Committee Report - Rules - 9-8-10 — File 190153

September 8, 2010 Rules Special Committee Page 1 of 2 Printed 9/21/2010 REPORT OF THE RULES SPECIAL COMMITTEE Attendee Name Title Status Arrived William A. White Jr. Chair Present Dennis M. Sullivan Vice Chair Present Walter F. Pero Ward Four Alderman Present Charles Sillari Jr. Present Frank Wright Present John Long City Clerk Present John M Connolly Alderman At Large Present Maryann M. Heuston Ward Two Alderman Present Peter Forcellese Present Rebekah L. Gewirtz Ward Six Alderman Present Robert McWatters Present Sean T. O’Donovan Ward Five Alderman Present Thomas F. Taylor Ward Three Alderman Present William M. Roche Ward One Alderman Present Review of the State’s new Open Meeting Law and its impact on the rules and operating procedures of the Board of Aldermen and its committees. The revised Open Meeting Law went into effect on July 1, 2010 and is being administered by the Attorney General’s Office. For now, the law is using interim regulations, with final interpretations expected in October, therefore, until that time, everything is open to interpretation. Under the revised law, email may be considered an open meeting, depending on how many people are a party to it. A general rule of thumb that might be applied is that there is the potential of violating the open meeting law “when a quorum knows what a quorum thinks”. Mr. Long said that the clerks are not part of the public body, however, a violation could occur when a clerk lets the other members of a body know how a vote on an issue is going. Mr. Long discussed proposed changes to the Board’s rules with respect to the new open meeting law and MinuteTraq leading to a discussion regarding the time-frame for submitting Board orders and the process for compiling the BOA agenda. Aldermen raised concerns regarding the deadline for item submissions, the possibility of controversial items being held off to the last minute and departments getting items put on the supplemental agenda. Chairman White made the following requests: • Clarification regarding if it is a violation for one member of a body to send an item to another member of that body for the purpose of co-sponsoring the item. • Clarification regarding the rights of the public to video tape or audio tape a meeting.

Committee Meeting September 8, 2010 Rules Special Committee Page 2 of 2 Printed 9/21/2010 • Explore methods for posting supplemental BOA agenda items on the “wheel”. 2010-188826 - Asst. City Solicitor Submitting an Opinion Re: Anonymous Items Placed on This Board’s Agenda.: No discussion. RESULT: PLACED ON FILE