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| 41 | 65 | | An Act relating to public meetings; amending 25 O.S. |
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| 42 | 66 | | 2021, Section 304, as amended by Section 1, Chapter |
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| 43 | 67 | | 123, O.S.L. 2022 (25 O.S. Su pp. 2022, Section 304), |
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| 44 | 68 | | which relates to definitions used in the Oklahoma |
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| 45 | 69 | | Open Meeting Act; defining term of public health |
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| 46 | 70 | | emergency; establishing requirements under which a |
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| 47 | 71 | | public body may conduct meetings an d executive |
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| 48 | 72 | | sessions utilizing di gital means; requiring |
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| 49 | 73 | | alternative means be used to make meetings available |
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| 50 | 74 | | to the public under certain condi tions; exempting |
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| 51 | 75 | | governing bodies under certain conditions; clarifying |
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| 52 | 76 | | no charge to the public; permitting partici pation by |
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| 53 | 77 | | the public in meetings; prohibiting certain private |
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| 54 | 78 | | electronic communications; providing for |
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| 55 | 79 | | codification; and providing an effective date . |
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| 56 | 80 | | |
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| 57 | 81 | | |
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| 58 | 82 | | |
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| 59 | 85 | | BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF OK LAHOMA: |
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| 60 | 86 | | SECTION 1. AMENDATORY 25 O.S. 2021, Section 304, as |
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| 61 | 87 | | amended by Section 1, Chapter 123, O.S.L. 2022 (25 O.S. Supp. 2022, |
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| 62 | 88 | | Section 304), is amended to read as follows: |
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| 63 | 89 | | Section 304. As used in the Oklahoma Open Meeting Act: |
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| 64 | 90 | | 1. “Public body” means the governing bodies of all |
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| 65 | 91 | | municipalities located w ithin this state, boards of county |
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| 66 | 92 | | commissioners of the countie s in this state, boards of pub lic and |
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| 95 | 145 | | agencies, trusteeships, authorities, councils, committees, public |
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| 96 | 146 | | trusts or any entity created by a public trust including any |
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| 97 | 147 | | committee or subcommi ttee composed of any of the me mbers of a public |
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| 98 | 148 | | trust or other legal entity receiving funds from the Rural Economic |
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| 99 | 149 | | Action Plan Fund as authorized by Section 2007 of Title 62 of the |
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| 100 | 150 | | Oklahoma Statutes, task forces or study groups in this state |
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| 101 | 151 | | supported in whole or in part by public fun ds or entrusted with the |
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| 102 | 152 | | expending of public funds, or administering public property, and |
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| 103 | 153 | | shall include all committees or subcommittees of any public body. |
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| 104 | 154 | | Public body shall not include the state judiciary, the Council on |
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| 105 | 155 | | Judicial Complaints when conducti ng, discussing, or deliberating any |
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| 106 | 156 | | matter relating to a complaint received or filed with the Council, |
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| 107 | 157 | | the Legislature, or administrati ve staffs of public bodies |
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| 108 | 158 | | including, but not limited to, faculty meetings and athletic st aff |
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| 109 | 159 | | meetings of institutions o f higher education when those staffs are |
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| 110 | 160 | | not meeting with the public body, or entry -year assistance |
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| 111 | 161 | | committees. Furthermore, public bo dy shall not include the |
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| 112 | 162 | | multidisciplinary teams provided for in Section 1-9-102 of Title 10A |
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| 113 | 163 | | of the Oklahoma Statutes , in Section 2 of this act, and in |
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| 114 | 164 | | subsection C of Section 1-502.2 of Title 63 of the Oklahom a Statutes |
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| 115 | 165 | | or any school board meeting for th e sole purpose of considerin g |
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| 116 | 166 | | recommendations of a multidisciplinary team and deciding the |
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| 117 | 167 | | placement of any child who is the subject of the recommendations. |
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| 146 | 220 | | stewards designated by the Oklaho ma Horse Racing Commission p ursuant |
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| 147 | 221 | | to Section 203.4 of Title 3A of the Oklahoma Statutes w hen the |
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| 148 | 222 | | stewards are officiati ng at races or otherwise enforcing rules of |
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| 149 | 223 | | the Commission. Furthermore, public body shal l not include the |
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| 150 | 224 | | board of directors of a Fed erally Qualified Health Cent er; |
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| 151 | 225 | | 2. “Meeting” means the conduct of business of a public bo dy by |
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| 152 | 226 | | a majority of its members being personally together or, as |
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| 153 | 227 | | authorized by Section 307.1 of this title, together purs uant to a |
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| 154 | 228 | | videoconference. Meeting shall not include informal gatherings of a |
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| 155 | 229 | | majority of the members of the public body when no busin ess of the |
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| 156 | 230 | | public body is discu ssed; |
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| 157 | 231 | | 3. “Regularly scheduled meeting” means a meeting at which the |
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| 158 | 232 | | regular business of t he public body is conducted; |
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| 159 | 233 | | 4. “Special meeting” means any meeting of a public body other |
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| 160 | 234 | | than a regularly scheduled meeting or eme rgency meeting; |
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| 161 | 235 | | 5. “Emergency meeting” means any meeting called for the purpose |
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| 162 | 236 | | of dealing with an emergency. For purpose s of the Oklahoma Open |
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| 163 | 237 | | Meeting Act, an emerge ncy is defined as a situatio n involving injury |
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| 164 | 238 | | to persons or injury and damage to publi c or personal property or |
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| 165 | 239 | | immediate financial loss when the time requirements for pub lic |
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| 166 | 240 | | notice of a special meeting would m ake such procedure impractical |
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| 167 | 241 | | and increase the likelihood of injury or d amage or immediate |
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| 168 | 242 | | financial loss; |
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| 196 | 294 | | 6. “Continued or reconvened meeting” means a meeting whic h is |
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| 197 | 295 | | assembled for the purpose of finishing busines s appearing on an |
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| 198 | 296 | | agenda of a previous meeting. For the purposes of the Oklahoma Op en |
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| 199 | 297 | | Meeting Act, only matters on the agenda of the previous meeting at |
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| 200 | 298 | | which the announcement of the continuance is made m ay be discussed |
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| 201 | 299 | | at a continued or reconvened meetin g; |
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| 202 | 300 | | 7. “Public health emergency” means a situation where the |
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| 203 | 301 | | circumstances lead state or local elected officials , as applicable |
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| 204 | 302 | | to this act, to determine a risk of death or significant harm to the |
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| 205 | 303 | | human population of the s tate or particular applicable political |
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| 206 | 304 | | subdivision. A locally declared state of emergency declared by a |
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| 207 | 305 | | mayor or chairman of a board of county commissioners shall not |
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| 208 | 306 | | continue for more than thirty ( 30) days with ratification of the |
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| 209 | 307 | | respective public body, unless such s tate of emergency is |
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| 210 | 308 | | concurrently declared by the Governor of the State of Oklahoma |
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| 211 | 309 | | covering the applicab le political subdivision ; |
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| 212 | 310 | | 8. “Videoconference” means a conference among mem bers of a |
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| 213 | 311 | | public body remote fr om one another who are linke d by interactive |
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| 214 | 312 | | telecommunication devices or technology and/or technology permitting |
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| 215 | 313 | | both visual and auditory communication between and among m embers of |
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| 216 | 314 | | the public body and/or between and among me mbers of the public body |
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| 217 | 315 | | and members of the public. During any videoconference, both the |
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| 218 | 316 | | visual and auditory commun ications functions shall attempt to be |
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| 219 | 317 | | utilized; and |
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| 247 | 369 | | 8. 9. “Teleconference” means a conference among members of a |
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| 248 | 370 | | public body remote from one another who are linked by |
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| 249 | 371 | | telecommunication devices and/or technology permitting auditory |
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| 250 | 372 | | communication between and among members of the public body and /or |
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| 251 | 373 | | between and among members of the public body an d members of the |
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| 252 | 374 | | public. |
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| 253 | 375 | | SECTION 2. NEW LAW A new section of law to be codified |
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| 254 | 376 | | in the Oklahoma Statutes as Section 307.2 of Title 25, unless there |
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| 255 | 377 | | is created a duplication in numbering, reads as follows: |
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| 256 | 378 | | A. Public bodies, unless specificall y exempted, may conduct |
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| 257 | 379 | | meetings and executive sessions utilizing digital means subject to |
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| 258 | 380 | | the following requirements: |
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| 259 | 381 | | 1. No public official may be counted as present if |
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| 260 | 382 | | participating utilizing digital means for more th an one-fourth (1/4) |
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| 261 | 383 | | of regular or special meetings in a rolling one (1) year period ; |
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| 262 | 384 | | 2. A quorum of members must be physically present in the |
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| 263 | 385 | | regular meeting location of the public body ; |
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| 264 | 386 | | 3. Any member of a governing body participating in a meeting |
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| 265 | 387 | | utilizing electronic means shall be confir med by audio or visual |
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| 266 | 388 | | affirmation to the public to be the actual member of the governing |
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| 267 | 389 | | body and may only participate from a fixed location ; |
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| 268 | 390 | | 4. Documents provided digitally during a meeting utilizing |
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| 269 | 391 | | electronic means shall be made available in accordance with the |
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| 297 | 443 | | lawfully adopted policy of the governing board and open records |
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| 298 | 444 | | requirements; |
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| 299 | 445 | | 5. Any governing body making a good faith eff ort to comply with |
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| 300 | 446 | | the provisions of this section shall be immune from liability for |
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| 301 | 447 | | any attorney’s fees connected with l itigation for a failure to |
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| 302 | 448 | | comply with this section ; |
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| 303 | 449 | | 6. Minutes shall be prepared in compliance with state and local |
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| 304 | 450 | | law as applicable to public meetings ; and |
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| 305 | 451 | | 7. Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph 1 of this |
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| 306 | 452 | | section, a governing body may hold a meeti ng utilizing digital means |
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| 307 | 453 | | without a quorum at the physical location during an emergency |
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| 308 | 454 | | meeting called for the purpose of dealing with the s tate of |
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| 309 | 455 | | emergency. |
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| 310 | 456 | | B. To the extent practicable, if a public body maintain s a |
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| 311 | 457 | | website, has dedicated information technology employees, and has |
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| 312 | 458 | | immediate access to a high -speed internet connection, meetings held |
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| 313 | 459 | | without a physical meeting place open to the public shall be |
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| 314 | 460 | | streamed live on a website, made available by telephonic means, or |
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| 315 | 461 | | video of the meeting made avail able through an alternative website. |
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| 316 | 462 | | Video of such meetings sh all be maintained by the public body and |
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| 317 | 463 | | available to the public for a period of at least seven (7) business |
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| 348 | | - | requirements included herein and are not subject to any other record |
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| 349 | | - | or retention statute. The provisions of the subsection shall not |
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| 350 | | - | apply if there exists, or if a governing body determines, the |
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| 351 | | - | implementation of this subsection creates a significant financial |
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| 352 | | - | burden. |
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| 518 | + | and are not subject to any other record o r retention statute. The |
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| 519 | + | provisions of the subsection shall not apply if there exists, or if |
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| 520 | + | a governing body determines, the impl ementation of this subsection |
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| 521 | + | creates a significant financial bur den. |
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| 353 | 522 | | C. Meetings held without a physical meeting plac e open to the |
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| 354 | 523 | | public shall be streamed or otherwise made available to the public |
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| 355 | 524 | | at no charge by util izing digital means, the public body ’s website, |
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| 356 | 525 | | the internet, or other free subscription digital services or |
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| 357 | 526 | | applications. |
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| 358 | 527 | | D. The public may be allowed to participate in meetings held |
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| 359 | 528 | | without a physical meeting pla ce open to the public to the extent |
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| 360 | 529 | | such participation is consistent with previously adopted statutes, |
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| 361 | 530 | | rules, or policy. |
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| 362 | 531 | | SECTION 3. NEW LAW A new section of law to be codified |
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| 363 | 532 | | in the Oklahoma Statutes as Section 315 of Title 25, unless there is |
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| 364 | 533 | | created a duplication in num bering, reads as follows: |
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| 365 | 534 | | No private electronic communications concerning public busi ness |
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| 366 | 535 | | may occur during a public meeting amongst members of the governing |
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| 367 | 536 | | body. |
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| 368 | 537 | | SECTION 4. This act shall become ef fective November 1, 2023. |
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