HF 169 (LSB 1970YH (2) 86)

HOUSE FILE 169

BY  ISENHART

(COMPANION TO SF 82 BY JOCHUM)

A BILL FOR

An Act allowing the Iowa public information board and the office of ombudsman access in the performance of their duties to the minutes and audio recording of a closed session.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:

    Section 1.  Section 21.5, subsection 4, Code 2015, is amended to read as follows:
   4.  a.  A governmental body shall keep detailed minutes of all discussion, persons present, and action occurring at a closed session, and shall also audio record all of the closed session.
   b.  The detailed minutes and audio recording of a closed session shall be sealed and shall not be public records open to public inspection. However, upon order of the court in an action to enforce this chapter, the detailed minutes and audio recording shall be unsealed and examined by the court in camera. The court shall then determine what part, if any, of the minutes should be disclosed to the party seeking enforcement of this chapter for use in that enforcement proceeding. In determining whether any portion of the minutes or recording shall be disclosed to such a party for this purpose, the court shall weigh the prejudicial effects to the public interest of the disclosure of any portion of the minutes or recording in question, against its probative value as evidence in an enforcement proceeding. After such a determination, the court may permit inspection and use of all or portions of the detailed minutes and audio recording by the party seeking enforcement of this chapter. A governmental body shall keep the detailed minutes and audio recording of any closed session for a period of at least one year from the date of that meeting, except as otherwise required by law.
   (1)  This paragraph “b” does not require the Iowa public information board to obtain a court order to examine the detailed minutes and audio recording of a closed session for the purpose of resolving a complaint alleging a violation of this chapter. Any portion of the minutes or recording released by a governmental body to the Iowa public information board shall remain confidential pursuant to section 23.6, subsection 6.
   (2)  This paragraph “b” does not require the office of ombudsman to obtain a court order to examine the detailed minutes and audio recording of a closed session when such examination is relevant to an investigation under chapter 2C and the information sought is not available through other reasonable means. Any portion of the minutes or recording released by a governmental body to the Iowa public information board shall remain confidential pursuant to section 2C.9.
EXPLANATION
The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with

the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly.
   Under current law, meetings of a governmental body under Iowa’s open meetings law (Code chapter 21) are required to be preceded by public notice and shall be held in open session. A governmental body may hold a closed session under certain circumstances and the minutes and audio recording of a closed session are not accessible to the public unless the person seeking access to the records files an action in court.
   This bill provides that the Iowa public information board is not required to obtain a court order to examine the minutes and audio recording of a closed session for the purpose of resolving complaints alleging violations of Iowa’s open meetings law. Similarly, the office of ombudsman is not required to obtain a court order to examine the minutes and audio recording of a closed session when such examination is relevant to an investigation under Code chapter 2C (ombudsman’s office) and the information is not available through other means.