REGISTRATION OPEN: Right-to-Know Virtual Workshop on Meetings & Records
VIRTUAL ONLY: Right-to-Know Workshop on Meetings & Records
Attendance at NH Municipal Association’s (NHMA) training programs and workshops is limited to municipal officials and employees of NHMA members.
This Workshop is a virtual only. Virtual attendance is via Zoom
Thursday, October 12, 2023
9:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.
Registration Fees: $55.00 (virtual only)
8:30 a.m. Registration and Continental Breakfast. Lunch will not be provided.
PROGRAM
Join Legal Services Counsel Stephen Buckley and Municipal Services Counsel Jonathan Cowal who will discuss the requirements for holding a proper public meeting, as well the exceptions to the meeting requirement (the so-called "non-meeting"). The attorneys will also address managing virtual public access and allowing public body members to participate remotely when their physical attendance is not reasonably practical. Consideration will also be directed at preparing meeting minutes and facilitating public comment through meeting rules of procedure. The attorneys will also address statutory changes regarding keeping an inventory of non-public session minutes, exemptions for attorney-client communications, deliberating in non-public session to discuss unsealing minutes, and limiting the nondisclosure of minutes related to the sale or acquisition of real or personal property. The attorneys will also cover the new statutory obligation to review previously sealed nonpublic meeting minutes under HB 321.
The attorneys will also provide guidance on handling governmental record matters arising under the Right-to-Know Law. Handling governmental records requests requires an understanding of all aspects of request processing including: the requirements for availability, storage, electronic records, redaction, cost estimates, mandated access for certain records and appointments for review of records. This virtual workshop will also address what records are exempt from disclosure, along with whether a record request that would require a search for multiple documents must be fulfilled or whether a request impermissibly seeks to create a record that does not exist. In addition, guidance will be provided on the retention of governmental records and how claims under the Right-to-Know Law are enforced.
The attorneys will explain the newly created Right-to-Know Ombudsman which modifies the Right-to-Know Law to allow a complaint to be filed with the ombudsman rather than superior court.
Attendees will receive an electronic copy of NHMA's publication, New Hampshire's Right-to-Know Law and 2023 Supplement. Additional materials such as the PowerPoint presentation will also be distributed electronically. No print outs of the materials or hard copy of the publication will be provided.
Pre-registration and pre-payment is required. If you register but cannot attend, a recording of the workshop will be provided as long as payment has been received.
Refund of the full registration fee will be made if cancellation notification is received 48 hours in advance. Cancellation less than 48 hours in advance, including no-shows, will result in you being charged the full cost of the workshop.
Questions? Please contact us at 603-230-3350 or nhmaregistrations@nhmunicipal.org.