Several states debated bills this legislative session that would have required public bodies to proactively publish their meeting minutes online.

A Massachusetts bill died in committee that would have required minutes to be posted within 10 business days of approval. New York, like Louisiana, already has this rule on the books, but would have required that the minutes also include details on when and how participants joined a meeting virtually.

Delaware went further, with a bill that would have required the audio of the meetings posted online, though these would not have counted as official minutes. South Carolina proposed a more wide ranging bill that would have required minutes to be posted along with employee compensation, budget reports and other information.

A few other states discussed bills that would have applied this requirement to only some bodies. Oklahoma would have required school boards and water district governing boards to post their minutes, while Minnesota considered it for electric cooperatives, and South Carolina, legislative committees. Tennessee did pass a bill requiring its advisory committee on open government to post minutes on the comptroller’s website.

The only state to pass a law this past session was Louisiana, which already had this rule on the books, requiring online posting if the agency has a website. Louisiana extended the time frame agencies have to publish their minutes from 20 to 31 days.

The concept of requiring proactive posting of records online is still relatively rare. Utah’s law requires minutes be posted online, including a link to the meeting recording. The District of Columbia’s records law requires agencies to provide, without a formal request, names and salaries of public employees, staff manuals, minutes of all public bodies, and other records.

Posted: August 3, 2026
Category: Brechner News
Tagged as: Secrecy Tracker