Missouri HB 230: Modifies provisions for sunshine requests for records affecting the security of correctional centers.

Bill Text

FIRST REGULAR SESSION
HOUSE BILL NO. 230
100TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
INTRODUCED BY REPRESENTATIVE DINKINS.
0920H.01I DANA RADEMAN MILLER, Chief Clerk
AN ACT
To repeal section 610.021, RSMo, and to enact in lieu thereof one new section relating to the
sunshine law.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the state of Missouri, as follows:
Section A. Section 610.021, RSMo, is repealed and one new section enacted in lieu
2 thereof, to be known as section 610.021, to read as follows:
610.021. Except to the extent disclosure is otherwise required by law, a public
2 governmental body is authorized to close meetings, records and votes, to the extent they relate
3 to the following:
4 (1) Legal actions, causes of action or litigation involving a public governmental body
5 and any confidential or privileged communications between a public governmental body or its
6 representatives and its attorneys. However, any minutes, vote or settlement agreement relating
7 to legal actions, causes of action or litigation involving a public governmental body or any agent
8 or entity representing its interests or acting on its behalf or with its authority, including any
9 insurance company acting on behalf of a public government body as its insured, shall be made
10 public upon final disposition of the matter voted upon or upon the signing by the parties of the
11 settlement agreement, unless, prior to final disposition, the settlement agreement is ordered
12 closed by a court after a written finding that the adverse impact to a plaintiff or plaintiffs to the
13 action clearly outweighs the public policy considerations of section 610.011, however, the
14 amount of any moneys paid by, or on behalf of, the public governmental body shall be disclosed;
15 provided, however, in matters involving the exercise of the power of eminent domain, the vote
16 shall be announced or become public immediately following the action on the motion to
EXPLANATION — Matter enclosed in bold-faced brackets [thus] in the above bill is not enacted and is intended
to be omitted from the law. Matter in bold-face type in the above bill is proposed language.

HB 230 2
17 authorize institution of such a legal action. Legal work product shall be considered a closed record;
18 (2) Leasing, purchase or sale of real estate by a public governmental body where public
19 knowledge of the transaction might adversely affect the legal consideration therefor. However,
20 any minutes, vote or public record approving a contract relating to the leasing, purchase or sale
21 of real estate by a public governmental body shall be made public upon execution of the lease,
22 purchase or sale of the real estate;
23 (3) Hiring, firing, disciplining or promoting of particular employees by a public
24 governmental body when personal information about the employee is discussed or recorded.
25 However, any vote on a final decision, when taken by a public governmental body, to hire, fire,
26 promote or discipline an employee of a public governmental body shall be made available with
27 a record of how each member voted to the public within seventy-two hours of the close of the
28 meeting where such action occurs; provided, however, that any employee so affected shall be
29 entitled to prompt notice of such decision during the seventy-two-hour period before such
30 decision is made available to the public. As used in this subdivision, the term "personal
31 information" means information relating to the performance or merit of individual employees;
32 (4) The state militia or national guard or any part thereof;
33 (5) Nonjudicial mental or physical health proceedings involving identifiable persons,
34 including medical, psychiatric, psychological, or alcoholism or drug dependency diagnosis or
35 treatment;
36 (6) Scholastic probation, expulsion, or graduation of identifiable individuals, including
37 records of individual test or examination scores; however, personally identifiable student records
38 maintained by public educational institutions shall be open for inspection by the parents,
39 guardian or other custodian of students under the age of eighteen years and by the parents,
40 guardian or other custodian and the student if the student is over the age of eighteen years;
41 (7) Testing and examination materials, before the test or examination is given or, if it
42 is to be given again, before so given again;
43 (8) Welfare cases of identifiable individuals;
44 (9) Preparation, including any discussions or work product, on behalf of a public
45 governmental body or its representatives for negotiations with employee groups;
46 (10) Software codes for electronic data processing and documentation thereof;
47 (11) Specifications for competitive bidding, until either the specifications are officially
48 approved by the public governmental body or the specifications are published for bid;
49 (12) Sealed bids and related documents, until the bids are opened; and sealed proposals
50 and related d