General Assembly Raised Bill No. 5616
February Session, 2016 LCO No. 2922
*02922_______GAE*
Referred to Committee on GOVERNMENT ADMINISTRATION AND ELECTIONS
Introduced by:
(GAE)
General Assembly
Raised Bill No. 5616
February Session, 2016
LCO No. 2922
*02922_______GAE*
Referred to Committee on GOVERNMENT ADMINISTRATION AND ELECTIONS
Introduced by:
(GAE)
AN ACT CONCERNING NOTICES AND PUBLIC INFORMATION.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Assembly convened:
Section 1. (NEW) (Effective from passage) (a) Notwithstanding any provision of the general statutes, no public agency, as defined in section 1-200 of the general statutes, may disclose, pursuant to a request for a public record under the Freedom of Information Act, the month or the day of any individual's date of birth on any list prepared under title 9 of the general statutes.
(b) No information disclosed on any list prepared under title 9 of the general statutes, pursuant to a request for a public record under the Freedom of Information Act, to any person may be published on the Internet or otherwise further disclosed by such person.
Sec. 2. Section 1-225 of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 2017):
(a) The meetings of all public agencies, except executive sessions, as defined in subdivision (6) of section 1-200, shall be open to the public. The votes of each member of any such public agency upon any issue before such public agency shall be reduced to writing and made available for public inspection within forty-eight hours and shall also be recorded in the minutes of the session at which taken. Not later than seven days after the date of the session to which such minutes refer, such minutes shall be available for public inspection and posted on such public agency's Internet web site, if available, and on an Internet web site designated by the Secretary of the State, except that no public agency of a political subdivision of the state shall be required to post such minutes on an Internet web site. Each public agency shall make, keep and maintain a record of the proceedings of its meetings.
(b) Each such public agency of the state shall electronically file not later than January thirty-first of each year [in] with the office of the Secretary of the State, in a manner prescribed by the Secretary of the State, the schedule of the regular meetings of such public agency for the ensuing year and shall post such schedule on such public agency's Internet web site, if available, and on an Internet web site designated by the Secretary of the State, except that such requirements shall not apply to the General Assembly, either house thereof or to any committee thereof. Any other provision of the Freedom of Information Act notwithstanding, the General Assembly at the commencement of each regular session in the odd-numbered years, shall adopt, as part of its joint rules, rules to provide notice to the public of its regular, special, emergency or interim committee meetings. The chairperson or secretary of any such public agency of any political subdivision of the state shall file, not later than January thirty-first of each year, with the clerk of such subdivision the schedule of regular meetings of such public agency for the ensuing year, and no such meeting of any such public agency shall be held sooner than thirty days after such schedule has been filed. The chief executive officer of any multitown district or agency shall file, not later than January thirty-first of each year, with the Secretary of the State, in a manner prescribed by the Secretary of the State, and the clerk of each municipal member of such district or agency, the schedule of regular meetings of such public agency for the ensuing year, and no such meeting of any such public agency shall be held sooner than thirty days after such schedule has been filed.
(c) The agenda of the regular meetings of every public agency, except for the General Assembly, shall be available to the public and shall be filed, not less than twenty-four hours before the meetings to which they refer, (1) in such agency's regular office or place of business, and (2) [in] electronically with the office of the Secretary of the State, in a manner prescribed by the Secretary of the State, for any such public agency of the state, in the office of the clerk of such subdivision for any public agency of a political subdivision of the state or in the office of the clerk of each municipal member of any multitown district or agency. For any such public agency of the state, such agenda shall be posted by the public agency on the public agency's [and the Secretary of the State's web sites] Internet web site, if available, and on an Internet web site designated by the Secretary of the State. Upon the affirmative vote of two-thirds of the members of a public agency present and voting, any subsequent business not included in such filed agendas may be considered and acted upon at such meetings.
(d) Notice of each special meeting of [every] each public agency, except for the General Assembly, either house thereof or any committee thereof, shall be posted not less than twenty-four hours before the meeting to which such notice refers on the public agency's Internet web site, if available, and given not less than twenty-four hours prior to the time of such meeting by filing a notice of the time and place thereof [in] with the office of the Secretary of the State for any such public agency of the state, in the office of the clerk of such subdivision for any public agency of a political subdivision of the state and in the office of the clerk of each municipal member for any multitown district or agency, except that any such notice filed with the Secretary of the State shall be filed electronically. Any notice filed by a public agency of the state under this section shall be posted by such public agency, in a manner prescribed by the Secretary of the State, on an Internet web site designated by the Secretary of the State. The [secretary or] clerk of a political subdivision of the state or the clerk of each municipal member of a multitown district or agency, as the case may be, shall cause any notice received under this section to be posted in his office. Such notice shall be given not less than twenty-four hours prior to the time of the special meeting; provided, in case of emergency, except for the General Assembly, either house thereof or any committee thereof, any such special meeting may be held without complying with the foregoing requirement for the filing of notice but a copy of the minutes of [every] each such emergency special meeting adequately setting forth the nature of the emergency and the proceedings occurring at such meeting shall be filed with the Secretary of the State, the clerk of such political subdivision, or the clerk of each municipal member of such multitown district or agency, as the case may be, except that any such copy of the minutes filed with the Secretary of the State shall be filed electronically, not later than seventy-two hours following the holding of such meeting. The notice shall specify the time and place of the special meeting and the business to be transacted. No other business shall be considered at such meetings by such public agency. In addition, such written notice shall be delivered to the usual place of abode of each member of the public agency so that the same is received prior to such special meeting. The requirement of delivery of such written notice may be dispensed with as to any member who at or prior to the time the meeting convenes files with the clerk or secretary of the public agency a written waiver of delivery of such notice. Such waiver may be given by [telegram] means of electronic communication. The requirement of delivery of such written notice may also be dispensed with as to any member who is actually present at the meeting at the time it convenes. Nothing in this section shall be construed to prohibit any agency from adopting more stringent notice requirements.
(e) No member of the public shall be required, as a condition to attendance at a meeting of any such body, to register the member's name, or furnish other information, or complete a questionnaire or otherwise fulfill any condition precedent to the member's attendance.
(f) A public agency may hold an executive session, as defined in subdivision (6) of section 1-200, upon an affirmative vote of two-thirds of the members of such body present and voting, taken at a public meeting and stating the reasons for such executive session, as defined in section 1-200.
(g) In determining the time within which or by when a notice, agenda, record of votes or minutes of a special meeting or an emergency special meeting are required to be filed under this section, Saturdays, Sundays, legal holidays and any day on which the office of the agency, the Secretary of the State or the clerk of the applicable political subdivision or the clerk of each municipal member of any multitown district or agency, as the case may be, is closed, shall be excluded.
(h) Any provision of this section requiring a public agency of the state to file with the Secretary of the State any meeting schedule, agenda, notice of special meeting or minutes of an emergency special meeting shall be deemed to require such public agency of the state to post, in a manner prescribed by the Secretary of the State, such meeting schedule, agenda, notice of special meeting or minutes of an emergency special meeting on an Internet web site designated by the Secretary of the State. The Secretary of the State shall designate an Internet web site for the purposes of this section.
Sec. 3. Section 2-7 of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 2017):
(a) Whenever the Governor, the members of the General Assembly or the president pro tempore of the Senate and the speaker of the House of Representatives call a special session of the General Assembly, the Secretary of the State shall give notice thereof either by (1) mailing a true copy of the call of such special session, by first class mail, evidenced by a certificate of mailing, to each member of the House of Representatives and of the Senate at his or her address as it appears upon the records of said secretary not less than ten nor more than fifteen days prior to the date of convening of such special session, [or by] (2) causing a true copy of the call of such special session to be delivered [to each member] by a state marshal, constable, state policeman or indifferent person to each such member at least twenty-four hours prior to the time of convening of such special session, or (3) sending an electronic copy of the call of such special session to the official legislative electronic mail address of each such member at least seventy-two hours prior to the time of convening of such special session.
(b) Whenever the Secretary of the State is required to reconvene the General Assembly pursuant to article third of the amendments to the Constitution of Connecticut, said secretary shall give notice thereof either by (1) mailing a true copy of the call of such reconvened session, by first class mail, evidenced by a certificate of mailing, to each member of the House of Representatives and of the Senate at his or her address as it appears upon the records of said secretary not less than five days prior to the date of convening of such reconvened session, [or by] (2) causing a true copy of the call of such reconvened session to be delivered [to each member] by a state marshal, constable, state policeman or indifferent person to each such member at least twenty-four hours prior to the time of convening of such reconvened session, or (3) sending an electronic copy of the call of such reconvened session to the official legislative electronic mail address of each such member at least seventy-two hours prior to the time of convening of such reconvened session.
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following sections:
Section 1 from passage New section
Sec. 2 July 1, 2017 1-225
Sec. 3 July 1, 2017 2-7
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following sections:
Section 1
from passage
New section
Sec. 2
July 1, 2017
1-225
Sec. 3
July 1, 2017
2-7
Statement of Purpose:
To (1) redact the month and day of an individual's date of birth when a list prepared under title 9 of the general statutes is disclosed pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act and prohibit publication of any such list on the Internet web site by the person having requested such list pursuant to said act, (2) require that certain meeting notices are electronically filed with the Secretary of the State and posted on an Internet web site designated by said Secretary, and (3) allow for notice of special and reconvened sessions to be sent electronically.
[Proposed deletions are enclosed in brackets. Proposed additions are indicated by underline, except that when the entire text of a bill or resolution or a section of a bill or resolution is new, it is not underlined.]