HOUSE BILL NO. 6283

A bill to amend 1976 PA 267, entitled

"Open meetings act,"

by amending section 3 (MCL 15.263), as amended by 2020 PA 254, and by adding section 3b; and to repeal acts and parts of acts.

the people of the state of michigan enact:

Sec. 3. (1) All Subject to subsections (7) to (11), all meetings of a public body must be open to the public and, except as otherwise provided in section 3b, must be held attended in person by every participating member of the public body in a physical place available to the general public. All persons must be permitted to attend any meeting except as otherwise provided in this act. The right of a person to attend a meeting of a public body includes the right to tape-record, to videotape, to broadcast live on radio, and to telecast live on television the proceedings of a public body at a public meeting. The exercise of this right does not depend on the prior approval of the public body. However, a public body may establish reasonable rules and regulations in order to minimize the possibility of disrupting the meeting. For a meeting of a public body held in person before April 1, 2021, the public body shall do both of the following:

(a) To the extent feasible under the circumstances, ensure adherence to social distancing and mitigation measures recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for purposes of preventing the spread of COVID-19, including the measure that an individual remain at least 6 feet from anyone from outside the individual's household.

(b) Adopt heightened standards of facility cleaning and disinfection to limit participant exposure to COVID-19, as well as protocols to clean and disinfect in the event of a positive COVID-19 case in the public body's meeting place.

(2) All decisions of a public body must be made at a meeting open to the public, as provided in subsection (1). For purposes of any meeting subject to this section, except a meeting of any state legislative body at which a formal vote is taken, the public body shall, subject to section 3a, establish the following procedures to accommodate the absence of any member of the public body due to military duty, a medical condition, or a statewide or local state of emergency or state of disaster declared pursuant to law or charter or local ordinance by the governor or a local official, governing body, or chief administrative officer that would risk the personal health or safety of members of the public or the public body if the meeting were held in person:

(a) Procedures by which the absent member may participate in, and vote on, business before the public body, including, but not limited to, procedures that provide for both of the following:

(i) Two-way communication.

(ii) For each member of the public body attending the meeting remotely, a public announcement at the outset of the meeting by that member, to be included in the meeting minutes, that the member is in fact attending the meeting remotely. If the member is attending the meeting remotely for a purpose other than for military duty, the member's announcement must further identify specifically the member's physical location by stating the county, city, township, or village and state from which he or she is attending the meeting remotely.

(b) Procedures by which the public is provided notice of the absence of the member and information about how to contact that member sufficiently in advance of a meeting of the public body to provide input on any business that will come before the public body.

(3) All deliberations of a public body constituting a quorum of its members must take place at a meeting open to the public, except as provided in this section and sections 7 and 8.as provided in subsection (1).

(4) A person must not be required as a condition of attendance at a meeting of a public body to register or otherwise provide his or her name or other information or otherwise to fulfill a condition precedent to attendance.

(5) A person must be permitted to address a meeting of a public body under rules established and recorded by the public body. The legislature or a house of the legislature may provide by rule that the right to address may be limited to prescribed times at hearings and committee meetings only.

(6) A person must not be excluded from a meeting otherwise open to the public except for a breach of the peace actually committed at the meeting.

(7) This act does not apply to the following public bodies, but only when deliberating the merits of a case:

(a) The Michigan compensation appellate commission operating as described in either of the following:

(i) Section 274 of the worker's disability compensation act of 1969, 1969 PA 317, MCL 418.274.

(ii) Section 34 of the Michigan employment security act, 1936 (Ex Sess) PA 1, 421.34.

(b) The state tenure commission created in section 1 of article VII of 1937 (Ex Sess) PA 4, MCL 38.131, when acting as a board of review from the decision of a controlling board.

(c) The employment relations commission or an arbitrator or arbitration panel created or appointed under 1939 PA 176, MCL 423.1 to 423.30.

(d) The Michigan public service commission created under 1939 PA 3, MCL 460.1 to 460.11.

(8) This act does not apply to an association of insurers created under the insurance code of 1956, 1956 PA 218, MCL 500.100 to 500.8302, or other association or facility formed under that act as a nonprofit organization of insurer members.

(9) This act does not apply to a committee of a public body that adopts a nonpolicymaking non-policy-making resolution of tribute or memorial, if the resolution is not adopted at a meeting.

(10) This act does not apply to a meeting that is a social or chance gathering or conference not designed to avoid this act.

(11) This act does not apply to the Michigan veterans' trust fund board of trustees or a county or district committee created under 1946 (1st Ex Sess) PA 9, MCL 35.602 to 35.610, when the board of trustees or county or district committee is deliberating the merits of an emergent need. A decision of the board of trustees or county or district committee made under this subsection must be reconsidered by the board or committee at its next regular or special meeting consistent with the requirements of this act. "Emergent need" means a situation that the board of trustees, by rules promulgated under the administrative procedures act of 1969, 1969 PA 306, MCL 24.201 to 24.328, determines requires immediate action.

(12) As used in subsection (2):

(a) "Formal vote" means a vote on a bill, amendment, resolution, motion, proposal, recommendation, or any other measure on which a vote by members of a state legislative body is required and by which the state legislative body effectuates or formulates public policy.

(b) "Medical condition" means an illness, injury, disability, or other health-related condition.

Sec. 3b. (1) Remote attendance electronically by telephonic or video conferencing or other similar means at a meeting of a public body, as described in section 3(1), (2), or (3), is permitted under this act only as provided in this section. Except as otherwise provided in this section, all of the provisions of this act applicable to meetings of a public body held in person in a physical place apply to a meeting of a public body held remotely in whole or in part under this section.

(2) Subject to subsection (4), all of the following apply to a meeting of a public body as described in section 3(1), (2), or (3), except a meeting of any state legislative body at which a formal vote is taken, if the public body has 1 or more members who either are elected to serve or are compensated for their service on the public body, or both:

(a) If at least a quorum of the public body's members attend the meeting in person in a physical place available to the general public, 1 or more other members may attend the meeting remotely and fully participate in all deliberations and decisions that may occur at the meeting, subject to subdivision (b).

(b) A member's remote attendance under subdivision (a) is subject to all of the following:

(i) The number of meetings that may be attended remotely by a member must not exceed the lesser of the following:

(A) 10% of the public body's meetings per year.

(B) 3 meetings per year.

(ii) A member may not attend a meeting remotely unless the member has provided written notice to all other members of the public body of his or her intent to attend remotely at least 18 hours before the meeting.

(iii) A member may attend a meeting remotely only with the unanimous consent of the entire public body, which may be presumed absent a motion by a member not to permit that remote attendance. For any reason, a member of the public body may make a motion not to permit another member's remote attendance, and if the motion carries by 1 or more votes, the member seeking to participate remotely must be considered absent.

(iv) A member attending a meeting remotely shall declare the state from which he or she is participating.

(c) A public body described in this subsection may make any meeting, whether or not attended remotely by any of its members, accessible to the public remotely and is encouraged to do so.

(3) Except as provided in subdivision (d) and subject to subsection (4), all of the following apply to a meeting of a public body as described in section 3(1), (2), or (3), other than a public body described in subsection (2):

(a) Subject to subdivisions (b) and (c), the public body may hold the meeting in either of the following places:

(i) A physical place available to the general public at which at least 1 of the public body's participating members attends in person and other members attend remotely.

(ii) A virtual place at which all of the public body's participating members attend remotely.

(b) Whether attending a meeting in person or remotely under subdivision (a), a member may fully participate in all deliberations and decisions that may occur at the meeting.

(c) If a meeting is held virtually under subdivision (a)(ii), the public body shall make the meeting accessible to the public remotely. For all other meetings subject to this subsection, including a meeting under subdivisions (a)(i) or (d), the public body may make the meeting accessible to the public remotely and is encouraged to do so.

(d) Notwithstanding any provisions of subdivisions (a) to (c) to the contrary, a meeting of a public body described in this subsection must be attended in person by the public body's members in a physical place available to the general public in both of the following circumstances:

(i) One annual meeting of the public body.

(ii) Any meeting at which the public body conducts a public hearing.

(4) Notwithstanding any provision of this section to the contrary, a public body shall accommodate the need for remote meeting attendance and participation of a member of the public body or a member of the public who, because of his or her disability, desires and is entitled to an accommodation in the form of remote meeting attendance and participation under the Americans with disability act, the persons with disabilities civil rights act, or both. An accommodation under this subsection may be made only for those members of the public body and members of the public who, because of their disabilities, are entitled to an accommodation in the form of remote meeting attendance and participation under the Americans with disabilities act, the persons with disabilities civil rights act, or both, and the remote meeting attendance and participation of any other member of the public body or member of the public is permitted, if at all, only as provided in subsections (2) and (3). As used in this subsection:

(a) "Americans with disabilities act" means the Americans with disabilities act of 1990, Public Law 101-336.

(b) "Persons with disabilities civil rights act" means the persons with disabilities civil rights act, 1976 PA 220, MCL 37.1101 to 37.1607.

(c) "Disability" means 1 of the following, as applicable:

(i) Those conditions that qualify one as a qualified individual with a disability under the Americans with disabilities act.

(ii) Those conditions that qualify one as a person with a disability under the persons with disabilities civil rights act.

Enacting section 1. Section 3a of the open meetings act, 1976 PA 267, MCL 15.263a, is repealed.

Enacting section 2. Section 3b(4) of the open meetings act, 1976 PA 267, MCL 15.263b, as added by this amendatory act, is curative and must be retroactively applied, expressing the legislature's original intent that any limitations in the open meetings act, 1976 PA 267, MCL 15.261 to 15.275, on the remote attendance or participation of an individual at a meeting of a public body subject to the open meetings act, 1976 PA 267, MCL 15.261 to 15.275, do not prevent either of the following:

(a) A public body from complying with the Americans with disabilities act of 1990, Public Law 101-336, or the persons with disabilities civil rights act, 1976 PA 220, MCL 37.1101 to 37.1607, insofar as either or both of these acts require the public body to provide a member of the public body or a member of the public with an accommodation in the form of remote attendance and participation in a meeting of the public body due to his or her disability.

(b) A public body from permitting members of the public to attend and participate remotely in a meeting of the public body whether or not the meeting is attended remotely by any of the public body's members.