LRBs0469/1
MES:jld:md
2009 - 2010 LEGISLATURE
ASSEMBLY SUBSTITUTE AMENDMENT 1,
TO 2009 SENATE BILL 276
April 22, 2010 - Offered by Representative Roys.
SB276-ASA1,1,2
1An Act to create 66.0145 of the statutes;
relating to: authorizing towns and
2counties to post meeting notices on their Web sites.
Analysis by the Legislative Reference Bureau
Currently, under the open meetings law, with certain exceptions, meetings of
state and local governmental bodies must be preceded by public notice, must be held
in places that are reasonably accessible to the public, and must be open to the public
at all times, although such meetings may convene in closed session for the purpose
of considering certain matters specified by law.
A public notice of a meeting of a governmental body must contain the time, date,
place, and subject matter of the meeting and must be given at least 24 hours before
the start of the meeting, although shorter notice, but never less than two hours, may
be given under limited circumstances. The notice must be given to news media that
have filed a request to receive such a notice and the notice must appear in the
governmental body's official newspaper or, if none exists, in a news medium likely
to give notice in the area.
Under this substitute amendment, a governmental body of a town or county
that has a Web site may post a public notice of a meeting that is subject to the open
meetings law on that town's or county's Web site. The substitute amendment also
allows a town that could otherwise comply with current law notice requirements by
posting the notice in at least three places to meet the requirements by posting at the
town hall and one other public place if the notice is also posted on the town's Web site.
Current law defines "governmental body" to include any agency, board, commission,
committee, council, or department of a town or county.
The people of the state of Wisconsin, represented in senate and assembly, do
enact as follows:
SB276-ASA1,2,5
266.0145 Posting of public meeting notice. (1) In this section, "public
3notice" means a public notice, as that term is used in s. 19.84, that sets forth the time,
4date, place, and subject matter of a meeting of a governmental body of a town or
5county.
SB276-ASA1,2,8
6(2) If a town or county has a Web site, it may post on its Web site the public
7notice for every meeting of a governmental body of the town or county, consistent with
8the notice requirements in s. 19.84 (3).
SB276-ASA1,2,12
9(3) With regard to a town, if the public notice requirements in s. 19.84 (3) may
10be met by posting the notice in at least 3 public places, the town may comply with
11such a posting requirement by posting the public notice in 2 places, one of which shall
12be the town hall, if the town also posts the public notice on its Web site.
SB276-ASA1,2,1514
(1) This act first applies to a meeting that is held on the first day of the 4th
15month beginning after the date on which this subsection takes effect.
