The MN Senate Committee on State and Local Government looked at SF787: Open meeting laws unlimited remote participation authorization modification provision. It was laid over. This isn’t a bill that will help deploy broadband in Minnesota; it’s a bill that makes the case that Minnesota needs ubiquitous broadband;

Documents from the Senate

Open meeting laws unlimited remote participation authorization modification provision

Testifiers: – Laura Oksnevad, School Board Member – Dr. Terry Morrow, MN School Board Association

• SF-0787-Supporting-Remote-Participation-by-MCD.pdf (PDF)

• scs0787a-1.pdf (PDF)

• SF-787-LMC-31125.pdf (PDF)

• 2025311_0787_BPS_testimony.pdf (PDF)

• SF-787-Bill-Summary.pdf (PDF)

High level notes:

Senator Mann

• Author’s Amendment – adopted
• Removes language that prevents people from participating to meetings remotely. Removes outdated language

Testifiers

Laura Oksnevad, School Board Member

• Online access to board meetings had increased access. Current restrictions prevent board members from participating. It hinders progress.
• People should be able to participate is they have COVID, broken ankle or sick kid.
• Helps keep sick people from showing up an infecting others

Dr. Terry Morrow, MN School Board Association

• This is most common problem with school board attendance

Here’s the bill as introduced…

A bill for an act
relating to local government; modifying open meeting law to allow unlimited
remote participation; amending Minnesota Statutes 2024, section 13D.02,
subdivisions 1, 4.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

Section 1.

Minnesota Statutes 2024, section 13D.02, subdivision 1, is amended to read:

Subdivision 1.

Conditions.

(a) A meeting governed by section 13D.01, subdivisions 1,
2, 4, and 5, and this section may be conducted by interactive technology so long as:

(1) all members of the body participating in the meeting, wherever their physical location,
can hear and see one another and can hear and see all discussion and testimony presented
at any location at which at least one member is present;

(2) members of the public present at the regular meeting location of the body can hear
and see all discussion and testimony and all votes of members of the body;

(3) at least one member of the body is physically present at the regular meeting location;
and

(4) all votes are conducted by roll call so each member’s vote on each issue can be
identified and recorded; and.

(5) each location at which a member of the body is present is open and accessible to the
public.

(b) A meeting satisfies the requirements of paragraph (a), although a member of the
public body participates from a location that is not open or accessible to the public, if the
member has not participated more than three times in a calendar year from a location that
is not open or accessible to the public, and:

(1) the member is serving in the military and is at a required drill, deployed, or on active
duty; or

(2) the member has been advised by a health care professional against being in a public
place for personal or family medical reasons.

Sec. 2.

Minnesota Statutes 2024, section 13D.02, subdivision 4, is amended to read:

Subd. 4.

Notice of regular and all member locations.

If interactive technology is used
to conduct a regular, special, or emergency meeting, the public body shall provide notice
of the regular meeting location and notice of any location where a member of the public
body will notice that some members may be participating in the meeting by interactive
technology, except for the locations of members participating pursuant to subdivision 1,
paragraph (b). The timing and method of providing notice must be as described in section
13D.04.