AN ACT relating to public meetings.

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AN ACT relating to public meetings. 1
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Kentucky: 2
Section 1. KRS 61.815 is amended to read as follows: 3
(1) Except as provided in subsection (2) of this section, the following requirements 4
shall be met as a condition for conducting closed sessions authorized by KRS 5
61.810: 6
(a) Notice shall be given in regular ope n meeting by the presiding officer of the 7
meeting of: 8
1. The general nature of the business to be discussed in closed session;[,] 9
2. The reason for the closed session, and the specific provision of KRS 10
61.810 authorizing the closed session; and 11
3. Any persons who will also be convening in the closed session who are 12
not members of the board, commission, committee, authority, council 13
or governing body of the public agency; 14
(b) Closed sessions may be held only after a motion is made and carried by a 15
majority vote in open, public session; 16
(c) No final action may be taken at a closed session; and 17
(d) No matters may be discussed at a closed se ssion other than those publicly 18
announced prior to convening the closed session. 19
(2) Public agencies and activities of public agencies identified in paragraphs (a), (c), 20
(d), (e), (f), but only so far as (f) relates to students, (g), (h), (i), (j), (k), (l ), and (m) 21
of subsection (1) of KRS 61.810 shall be excluded from the requirements of 22
subsection (1) of this section. 23
(3) Closed sessions shall be recorded by video or audio and stored for one hundred 24
eighty (180) days. The recording shall be exempt from t he Open Records Act, 25
KRS 61.870 to 61.884. 26
Section 2. KRS 61.820 is amended to read as follows: 27
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(1) All meetings of all public agencies of this state, and any committees or 1
subcommittees thereof, shall be held at specifi ed times and places which are 2
convenient to the public. In considering locations for public meetings, the agency 3
shall evaluate space requirements, seating capacity, and acoustics. 4
(2) All public agencies shall provide for , and adopt on annual basis, a sch edule of 5
regular meetings by ordinance, order, resolution, bylaws, or by whatever other 6
means may be required for the conduct of business of that public agency. The 7
schedule of regular meetings shall be made available to the public. 8
(3) At least twenty-four (24) hours but not more than seven (7) days before a regular 9
meeting, a public agency shall publish notice of its regular meeting agenda on its 10
website or social media account and shall transmit the agenda to each media 11
organization. The agenda shall, at minimum, contain general items that the 12
public agency intends to discuss, and items to be discussed for action taken. The 13
public agency may discuss items not on the agenda at the public meeting, but 14
shall not vote on any item not included on the agenda. 15
(4) (a) A recess shall not be used for the purpose or with the effect of materially 16
impairing the public's ability to observe, attend, or record the meeting. 17
(b) Any item discussed immediately prior to the recess shall not be subject to a 18
vote when the body returns, and shall be tabled to be discussed and voted on 19
at the next regular meeting. 20
(c) 1. A public agency shall not recess a meeting for a period exceeding sixty 21
(60) consecutive minutes unless: 22
a. The time certain for reconvening is publicly announce d prior to 23
the recess; and 24
b. The reconvening occurs on the same calendar day. 25
2. If a recess exceeds sixty (60) consecutive minutes, and the public 26
agency fails to comply with the requirements of subparagraph 1. of 27
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this paragraph, the meeting shall be deemed adjourned. 1
(5) Each regular meeting shall include a public comment period of at least fifteen 2
(15) minutes. 3
Section 3. KRS 61.823 is amended to read as follows: 4
(1) Except as provided in subsection (5) of this sectio n, special meetings shall be held 5
in accordance with the provisions of subsections (2), (3), [and ](4), and (6) of this 6
section. 7
(2) The presiding officer or a majority of the members of the public agency may call a 8
special meeting. 9
(3) The public agency s hall provide written notice of the special meeting. The notice 10
shall consist of the date, time, and place of the special meeting and the agenda. 11
Discussions and action at the meeting shall be limited to items listed on the agenda 12
in the notice. 13
(4) (a) As soon as possible, written notice shall be delivered personally, transmitted 14
by facsimile machine, or mailed to every member of the public agency as well 15
as each media organization which has filed a written request, including a 16
mailing address, to receive n otice of special meetings. The notice shall be 17
calculated so that it shall be received at least twenty-four (24) hours before the 18
special meeting. The public agency may periodically, but no more often than 19
once in a calendar year, inform media organization s that they will have to 20
submit a new written request or no longer receive written notice of special 21
meetings until a new written request is filed. 22
(b) A public agency may satisfy the requirements of paragraph (a) of this 23
subsection by transmitting the wri tten notice by electronic mail to public 24
agency members and media organizations that have filed a written request 25
with the public agency indicating their preference to receive electronic mail 26
notification in lieu of notice by personal delivery, facsimile m achine, or mail. 27
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The written request shall include the electronic mail address or addresses of 1
the agency member or media organization. 2
(c) As soon as possible, written notice shall also be posted in a conspicuous place 3
in the building where the special meeting will take place and in a conspicuous 4
place in the building which houses the headquarters of the agency. The notice 5
shall be calculated so that it shall be posted at least twenty -four (24) hours 6
before the special meeting. 7
(5) In the case of an emergency which prevents compliance with subsections (3) and 8
(4) of this section, this subsection shall govern a public agency's conduct of a 9
special meeting. The special meeting shall be called pursuant to subsection (2) of 10
this section. The public agency shall make a reasonable effort, under emergency 11
circumstances, to notify the members of the agency, media organizations which 12
have filed a writte n request pursuant to subsection (4)(a) of this section, and the 13
public of the emergency meeting. At the beginning of the emergency meeting, the 14
person chairing the meeting shall briefly describe for the record the emergency 15
circumstances preventing compli ance with subsections (3) and (4) of this section. 16
These comments shall appear in the minutes. Discussions and action at the 17
emergency meeting shall be limited to the emergency for which the meeting is 18
called. 19
(6) Each special meeting shall include a publi c comment period of at least fifteen 20
(15) minutes. 21
Section 4. KRS 61.840 is amended to read as follows: 22
(1) No condition other than those required for the maintenance of order shall apply to 23
the attendance of any member of the public at any meeting of a public agency. 24
(2) A person shall not[No person may] be required to: 25
(a) Identify himself or herself in order to attend any[ such] meeting; 26
(b) Provide his or her address; or 27
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(c) Fill out a sign-in sheet or otherwise sign up; 1
in order to speak at any meeting. 2
(3) All agencies shall provide meeting room conditions, including adequate space, 3
seating, and acoustics, which insofar as is feasible allow effective public 4
observation of the public meetings. All agencies shall perm it news media coverage, 5
including but not limited to recording and broadcasting. 6
Section 5. KRS 61.848 is amended to read as follows: 7
(1) The Circuit Court of the county where the public agency has its principal place of 8
business or where the alleged violation occurred shall have jurisdiction to enforce 9
the provisions of KRS 61.805 to 61.850, as they pertain to that public agency, by 10
injunction or other appropriate order on application of any person. 11
(2) A person alleging a violation of the provisions of KRS 61.805 to 61.850 shall not 12
have to exhaust his remedies under KRS 61.846 before filing suit in a Circuit Court. 13
However, he shall file s uit within sixty (60) days from his receipt of the written 14
denial referred to in subsections (1) and (2) of KRS 61.846 or, if the public agency 15
refuses to provide a written denial, within sixty (60) days from the date the written 16
complaint was submitted to the presiding officer of the public agency. 17
(3) In an appeal of an Attorney General's decision, where the appeal is properly filed 18
pursuant to subsection (4)(a) of KRS 61.846, the court shall determine the matter de 19
novo. 20
(4) Except as otherwise provided by law or rule of court, proceedings arising under this 21
section take precedence on the docket over all other causes and shall be assigned for 22
hearing and trial at the earliest practicable date. 23
(5) Any rule, resolution, regulation, ordinance, or other form al action of a public 24
agency without substantial compliance with the requirements of KRS 61.810, 25
61.815, 61.820, and KRS 61.823 shall be voidable by a court of competent 26
jurisdiction. 27
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(6) (a) Any person who prevails against any agency in any action in the courts 1
regarding a violation of KRS 61.805 to 61.850, where the violation is found to 2
be willful, shall[may] be awarded costs, including reasonable attorneys' fees, 3
incurred in connection with the legal action. 4
(b) In addition, the court[it] shall[ be within the discretion of the court to] award 5
the person five hundred dollars ($500) to be paid by the person or persons 6
found by the court to have committed a violation [an amount not to exceed 7
one hundred dollars ($100)] for each instance in which the court f inds a 8
violation. 9
(c) Except as provided in paragraph (b) of this section, attorneys' fees, costs, 10
and awards under this subsection shall be paid by the agency responsible for 11
the violation. 12