An important change to public notice law was passed this year by State Reps. Shelley Kloba (D) and Peter Abbarno (R). The change will help the public participate by making deadlines for public comment clearer.
The Open Public Meetings Act (OPMA) requires access for the public to attend all meetings of the governing body of a public agency that involves the transaction of official business, including but not limited to receipt of public testimony, deliberations, discussions, considerations, reviews, evaluations, and final actions. The OPMA prescribes specific procedural requirements for various types of meetings held by the governing body of a public agency, including notice requirements.
House Bill 1105 became law in 2024 and requires that when a public agency, as defined under the OPMA, is soliciting public comment for a statutorily specified period of time and provide notice that it is soliciting public comment, the agency must specify the first and last date of the comment period and the time by which written comments may be submitted.
An agency that does not provide the required notice of public comment is subject to a civil penalty of $500 for the first violation and $1,000 for any subsequent violation. Although the provisions of the act are codified under the statutory chapter commonly associated with the OPMA, because the act applies to public agencies in general and is not limited to meetings of the governing body of a public agency, the requirements under the act are not limited only to situations in which the OPMA
apply.
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