Revision: Feb. 9, 2022, 3:32 p.m.
Rep. Simpson, Rock. 36
February 2, 2022
2022-0460h
08/10
Amendment to HB 1014
Amend the title of the bill by replacing it with the following:
AN ACT allowing public meetings to be conducted with a virtual component.
Amend RSA 91-A:2, III as inserted by section 1 of the bill by replacing it with the following:
III. A public body may, but is not required to, allow one or more members of the body to participate in a meeting by electronic or other means of communication for the benefit of the public and the governing body, subject to the provisions of this paragraph.
[(a) A member of the public body may participate in a meeting other than by attendance in person at the location of the meeting only when such attendance is not reasonably practical. Any reason that such attendance is not reasonably practical shall be stated in the minutes of the meeting.
(b) Except in an emergency, a quorum of the public body shall be physically present at the location specified in the meeting notice as the location of the meeting. For purposes of this subparagraph, an "emergency" means that immediate action is imperative and the physical presence of a quorum is not reasonably practical within the period of time requiring action. The determination that an emergency exists shall be made by the chairman or presiding officer of the public body, and the facts upon which that determination is based shall be included in the minutes of the meeting.
(c) Each part of a meeting required to be open to the public shall be audible or otherwise discernable to the public at the location specified in the meeting notice as the location of the meeting.]
(a) Each meeting shall have a physical location. Members of the public body and the public may participate in person or remotely. The public body shall provide remote access to the meeting by telephone and by video or other electronic means of communication.
(b) Public notice of the meeting, with all information necessary to access the meeting telephonically and by other means, shall be given as provided in this chapter. The notice shall provide a mechanism for the public to alert the public body during the meeting if there are problems with access. The meeting shall be adjourned if the public is unable to access the meeting.
(c) Each member participating electronically or otherwise [must] in a meeting required to be open to the public shall be able to simultaneously hear each other and speak to each other during the meeting, and shall be audible or otherwise discernable to the public in attendance at the meeting's location. Any member participating in such fashion shall identify the location from which the person is participating and the persons present in the location from which the member is participating. No meeting shall be conducted by electronic mail or any other form of communication, including an online chat function, that does not permit the public to hear, read, or otherwise discern meeting discussion contemporaneously at the meeting location specified in the meeting notice.