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HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES - FLOOR VERSION
STATE OF OKLAHOMA
1st Session of the 58th Legislature (2021)
HOUSE BILL 2644 By: Echols, Fugate and Phillips
AS INTRODUCED
An Act relating to open meetings; amending 25 O.S.
2011, Section 307.1, as last amended by Section 3,
Chapter 3, O.S.L. 2020 (25 O.S. Supp. 2020, Section
307.1), which relates to videoconferences and
teleconferences; amending certain date; amending 25
O.S. 2011, Section 311, as last amended by Section 4,
Chapter 3, O.S.L. 2020 ( 25 O.S. Supp. 2020, Section
311), which relates to notice; requiring adherence to
certain notice provisions; requiring notice of
certain information; modifying date; and declaring an
emergency.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF OKLAHO MA:
SECTION 1. AMENDATORY 25 O.S. 2011, Section 307.1, as
last amended by Section 3, Chapter 3, O.S.L. 2020 (25 O.S. Supp.
2020, Section 307.1), is amended to read as follows:
Section 307.1 A. Except as provided in subsections C and D of
this section, a public body may hold meetings by videoconference
where each member of the public body is visible and audible to each
other and the public through a video monitor, subject to the
following:
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1. a. except as provided for in subparagr aph b of this
paragraph, no less than a quorum of the public body
shall be present in person at the meeting site as
posted on the meeting notice and agenda,
b. a virtual charter school approved and sponsored by the
Statewide Virtual Charter School Board pu rsuant to the
provisions of Section 3 -145.3 of Title 70 of the
Oklahoma Statutes shall maintain a quorum of members
for the entire duration of the meeting whether using
an in-person site, videoconference sites or any
combination of such sites to achieve a quorum; and
c. each public meeting held by videoconference or
teleconference shall be recorded either by written,
electronic, or other means;
2. The meeting notice and agenda prepared in advance of the
meeting, as required by law, shall indicate if the me eting will
include videoconferencing locations and shall state:
a. the location, address, and telephone number of each
available videoconference site, and
b. the identity of each member of the public body and the
specific site from which each member of the body shall
be physically present and participating in the
meeting;
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3. After the meeting notice and agenda are prepared and posted,
as required by law, no member of the public body shall be allowed to
participate in the meeting from any location other tha n the specific
location posted on the agenda in advance of the meeting;
4. In order to allow the public the maximum opportunity to
attend and observe each public official carrying out the duties of
the public official, a member or members of a public body desiring
to participate in a meeting by videoconference shall participate in
the videoconference from a site and room located within the district
or political subdivision from which they are elected, appointed, or
are sworn to represent;
5. Each site and room where a member of the public body is
present for a meeting by videoconference shall be open and
accessible to the public, and the public shall be allowed into that
site and room. Public bodies may provide additional videoconference
sites as a convenience to the public, but additional sites shall not
be used to exclude or discourage public attendance at any
videoconference site;
6. The public shall be allowed to participate and speak, as
allowed by rule or policy set by the public body, in a meeting at
the videoconference site in the same manner and to the same extent
as the public is allowed to participate or speak at the site of the
meeting;
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7. Any materials shared electronically between members of the
public body, before or during the videoconfere nce, shall also be
immediately available to the public in the same form and manner as
shared with members of the public body; and
8. All votes occurring during any meeting conducted using
videoconferencing shall occur and be recorded by roll call vote.
B. No public body shall conduct an executive session by
videoconference.
C. Upon the effective date of this act and until November 15,
2020, or the Governor declaring the state of emergency to be
terminated, whichever date first occurs March 31, 2024, the
provisions of this subsection and subsection D shall operate as law
in this state.
1. A public body may hold meetings by teleconference or
videoconference if each member of the public body is audible or
visible to each other and the public, subject to the following:
a. for a virtual charter school approved and sponsored by
the Statewide Virtual Charter School Board pursuant to
the provisions of the Oklahoma Statutes, the public
body shall maintain a quorum of members for the entire
duration of the meeting whether using an in-person
site, teleconference, or videoconference or any
combination of such sites to achieve a quorum, and
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b. if the meeting is held using either teleconference or
videoconference capabilities, and at any time the
audio connection is dis connected, the meeting shall be
stopped and reconvened once the audio connection is
restored;
2. The meeting notice and agenda prepared in advance of the
meeting, as required by law, shall indicate if the meeting will
include teleconferencing or videoconf erencing and shall also state:
a. each public body member appearing remotely and the
method of each member 's remote appearance, and
b. the identity of the public body member or members who
will be physically present at the meeting site, if
any;
3. After the meeting notice and agenda are prepared and posted
as required by law, public body members shall not be permitted to
alter their method of attendance; provided, however, those members
who were identified as appearing remotely may be permitted to
physically appear at the meeting site, if any, for the meeting;
4. The public body shall be allowed to participate and speak,
as allowed by rule or policy set by the public body, in a meeting
which utilizes teleconference or videoconference in the same manner
and to the same extent as the public is allowed to participate or
speak during a meeting where all public body members are physically
present together at the meeting site;
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5. Any materials shared electronically between members of the
public body during a mee ting utilizing teleconferencing or
videoconferencing shall also be immediately available to the public
in the same form as shared with the members of the public body; and
6. All votes occurring during any meeting utilizing
teleconference or videoconferenc e shall occur and be recorded by
roll call votes.
D. Public bodies are permitted to conduct an executive session
by teleconference or videoconference. For such executive sessions,
no public body member is required to be physically present so long
as each public body member is audible or visible to each other. The
meeting notice and agenda prepared in advance of the meeting as
required by law shall indicate if the executive session will include
teleconferencing or videoconferencing and shall also state th e
identity of each public body member appearing remotely, the method
of each member's remote appearance, and whether any member will be
physically present at the meeting site, if any, for the executive
session.
SECTION 2. AMENDATORY 25 O.S. 2011, Section 311, as last
amended by Section 4, Chapter 3, O.S.L. 2020 (25 O.S. Supp. 2020,
Section 311), is amended to read as follows:
Section 311. A. Notwithstanding any other provisions of law,
all regularly scheduled, continued or reconven ed, special or
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emergency meetings of public bodies shall be preceded by public
notice as follows:
1. All public bodies shall give notice in writing by December
15 of each calendar year of the schedule showing the date, time and
place of the regularly sche duled meetings of such public bodies for
the following calendar year;
2. All state public bodies, including, but not limited to,
public trusts and other bodies with the state as beneficiary, shall
give such notice to the Secretary of State;
3. All county public bodies including, but not limited to,
public trusts and any other bodies with the county as beneficiary,
shall give such notice to the county clerk of the county wherein
they are principally located;
4. All municipal public bodies, including, but not limited to,
public trusts and any other bodies with the municipality as
beneficiary, shall give such notice to the municipal clerk of the
municipality wherein they are principally located;
5. All multicounty, regional, areawide or district public
bodies including, but not limited to, district boards of education,
shall give such notice to the county clerk of the county wherein
they are principally located, or if no office exists, to the county
clerk of the county or counties served by such public body;
6. All governing boards of state institutions of higher
education, and committees and subcommittees thereof, shall give such
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notice to the Secretary of State. All other public bodies covered
by the provisions of the Oklahoma Open Meeting Act which exist under
the auspices of a state institution of higher education, but a
majority of whose members are not members of the institution's
governing board, shall give such notice to the county clerk of the
county wherein the institution is principally located;
7. The Secretary of State and each county clerk or municipal
clerk shall keep a record of all notices received in a register open
to the public for inspection during regular office hours, and, in
addition, shall make known upon any request of any person th e
contents of the register;
8. If any change is to be made of the date, time or place of
regularly scheduled meetings of public bodies, then notice in
writing shall be given to the Secretary of State or county clerk or
municipal clerk, as required herein, not less than ten (10) days
prior to the implementation of any such change;
9. In addition to the advance public notice in writing required
to be filed for regularly scheduled meetings, described in paragraph
1 of this subsection, all public bodies shall , at least twenty-four
(24) hours prior to such regularly scheduled meetings, display
public notice of the meeting by at least one of the following
methods:
a. by posting information that includes date, time, place
and agenda for the meeting in prominent p ublic view at
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the principal office of the public body or at the
location of the meeting if no office exists, or
b. by posting on the public body's Internet website the
date, time, place and agenda for the meeting in
accordance with Section 3106.2 of Title 74 of the
Oklahoma Statutes. Additionally, the public body
shall offer and consistently maintain an email
distribution system for distribution of such notice of
a public meeting required by this subsection, and any
person may request to be included withou t charge, and
their request shall be accepted. The emailed notice
of a public meeting required by this subsection shall
include in the body of the email or as an attachment
to the email the date, time, place and agenda for the
meeting and it shall be sent no less than twenty-four
(24) hours prior to the meeting. Additionally, except
as provided in subparagraph c of this paragraph, the
public body shall make the notice of a public meeting
required by this subsection available to the public in
the principal office of the public body or at the
location of the meeting during normal business hours
at least twenty–four (24) hours prior to the meeting,
or
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c. upon the effective date of this act and until November
15, 2020, or the Governor declaring the state of
emergency to be terminated, whichever date first
occurs March 31, 2024, the public body shall not be
required to make the notice of a public meeting
available to the public in the principal office of the
public body or at the location of the meeting during
normal business hours at least twenty -four (24) hours
prior to the meeting;
10. The twenty-four (24) hours required in paragraph 9 of this
subsection shall exclude Saturdays, Sundays and holidays legally
declared by the State of Oklahoma. The posting or d istribution of a
notice of a public meeting as described in paragraph 9 of this
subsection shall not preclude a public body from considering at its
regularly scheduled meeting any new business. "New business", as
used herein, shall mean any matter not kno wn about or which could
not have been reasonably foreseen prior to the time of the posting;
11. In the event any meeting is to be continued or reconvened,
public notice of such action including date, time and place of the
continued meeting, shall be given by announcement at the original
meeting. Only matters appearing on the agenda of the meeting which
is continued may be discussed at the continued or reconvened
meeting;
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12. Special meetings of public bodies shall not be held without
public notice being given at least forty -eight (48) hours prior to
the meetings. Such public notice of date, time and place shall be
given in writing, in person or by telephonic means to the Secretary
of State or to the county clerk or to the municipal clerk by public
bodies in the manner set forth in paragraphs 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 of
this subsection. The public body also shall cause written notice of
the date, time and place of the meeting to be mailed or delivered to
each person, newspaper, wire service, radio station and tel evision
station that has filed a written request for notice of meetings of
the public body with the clerk or secretary of the public body or
with some other person designated by the public body. Such written
notice shall be mailed or delivered at least fo rty-eight (48) hours
prior to the special meeting. The public body may charge a fee of
up to Eighteen Dollars ($18.00) per year to persons or entities
filing a written request for notice of meetings, and may require
such persons or entities to renew the r equest for notice annually.
In addition, all public bodies shall, at least twenty -four (24)
hours prior to such special meetings, display public notice of the
meeting, setting forth thereon the date, time, place and agenda for
the meeting. Only matters a ppearing on the posted agenda may be
considered at the special meeting. Such public notice shall be
posted in prominent public view at the principal office of the
public body or at the location of the meeting if no office exists.
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Twenty-four (24) hours prior public posting shall exclude Saturdays,
Sundays and holidays legally declared by the State of Oklahoma. In
lieu of the public posting requirements of this paragraph, a public
body may elect to follow the requirements found in subparagraph b of
paragraph 9 of this subsection, provided that forty -eight-hour
notice is required for special meetings and that the forty -eight-
hour requirement shall exclude Saturdays, Sundays and holidays
legally declared by the State of Oklahoma; and
13. In the event of an emergency, an emergency meeting of a
public body may be held without the public notice heretofore
required. Should an emergency meeting of a public body be
necessary, the person calling such a meeting shall give as much
advance public notice as is reasona ble and possible under the
circumstances existing, in person or by telephonic or electronic
means.
14. Any public body that gives public notice of any meeting for
which there will be a videoconference option in accordance with
Section 307.1 of this title shall not modify the method of meeting
described in the notice prior to the meeting and shall conduct the
meeting according to the methods described in the notice. If a cod e
or password is required to log in to the videoconference meeting,
such code or password shall be included in the meeting notice.
B. 1. All agendas required pursuant to the provisions of this
section shall identify all items of business to be transacted by a
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public body at a meeting including, but not limited to, any proposed
executive session for the purpose of engaging in deliberations or
rendering a final or intermediate decision in an individual
proceeding prescribed by the Administrative Procedures Act.
2. If a public body proposes to conduct an executive session,
the agenda shall:
a. contain sufficient information for the public to
ascertain that an executive session will be proposed,
b. identify the items of business and purposes of the
executive session, and
c. state specifically the provision of Section 307 of
this title authorizing the executive session.
SECTION 3. It being immediately necessary for the preservation
of the public peace, health or safety, an emergency is hereby
declared to exist, by reason whereof this act shall take effect and
be in full force from and after its passage and approval.
COMMITTEE REPORT BY: COMMITTEE ON GENERAL GOVERNMENT, dated
02/25/2021 - DO PASS, As Coauthored.