communication means without a quorum of the
public body physically assembled at one location when (a) the Governor has
declared a state of emergency in accordance with §44-146.17, (b) the meeting is
necessary to take action to address the emergency, and (c) the public body
otherwise complies with the provisions of this section.
If an C. No more than 50 percent of the regular meetings
held by a public body in any calendar year shall be held by electronic communication means. Any authorized
public body that holds
an electronic meeting pursuant to this section, it shall also hold at least one meeting annually where
members in attendance at the meeting are physically assembled at one location
and where no members participate by electronic communication means, except pursuant to the provisions of §2.2-3708.1.
C.D. Notice
of any meetings held pursuant to this section shall be provided at least three
working days in advance of the date scheduled for the meeting. The notice shall
(i) include the date, time,
place, medium by which the meeting will be conducted,
and purpose for of
the meeting; shall (ii) identify the primary location of the
meeting and any remote locations for the meeting that may be established that are open to the public; and shall (iii)
include a telephone number that may be used at remote locations to notify the
primary or central
meeting location of any interruption in the telephonic or video broadcast of
the meeting to the remote locations. Any interruption in the telephonic or
video broadcast of the meeting shall result in the suspension of action at the
meeting until repairs are made and public access restored.
D.E. Agenda
packets and, unless exempt, all materials that will be distributed to members
of the public body and that have been made available to the staff of the public
body in sufficient time for duplication and forwarding to all locations where
public access will be provided shall be made available to the public at the
time of the meeting. Agenda packets and
other nonexempt materials distributed to or utilized by the members of the public body shall
be posted on the website of the public body. Minutes of all
meetings held by electronic communication means shall be recorded as required
by §2.2-3707. Votes taken during any meeting conducted through electronic
communication means shall be recorded by name in roll-call fashion and included
in the minutes.
E.F. Three working days' notice shall
not be required for meetings authorized under this section held in accordance
with subsection G H or that are continued to
address an emergency or to conclude the agenda of the meeting for which proper
notice has been given, when the date, time, place, and purpose of the continued
meeting are set during the meeting prior to adjournment. Public bodies
conducting emergency meetings through electronic communication means shall
comply with the provisions of subsection D E requiring minutes of the meeting. The nature of the
emergency shall be stated in the minutes.
F.G. Any authorized public body
that meets by electronic communication means shall make a written report of the
following to the Virginia Freedom of Information Advisory Council and the Joint
Commission on Technology and Science by December 15 of each year:
1. The total number of electronic communication meetings held
that year;
2. The dates and purposes of the meetings;
3. The number of sites for each meeting;
4. The types of electronic communication means by which the
meetings were held;
5. The number of participants, including members of the
public, at each meeting location;
6. The identity of the members of the public body recorded as
absent and those recorded as present at each meeting location;
7. A summary of any public comment received about the
electronic communication meetings; and
8. A written summary of the public body's experience using
electronic communication meetings, including its logistical and technical
experience.
G.H. Any local governing body,
school board, or any authority, board, bureau, commission, district, or agency
of local government may meet by electronic communication means without a quorum
of the public body physically assembled at one location when the Governor has
declared a state of emergency in accordance with §44-146.17, provided (i) the
catastrophic nature of the declared emergency makes it impracticable or unsafe
to assemble a quorum in a single location and (ii) the purpose of the meeting
is to address the emergency. The local public body convening a meeting in
accordance with this subsection shall (a) give public notice using the best
available method given the nature of the emergency, which notice shall be given
contemporaneously with the notice provided members of the local public body
conducting the meeting; (b) make arrangements for public access to such
meeting; and (c) otherwise comply with the provisions of this section. The
nature of the emergency and the fact that the meeting was held by electronic
communication means shall be stated in the minutes.
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