Providing Notice

Notice Requirements

The Open Meeting Law (Minnesota Statutes, Chapter 13D) divides meetings into three types: regular meetings, special meetings, and emergency meetings. Every public body is required to provide members of the public with notice of its meetings, regardless of the type of meeting. The same notice requirements that apply for any type of closed meeting would apply for the same type of open meeting.

Regular Meetings
Special Meetings
Emergency Meetings
Meetings by Interactive Technology

Regular Meetings

(Minnesota Statutes, section 13D.04, subdivision 1)

How must a public body give notice for a regular meeting that is either open or closed?
- The only notice requirement for a regular meeting is to have a schedule of the public body's regular meetings kept on file at its primary offices.
- If the date, time, and/or place of regular meeting changes, special meeting notice requirements apply.
- Additional notice is not required when all or part of a regular meeting will be closed. The only required notice is the established schedule of regular meetings.
Special Meetings

(Minnesota Statutes, section 13D.04, subdivision 2)

What is a Special Meeting?
- A special meeting is any meeting, other than an emergency meeting, that is not a regularly scheduled meeting.
How must a public body give notice for a special meeting that is either open or closed?
- Three days before a special meeting, a public body must post written notice on its principal bulletin board or usual meeting room door. (For example, a public body must post by Tuesday for a Friday meeting.)
- The posted notice must include the date, time, and place of the special meeting. The notice must also include the purpose of the meeting, so that what can be discussed or decided at the meeting is limited to that purpose. The purpose should include all topics that will be discussed and/or acted upon at the special meeting.
What is required when a person requests notice of open or closed special meetings?
- Not only must a public body post notice of a special meeting, it must also mail or otherwise deliver notice, at least three days before the meeting, to any person who has made a written request for a personal notice of special meetings. As an alternative to mailing or delivering the notice to requestors, the public body may publish the notice in its official newspaper or a qualified newspaper of general circulation in the area.
- The personal notice to requestors must include the date, time, place, and purpose of the meeting.
Can a person limit his/her request for notice of open or closed special meetings?
- A request for notice of a special meeting may be limited so that a person only receives notice of meetings about particular subjects. This gives members of the public the option to attend only those meetings where a topic of interest or concern will be discussed.
Emergency Meetings

(Minnesota Statutes, section 13D.04, subdivision 3)

What is an emergency meeting?
- An emergency meeting is a special meeting called because of circumstances that require immediate consideration by the public body.
- Although "emergency" is not defined, the Commissioner of Administration in Advisory Opinion 04-004 said that an emergency meeting is one where circumstances will not permit the public body to wait three days to give notice of a special meeting. These circumstances may include dealing with the aftermath of a natural disaster such as a tornado, flood, or blizzard.
How must a public body give notice for an emergency meeting that is either open or closed?
- Notice of the emergency meeting must be given to members of the public body and a good faith effort must be made to notify each news medium that has filed a written request for notice, if the request includes a telephone number. Notice to the media should be made as soon as reasonably practicable after members of the public body are notified.
- The notice requirements for an emergency meeting differ from a special meeting because of the urgency of the situation.
- Posted or published notice is not required.
Meetings by Interactive Technology

Notice requirements for meetings using interactive technologies will depend on the provision the public body is using to hold the meeting.

State Body Meetings by Telephone or Interactive Technology (Minnesota Statutes 13D.015)

State-level public bodies may conduct meetings by telephone or with interactive technology if certain conditions are met as listed in Minn. Stat. 13D.015. If state-level meetings are conducted with telephone or interactive technology, the meeting notice must include the regular meeting location, that members may participate by interactive technology, and information on monitoring the meeting electronically from a remote location. The same time and posting methods for regular, special, and emergency meetings still apply, and the state-level body must also post the notice on its website at least 10 days before the meeting.

Other Meetings by Interactive Technology (Minnesota Statutes 13D.02)

Non-state public bodies may conduct meetings by interactive technology if certain conditions are met as listed in 13D.02. If interactive technology is used to conduct any type of meeting, the public body must provide notice of the regular meeting location and the location where any public body member will be participating by interactive technology. While the location of any public body member participating by interactive technology must be in this notice, the following locations are not included in the notice:
- The location of a public body member serving the military who is at a required drill, deployed, or on active duty, provided that member has not participated more than three times in a calendar year from a location that is not accessible to the public
- location of a public body member who has been advised by a health care professional against being in a public place for personal or family medical reasons, provided that member has not participated more than three times in a calendar year from a location that is not accessible to the public. This exception only applies if there a state of emergency under Minn. Stat. 12.31. The exception expires 60 days after the removal of the Chapter 12 State of Emergency.
Meetings During Pandemic or Chapter 12 Emergency (Minnesota Statutes 13D.021)

Public bodies may hold a meeting by telephone or interactive technology during a health pandemic or Chapter 12 emergency if certain conditions are met as listed in Minn. Stat. 13D.021. Notice for these meetings must provide the regular meeting location, the fact some members may participate by telephone or interactive technology, and information on how to monitor the meeting electronically from a remote location. The same time and posting methods for regular, special, and emergency meetings still apply to this notice.

Note about State Agencies

Minnesota Statutes, section 13D.04, subdivision 6, says that the notice requirements in the Open Meeting Law apply to meetings of state agencies only if a statute governing their meetings does not discuss methods for providing notice. Publication of notice in the State Register satisfies any publication requirement for state agencies.