Minnesota Statutes 13D.021 – Meetings During Pandemic or Chapter 12 Emergency
Subdivision 1.Conditions.
A meeting governed by this section and section 13D.01, subdivisions 1, 2, 4, and 5, may be conducted by telephone or interactive technology so long as the following conditions are met:
Terms Used In Minnesota Statutes 13D.021
- Person: may extend and be applied to bodies politic and corporate, and to partnerships and other unincorporated associations. See Minnesota Statutes 645.44
- Presiding officer: A majority-party Senator who presides over the Senate and is charged with maintaining order and decorum, recognizing Members to speak, and interpreting the Senate's rules, practices and precedents.
- Quorum: The number of legislators that must be present to do business.
- Testimony: Evidence presented orally by witnesses during trials or before grand juries.
(1) the presiding officer, chief legal counsel, or chief administrative officer for the affected governing body determines that an in-person meeting or a meeting conducted under section 13D.015 or 13D.02 is not practical or prudent because of a health pandemic or an emergency declared under chapter 12;
(2) all members of the body participating in the meeting, wherever their physical location, can hear one another and can hear all discussion and testimony;
(3) members of the public present at the regular meeting location of the body can hear all discussion and testimony and all votes of the members of the body, unless attendance at the regular meeting location is not feasible due to the health pandemic or emergency declaration;
(4) at least one member of the body, chief legal counsel, or chief administrative officer is physically present at the regular meeting location, unless unfeasible due to the health pandemic or emergency declaration; and
(5) all votes are conducted by roll call, so each member’s vote on each issue can be identified and recorded.
Subd. 2.Members are present for quorum; participation.
Each member of the body participating in a meeting by telephone or interactive technology is considered present at the meeting for purposes of determining a quorum and participating in all proceedings.
Subd. 3.Monitoring from remote site.
If telephone or interactive technology is used to conduct a meeting, to the extent practical, the body shall allow a person to monitor the meeting electronically from a remote location.
Subd. 4.Notice of regular and all member sites.
If telephone or interactive technology is used to conduct a regular, special, or emergency meeting, the public body shall provide notice of the regular meeting location, of the fact that some members may participate by telephone or interactive technology, and of the provisions of subdivision 3. The timing and method of providing notice is governed by section 13D.04.
Subd. 5.Public comment period during health pandemic or emergency.
If attendance at the regular meeting location is not feasible due to the health pandemic or emergency declaration and the public body’s practice is to offer a public comment period at in-person meetings, members of the public shall be permitted to comment from a remote location during the public comment period of the meeting, to the extent practical.