School boards, city councils, state agencies, and other public bodies will no longer be able to seal minutes from nonpublic meetings indefinitely unless they reconsider the decision at least every 10 years.
Gov. Chris Sununu’s signature this week of House Bill 321 will require public bodies and agencies to review sealed minutes no later than 10 years after they were last sealed. Currently there is no requirement to revisit and vote to keep minutes sealed.
When the law takes effect Oct. 3, minutes can remain sealed only if a majority of a board, agency, or public body votes to keep them sealed. If no vote is taken, the minutes will automatically be available to the public.
Public bodies and agencies can adopt policies requiring review sooner than 10 years but not later.
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David Taylor, a former member of the Oyster River School Board in Durham, was among those who urged lawmakers to pass the bill.
“The importance of a regular review is the minutes should not be sealed for any longer than they need to,” he said in written testimony. “In general, sealed minutes deprive the public about the actions of a public body. As soon as the condition for sealing passes, the minutes should be unsealed. If sealed minutes languish, then this is not likely to occur.”
Public bodies and agencies can act in nonpublic session and seal those minutes in limited circumstances.
Those include discussions of personnel matters; situations that would harm the reputation of anyone other than a member of the public body; and certain discussions about the purchase, sale, or lease of property or pending litigation.
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The bill’s prime sponsor, Rep. Josh Yokela, a Fremont Republican, worked with Right to Know NH and the New Hampshire Municipal Association on the bill. Yokela’s cosponsors included five Republicans and a Democrat.
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