Title 42. Public Officers and Employees

Chapter 1-a. Open Meetings Law

42:20       Written minutes

A. All public bodies shall keep written minutes of all of their open meetings. The minutes to be kept by the legislature and legislative committees and subcommittees shall be governed by the provisions of R.S. 42:21. The minutes of all other public bodies shall include but need not be limited to:

(1) The date, time, and place of the meeting.

(2) The members of the public body recorded as either present or absent.

(3) The substance of all matters decided, and, at the request of any member, a record, by individual member, of any votes taken.

(4) Any other information that the public body requests be included or reflected in the minutes.

B. (1) The minutes shall be public records and shall be available within a reasonable time after the meeting, except where such disclosures would be inconsistent with R.S. 42:16, 17, and 18, or rules adopted under the provisions of R.S. 42:21.

(2) If the public body has a website, the public body shall post on its website a copy of the minutes made available pursuant to Paragraph (1) of this Subsection and shall maintain the copy of those minutes on the website for at least three months after the posting. If the public body is required to publish its minutes in an official journal, the public body shall post its minutes on its website as required by this Paragraph within ten days after publication in the official journal. If the public body is not required to publish its minutes in an official journal, the public body shall post its minutes on its website as required by this Paragraph within a reasonable time after the meeting. The inability of the public to access the public body’s website due to any type of technological failure shall not be a violation of the provisions of this Chapter.

Redesignated from R.S. 42:7.1 by Acts 2010, No. 861, § 23. Added by Acts 1976, No. 665, § 1. Amended by Acts 1981, Ex.Sess., No. 21, § 1, eff. Nov. 19, 1981; Acts 2014, No. 628, § 1.