HomeMy WebLinkAbout3.b. Open Meeting LawPage 1 of 8
Minnesota Statutes 2000, Chapter 13D.
Copyright 2000 by the Office of Revisor of Statutes, State of Minnesota.
== 13D.01
13D.01 Meetings must be open to the public; exceptions.
Subdivision 1. In executive branch, local government.
All meetings, including executive sessions, must be open to
the public
(a) of a state
(1) agency,
(2) board,
(3) commission, or
(4) department,
when required or permitted by law to transact public business in
a meeting; and
(b) of the governing body of a
(1) school district however organized,
(2) unorganized territory,
(3) county,
(4) statutory or home rule charter city,
(5) town, or
(6) other public body; and
(c) of any
(1) committee,
(2) subcommittee,
(3) board,
(4) department, or
(5) commission,
of a public body.
Subd. 2. Exceptions. This chapter does not apply
(1) to meetings of the commissioner of corrections;
(2) to a state agency, board, or commission when it is
exercising quasi - judicial functions involving disciplinary
proceedings; or
http: / /www.revisor.leg. state .mn.us /cgi- bin/getstatchap.pl 4/17/01
Page 2 of 8
(3) as otherwise expressly provided by statute.
Subd. 3. Subject of and grounds for closed meeting.
Before closing a meeting, a public body shall state on the
record the specific grounds permitting the meeting to be closed
and describe the subject to be discussed.
Subd. 4. Votes to be kept in journal. (a) The votes
of the members of the state agency, board, commission, or
department; or of the governing body, committee, subcommittee,
board, department, or commission on an action taken in a meeting
required by this section to be open to the public must be
recorded in a journal kept for that purpose.
(b) The vote of each member must be recorded on each
appropriation of money, except for payments of judgments,
claims, and amounts fixed by statute.
Subd. S. Public access to journal. The journal must
be open to the public during all normal business hours where
records of the public body are kept.
Subd. 6. Public copy of members' materials. (a) In
any meeting which under subdivisions 1, 2, 4, and 5, and section 13D.02
must be open to the public,
at least one copy of any printed materials relating to the
agenda items of the meeting prepared or distributed by or at the
direction of the governing body or its employees and:
(1) distributed at the meeting to all members of the
governing body;
(2) distributed before the meeting to all members; or
(3) available in the meeting room to all members;
shall be available in the meeting room for inspection by the
public while the governing body considers their subject matter.
(b) This subdivision does not apply to materials classified
by law as other than public as defined in chapter 13, or to
materials relating to the agenda items of a closed meeting held
in accordance with the procedures in section 13D.03 or other law
permitting the closing of meetings.
HIST: 1957 c 773 s 1; 1967 c 462 s 1; 1973 c 123 art 5 s 7;
1973 c 654 s 15; 1973 c 680 s 1,3; 1975 c 271 s 6; 1981 c 174 s
1; 1983 c 137 s 1; 1983 c 274 s 18; 1984 c 462 s 27; 1987 c 313
s 1; 1990 c 550 s 2,3; 1991 c 292 art 8 s 12; 1991 c 319 s 22;
1994 c 618 art 1 s 39; 1997 c 154 s 2
== 13D.02
13D.02 Meetings conducted by interactive TV; conditions.
Subdivision 1. Conditions. A meeting governed by
section 13D.01, subdivisions 1, 2, 4, and 5, and this section may be
conducted by interactive television so
long as:
http: / /www.revisor.lec state .mn.us /cgi- bin/getstatchap.pl 4/17/01
Page 3 of 8
(1) all members of the body participating in the meeting,
wherever their physical location, can hear and see one another
and can hear and see all discussion and testimony presented at
any location at which at least one member is present;
(2) members of the public present at the regular meeting
location of the body can hear and see all discussion and
testimony and all votes of members of the body;
(3) at least one member of the body is physically present
at the regular meeting location; and
(4) each location at which a member of the body is present
is open and accessible to the public.
Subd. 2. Members are present for quorum, participation.
Each member of a body participating in a meeting by
electronic means is considered present at the meeting for
purposes of determining a quorum and participating in all
proceedings.
Subd. 3. Monitoring from remote site; costs. If
interactive television is used to conduct a meeting, to the
extent practical, a public body shall allow a person to monitor
the meeting electronically from a remote location. The body may
require the person making such a connection to pay for
documented marginal costs that the public body incurs as a
result of the additional connection.
Subd. 4. Notice of regular and all member sites. If
interactive television is used to conduct a regular, special, or
emergency meeting, the public body shall provide notice of the
regular meeting location and notice of any site where a member
of the public body will be participating in the meeting by
interactive television. The timing and method of providing
notice must be as described in section 13D.04.
HIST: 1957 c 773 s 1; 1967 c 462 s 1; 1973 c 123 art 5 s 7;
1973 c 654 s 15; 1973 c 680 s 1,3; 1975 c 271 s 6; 1981 c 174 s
1; 1983 c 137 s 1; 1983 c 274 s 18; 1984 c 462 s 27; 1987 c 313
s 1; 1990 c 550 s 2,3; 1991 c 292 art 8 s 12; 1991 c 319 s 22;
1994 c 618 art 1 s 39; 1997 c 154 s 2
== 13D.03
13D.03 Closed meetings for labor negotiations strategy.
Subdivision 1. Procedure. (a) Section 13D.01, subdivisions
1, 2, 4, 5, and section 13D.02 do
not apply to a meeting held pursuant to the procedure in this
section.
(b) The governing body of a public employer may by a
majority vote in a public meeting decide to hold a closed
meeting to consider strategy for labor negotiations, including
negotiation strategies or developments or discussion and review
of labor negotiation proposals, conducted pursuant to sections
179A.01 to 179A.25.
(c) The time of commencement and place of the closed
meeting shall be announced at the public meeting.
http: / /www.revisor.leg. state .mn.us /cgi- bin/getstatchap.pl 4/17/01
Page 4 of 8
(d) A written roll of members and all other persons present
at the closed meeting shall be made available to the public
after the closed meeting.
Subd. 2. Meeting must be recorded. (a) The
proceedings of a closed meeting to discuss negotiation
strategies shall be tape- recorded at the expense of the
governing body.
(b) The recording shall be preserved for two years after
the contract is signed and shall be made available to the public
after all labor contracts are signed by the governing body for
the current budget period.
Subd. 3. If violation claimed. (a) If an action is
brought claiming that public business other than discussions of
labor negotiation strategies or developments or discussion and
review of labor negotiation proposals was transacted at a closed
meeting held pursuant to this section during the time when the
tape is not available to the public, the court shall review the
recording of the meeting in camera.
(b) If the court finds that this section was not violated,
the action shall be dismissed and the recording shall be sealed
and preserved in the records of the court until otherwise made
available to the public pursuant to this section.
(c) If the court finds that this section was violated, the
recording may be introduced at trial in its entirety subject to
any protective orders as requested by either party and deemed
appropriate by the court.
HIST: 1957 c 773 s 1; 1967 c 462 s 1; 1973 c 123 art 5 s 7;
1973 c 654 s 15; 1973 c 680 s 1,3; 1975 c 271 s 6; 1981 c 174 s
1; 1983 c 137 s 1; 1983 c 274 s 18; 1984 c 462 s 27; 1987 c 313
s 1; 1990 c 550 s 2,3; 1991 c 292 art 8 s 12; 1991 c 319 s 22;
1994 c 618 art 1 s 39; 1997 c 154 s 2
== 13D.04
13D.04 Notice of meetings.
Subdivision 1. Regular meetings. A schedule of the
regular meetings of a public body shall be kept on file at its
primary offices. If a public body decides to hold a regular
meeting at a time or place different from the time or place
stated in its schedule of regular meetings, it shall give the
same notice of the meeting that is provided in this section for
a special meeting.
Subd. 2. Special meetings. (a) For a special
meeting, except an emergency meeting or a special meeting for
which a notice requirement is otherwise expressly established by
statute, the public body shall post written notice of the date,
time, place, and purpose of the meeting on the principal
bulletin board of the public body, or if the public body has no
principal bulletin board, on the door of its usual meeting room.
(b) The notice shall also be mailed or otherwise delivered
to each person who has filed a written request for notice of
http: / /www.revisor.leg. state .mn.us /c- i- bin/getstatchap.pl 4/17/01
Page 5 of 8
special meetings with the public body. This notice shall be
posted and mailed or delivered at least three days before the
date of the meeting.
(c) As an alternative to mailing or otherwise delivering
notice to persons who have filed a written request for notice of
special meetings, the public body may publish the notice once,
at least three days before the meeting, in the official
newspaper of the public body or, if there is none, in a
qualified newspaper of general circulation within the area of
the public body's authority.
(d) A person filing a request for notice of special
meetings may limit the request to notification of meetings
concerning particular subjects, in which case the public body is
required to send notice to that person only concerning special
meetings involving those subjects.
(e) A public body may establish an expiration date for
requests for notices of special meetings pursuant to this
subdivision and require refiling of the request once each year.
(f) Not more than 60 days before the expiration date of a
request for notice, the public body shall send notice of the
refiling requirement to each person who filed during the
preceding year.
Subd. 3. Emergency meetings. (a) For an emergency
meeting, the public body shall make good faith efforts to
provide notice of the meeting to each news medium that has filed
a written request for notice if the request includes the news
medium's telephone number.
(b) Notice of the emergency meeting shall be given by
telephone or by any other method used to notify the members of
the public body.
(c) Notice shall be provided to each news medium which has
filed a written request for notice as soon as reasonably
practicable after notice has been given to the members.
(d) Notice shall include the subject of the meeting.
Posted or published notice of an emergency meeting is not
required.
(e) An "emergency" meeting is a special meeting called
because of circumstances that, in the judgment of the public
body, require immediate consideration by the public body.
(f) If matters not directly related to the emergency are
discussed or acted upon at an emergency meeting, the minutes of
the meeting shall include a specific description of the matters.
(g) The notice requirement of this subdivision supersedes
any other statutory notice requirement for a special meeting
that is an emergency meeting.
Subd. 4. Recessed or continued meetings. (a) If a
meeting is a recessed or continued session of a previous
meeting, and the time and place of the meeting was established
http: / /www.revisor.leg. state .mn.us /cgi- bin/c,etstatchap.pl 4/17/01
Page 6 of 8
during the previous meeting and recorded in the minutes of that
meeting, then no further published or mailed notice is necessary.
(b) For purposes of this subdivision, the term "meeting"
includes a public hearing conducted pursuant to chapter 429 or
any other law or charter provision requiring a public hearing by
a public body.
Subd. 5. Closed meetings. The notice requirements of
this section apply to closed meetings.
Subd. 6. State agencies. (a) For a meeting of an
agency, board, commission, or department of the state, the
notice requirements of this section apply only if a statute
governing meetings of the agency, board, or commission does not
contain specific reference to the method of providing notice.
(b) All provisions of this section relating to publication
are satisfied by publication in the State Register.
Subd. 7. Actual notice. If a person receives actual
notice of a meeting of a public body at least 24 hours before
the meeting, all notice requirements of this section are
satisfied with respect to that person, regardless of the method
of receipt of notice.
HIST: 1957 c 773 s 1; 1967 c 462 s 1; 1973 c 123 art 5 s 7;
1973 c 654 s 15; 1973 c 680 s 1,3; 1975 c 271 s 6; 1981 c 174 s
1; 1983 c 137 s 1; 1983 c 274 s 18; 1984 c 462 s 27; 1987 c 313
s 1; 1990 c 550 s 2,3; 1991 c 292 art 8 s 12; 1991 c 319 s 22;
1994 c 618 art 1 s 39; 1997 c 154 s 2
== 13D.05
13D.05 Meetings having data classified as not public
Subdivision 1. General principles. (a) Except as
provided in this chapter, meetings may not be closed to discuss
data that are not public data.
(b) Data that are not public data may be discussed at a
meeting subject to this chapter without liability or penalty, if
the disclosure relates to a matter within the scope of the
public body's authority and is reasonably necessary to conduct
the business or agenda item before the public body. -
(c) Data discussed at an open meeting retain the data's
original classification; however, a record of the meeting,
regardless of form, shall be public.
Subd. 2. When meeting must be closed. (a) Any
portion of a meeting must be closed if expressly required by
other law or if the following types of data are discussed:
(1) data that would identify alleged victims or reporters
of criminal sexual conduct, domestic abuse, or maltreatment of
minors or vulnerable adults;
(2) active investigative data as defined in section 13.82,
subdivision 5, or internal affairs data relating to allegations
of law enforcement personnel misconduct collected or created by
http: / /www.revisor.leg. state .mn.us /cgi- bin/getstatchap.pl 4/17/01
Page 7 of 8
a state agency, statewide system, or political subdivision; or
(3) educational data, health data, medical data, welfare
data, or mental health data that are not public data under
section 13.32, 13.3805, subdivision 1, 13.384, or 13.46,
subdivision 2 or 7.
(b) A public body shall close one or more meetings for
preliminary consideration of allegations or charges against an
individual subject to its authority. If the members conclude
that discipline of any nature may be warranted as a result of
those specific charges or allegations, further meetings or
hearings relating to those specific charges or allegations held
after that conclusion is reached must be open. A meeting must
also be open at the request of the individual who is the subject
of the meeting.
Subd. 3. What meetings may be closed. (a) A public
body may close a meeting to evaluate the performance of an
individual who is subject to its authority. The public body
shall identify the individual to be evaluated prior to closing a
meeting. At its next open meeting, the public body shall
summarize its conclusions regarding the evaluation. A meeting
must be open at the request of the individual who is the subject
of the meeting.
(b) Meetings may be closed
authorized by statute or perm
privilege..
HIST: 1957 c 773 s 1; 1967
1973 c 654 s 15; 1973 c 680 s
1; 1983 c 137 s 1; 1983 c 274
s 1; 1990 c 550 s 2,3; 1991 c
1994 c 618 art 1 s 39; 1997 c
if the closure is expressly
fitted by the attorney - client
c 462 s 1; 1973 c 123 art 5 s 7;
1,3; 1975 c 271 s 6; 1981 c 174 s
s 18; 1984 c 462 s 27; 1987 c 313
292 art 8 s 12; 1991 c 319 s 22;
154 s 2; 1999 c 227 s 22
== 13D.06
13D.06 Civil fines; forfeiture of office; other remedies.
Subdivision 1. Personal liability for $300 fine. Any
person who intentionally violates this chapter shall be subject
to personal liability in the form of a civil penalty in an
amount not to exceed $300 for a single occurrence, which may not
be paid by the public body.
Subd. 2. Who may bring action; where. An action to
enforce the penalty in subdivision 1 may be brought by any
person in any court of competent jurisdiction where the
administrative office of the governing body is located.
Subd. 3. Forfeit office if three violations. (a) If
a person has been found to have intentionally violated this
chapter in three or more actions brought under this chapter
involving the same governing body, such person shall forfeit any
further right to serve on such governing body or in any other
capacity with such public body for a period of time equal to the
term of office such person was then serving.
(b) The court determining the merits of any action in
connection with any alleged third violation shall receive
http: / /www.revisor.leg. state .mn.us /cgi- bin/getstatchap.pl 4/17/01
Page S of S
competent, relevant evidence in connection therewith and, upon
finding as to the occurrence of a separate third violation,
unrelated to the previous violations, issue its order declaring
the position vacant and notify the appointing authority or clerk
of the governing body.
(c) As soon as practicable thereafter the appointing
authority or the governing body shall fill the position as in
the case of any other vacancy.
Subd. 4. Other remedies; requirements; limits. (a)
In addition to other remedies, the court may award reasonable
costs, disbursements, and reasonable attorney fees of up to
$13,000 to any party in an action under this chapter.
(b) The court may award costs and attorney fees to a
defendant only if the court finds that the action under this
chapter was frivolous and without merit.
(c) A public body may pay any costs, disbursements, or
attorney fees incurred by or awarded against any of its members
in an action under this chapter.
(d) No monetary penalties or attorney fees may be awarded
against a member of a public body unless the court finds that
there was a specific intent to violate this chapter.
HIST: 1957 c 773 s 1; 1967 c 462 s 1; 1973 c 123 art 5 s 7;
1973 c 654 s 15; 1973 c 680 s 1,3; 1975 c 271 s 6; 1981 c 174 s
1; 1983 c 137 s 1; 1983 c 274 s 18; 1984 c 462 s 27; 1987 c 313
s 1; 1990 c 550 s 2,3; 1991 c 292 art 8 s 12; 1991 c 319 s 22;
1994 c 618 art 1 s 39; 1997 c 154 s 2
== 13D.07
13D.07 Citation.
This chapter may be cited as the "Minnesota Open Meeting
Law."
HIST: 1957 c 773 s 1; 1967 c 462 s 1; 1973 c 123 art 5 s 7;
1973 c 654 s 15; 1973 c 680 s 1,3; 1975 c 271 s 6; 1981 c 174 s
1; 1983 c 137 s 1; 1983 c 274 s 18; 1984 c 462 s 27; 1987 c 313
s 1; 1990 c 550 s 2,3; 1991 c 292 art 8 s 12; 1991 c 319 s 22;
1994 c 618 art 1 s 39; 1997 c 154 s 2
http: / /www.revisor.leg. state .mn.us /cgi- bin/getstatchap.pl 4/17/01