HCS HB 1445 -- OPEN MEETINGS AND RECORDS LAW

SPONSOR:  Jones (89)

COMMITTEE ACTION:  Voted "do pass" by the Special Committee on
General Laws by a vote of 14 to 0.

This substitute changes the laws regarding the Open Meetings and
Records Law, commonly known as the Sunshine Law.  In its main
provisions, the substitute:

(1)  Requires all records introduced at a hearing and the record
of a hearing of the Missouri Ethics Commission to be open
records.  On the motion of any party, the commission will, upon
good cause shown, close any record to be introduced at a hearing
including the record of the hearing.  The order closing the
record will be an open record and must state the reasons for
closing it;

(2)  Requires the minutes to reflect a summary of the discussions
that occurred at a closed meeting but not the disclosure of
records or votes that are properly closed under Section 610.021,
RSMo; however, nothing will allow the closure of records or votes
that are open under Chapter 610;

(3)  Requires the governing body of any county, city, town, or
village or any entity created by these political subdivisions to
hold a public meeting and to allow public comment five business
days prior to voting on an issue involving fee or tax increases,
eminent domain, zoning, transportation development districts,
capital improvement districts, community improvement districts,
commercial improvement districts, or tax increment financing.  If
proper notice is not given, a vote cannot be held for at least 20
days after the public meeting for which the notice should have
been given;

(4)  Requires a public comment period of at least one hour for
all regular meetings of the State Board of Education.  The board
is allowed to cancel the comment period on the basis of an
emergency by a unanimous vote;

(5)  Specifies the criteria for the litigation exception to the
open record disclosure.  An actual lawsuit, a threat of a
lawsuit, or a substantial likelihood of litigation must exist in
order to close information regarding a cause of action;

(6)  Specifies that only members of a public governmental body,
their attorney and staff assistants, and any necessary witnesses
will be permitted in any closed meeting of the governmental body;

(7)  Requires information to be made available in an electronic
format if a public body keeps records in an electronic format.
Data must be available for copying in a format easily accessible
to the public if it is stored in a data-processing program.
Certain hospitals will not be compelled to violate their
licensing agreements involving proprietary data-processing
systems for financial or patient medical record information or to
disclose information not releasable to the public under any state
or federal medical patient privacy laws;

(8)  Specifies that in any legal proceeding, there will be a
presumption that a meeting, record, or vote is open to the
public.  The burden to prove that it should be closed is on the
public governmental body;

(9)  Increases the maximum penalty for a purposeful violation of
Sections 610.010 - 610.026 from up to $5,000 to up to $8,000 and
the penalty for a knowing violation from up to $1,000 to $1,000
and requires a court to order payment by a violating body or
member for all costs and attorney fees instead of allowing a
court to order the payment;

(10)  Allows courts to use the penalty of voiding a public body's
actions when evaluating actions in violation of Sections
610.010 - 610.026 that occur at any meeting not only at closed
meetings; and

(11)  Requires any elected or appointed official who is a member
of a public governmental body subject to the Sunshine Law to
complete a course of training regarding the responsibilities of
the body and its members on the Open Meetings Law by the Office
of the Attorney General at no cost.  The requirements of the
course are specified, and it must be from one to two hours in
length.  The course must be taken by the individual within one
year of taking the oath of office or assuming his or her
responsibilities.  Individuals holding office prior to January 1,
2010, must complete the training by January 1, 2011.

FISCAL NOTE:  Estimated Cost on General Revenue Fund of $245,203
to Unknown in FY 2011, $216,517 to Unknown in FY 2012, and
$222,860 to Unknown in FY 2013.  Estimated Cost on Other State
Funds of $83,295 to Unknown in FY 2011, $92,531 to Unknown in FY
2012, and $95,307 to Unknown in FY 2013.

PROPONENTS:  Supporters say that the bill is a bipartisan effort
for needed modifications to the Sunshine Law.  The bill will
enhance enforcement, provide fair comment periods for important
issues, and require information to be disseminated in modern
electronic formats.

Testifying for the bill were Representative Jones (89); Mid
America Retail Food Industry Joint Labor Management Committee;
Missouri Retailers Association; Missouri Press Association;
Missouri Broadcasters Association; Stan Berry; Scott Eckersley;
and David Cook.

OPPONENTS:  Those who oppose the bill say that it makes the law
even more complex and may inadvertently penalize many small
cities and persons holding voluntary positions in city
government.  Penalties should not be increased.  Currently, the
requirements of the Sunshine Law are specified in a 40-page
manual issued by the Office of the Attorney General.

Testifying against the bill were Missouri Municipal League; and
St. Louis County Municipal League.

Missouri House of Representatives
95th General Assembly, 2nd Regular Session
Last Updated September 14, 2010 at 3:10 pm