HB-5459, As Passed Senate, December 13, 2012

SUBSTITUTE FOR

HOUSE BILL NO. 5459

A bill to amend 1976 PA 267, entitled

"Open meetings act,"

by amending section 5 (MCL 15.265), as amended by 1984 PA 167.

THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT:

Sec. 5. (1) A meeting of a public body shall not be held

unless public notice is given as provided in this section by a

person designated by the public body.

(2) For regular meetings of a public body, there shall be

posted within 10 days after the first meeting of the public body in

each calendar or fiscal year a public notice stating the dates,

times, and places of its regular meetings.

(3) If there is a change in the schedule of regular meetings

of a public body, there shall be posted within 3 days after the

meeting at which the change is made, a public notice stating the

new dates, times, and places of its regular meetings.

(4) Except as provided in this subsection or in subsection

(6), for a rescheduled regular or a special meeting of a public

body, a public notice stating the date, time, and place of the

meeting shall be posted at least 18 hours before the meeting in a

prominent and conspicuous place at both the public body's principal

office and, if the public body directly or indirectly maintains an

official internet presence that includes monthly or more frequent

updates of public meeting agendas or minutes, on a portion of the

website that is fully accessible to the public. The public notice

on the website shall be included on either the homepage or on a

separate webpage dedicated to public notices for nonregularly

scheduled public meetings and accessible via a prominent and

conspicuous link on the website's homepage that clearly describes

its purpose for public notification of those nonregularly scheduled

public meetings. The requirement of 18-hour notice ~~shall~~ does not

apply to special meetings of subcommittees of a public body or

conference committees of the state legislature. A conference

committee shall give a 6-hour notice. A second conference committee

shall give a 1-hour notice. Notice of a conference committee

meeting shall include written notice to each member of the

conference committee and the majority and minority leader of each

house indicating time and place of the meeting. ~~This subsection~~

~~does not apply to a public meeting held pursuant to section 4(2) to~~

~~(5) of Act No. 239 of the Public Acts of 1955, as amended, being~~

~~section 200.304 of the Michigan Compiled Laws.~~

(5) A meeting of a public body ~~which~~ that is recessed for more

than 36 hours shall be reconvened only after public notice ~~, which~~

that is equivalent to that required under subsection (4) , has been

posted. If either house of the state legislature is adjourned or

recessed for less than 18 hours, the notice provisions of

subsection (4) are not applicable. Nothing in this section ~~shall~~

~~bar~~ bars a public body from meeting in emergency session in the

event of a severe and imminent threat to the health, safety, or

welfare of the public when 2/3 of the members serving on the body

decide that delay would be detrimental to efforts to lessen or

respond to the threat. However, if a public body holds an emergency

public meeting that does not comply with the 18-hour posted notice

requirement, it shall make paper copies of the public notice for

the emergency meeting available to the public at that meeting. The

notice shall include an explanation of the reasons that the public

body cannot comply with the 18-hour posted notice requirement. The

explanation shall be specific to the circumstances that

necessitated the emergency public meeting, and the use of

generalized explanations such as "an imminent threat to the health

of the public" or "a danger to public welfare and safety" does not

meet the explanation requirements of this subsection. If the public

body directly or indirectly maintains an official internet presence

that includes monthly or more frequent updates of public meeting

agendas or minutes, it shall post the public notice of the

emergency meeting and its explanation on its website in the manner

described for an internet posting in subsection (4). Within 48

hours after the emergency public meeting, the public body shall

send official correspondence to the board of county commissioners

of the county in which the public body is principally located,

informing the commission that an emergency public meeting with less

than 18 hours' public notice has taken place. The correspondence

shall also include the public notice of the meeting with

explanation and shall be sent by either the United States postal

service or electronic mail. Compliance with the notice requirements

for emergency meetings in this subsection does not create, and

shall not be construed to create, a legal basis or defense for

failure to comply with other provisions of this act and does not

relieve the public body from the duty to comply with any provision

of this act.

(6) A meeting of a public body may only take place in a

residential dwelling if a nonresidential building within the

boundary of the local governmental unit or school system is not

available without cost to the public body. For a meeting of a

public body ~~which~~ that is held in a residential dwelling, notice of

the meeting shall be published as a display advertisement in a

newspaper of general circulation in the city or township in which

the meeting is to be held. The notice shall be published not less

than 2 days before the day on which the meeting is held, and shall

state the date, time, and place of the meeting. The notice ~~, which~~

shall be at the bottom of the display advertisement, ~~and which~~

~~shall be~~ set off in a conspicuous manner, ~~shall~~ and include the

following language: "This meeting is open to all members of the

public under Michigan's open meetings act".

(7) A durational requirement for posting a public notice of a