WHEREAS, Section 10-15-1(B) of the Open Meetings Act (hereinafter “OMA”), NMSA 1978, Sections 10-15-1 to -4 (1974, as amended through 2013), states that, except as may otherwise be provided by law, “[a]ll meetings of a quorum of members of any board, commission, administrative adjudicatory body or other policymaking body of any state agency or any agency or authority of any county, municipality, district or political subdivision, held for the purpose of formulating public policy, including the development of personnel policy, rules, regulations or ordinances, discussing public business or taking any action within the authority of or the delegated authority of any board, commission or other policymaking body are declared to be public meetings open to the public at all times”; and
WHEREAS, a public body subject to the Open Meetings Act may hold a meeting to discuss, formulate, or act on public business only after providing reasonable notice to the public; and
WHEREAS, Section 10-15-1(D) of the Open Meetings Act requires all public bodies to determine annually what constitutes reasonable notice for their public meetings; and
WHEREAS, the New Mexico Historical Records Advisory Board met in virtual regular session on July 29, 2022, at 10:00 a.m. to discuss and determine, in part, “what notice for a public meeting is reasonable,” Section 10-15-1(D), given its unique mission, character, and circumstances;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the Historical Records Advisory Board that:
A. Regular meetings of the Board shall be held at least twice a year.
B. Special meetings of the Board may be called by the chair or when requested in writing by any two members of the Board with a minimum of a three-day notice.
C. Emergency meetings may only be called under unforeseen circumstances, which demand immediate action to protect the health, safety and property of citizens of New Mexico, including the staff of the SRCA or the collections it holds in trust, or to protect the public body from substantial financial loss.
(1) The Board shall avoid emergency meetings whenever possible.
(2) Emergency meetings may be called by the chair or when requested in writing by any two members of the Board.
(3) Within ten days of taking action on an emergency matter, the Board shall report to the attorney general’s office the action taken and the circumstances creating the emergency; provided that the requirement to report to the attorney general is waived upon the declaration of a state or national emergency.
NOTICE REQUIREMENTS: All meetings shall be held at the times and places indicated in the notice.
A. Regular meetings. Notice requirements for any regular meeting shall be met if notice is given at least ten business days in advance of the meeting. The notice shall include the date, time and place of the meeting and information about how to obtain a copy of the agenda.
(1) Notices of regular meetings shall be posted on the SRCA website and physically on the entrance door of the SRCA in Santa Fe, New Mexico.
(2) Notices shall also be sent to those broadcast stations licensed by the federal communications commission and those newspapers of general circulation that have made a written request within the last 12 month for notices of public meetings.
B. Special and emergency meetings. Notice requirements for any special or emergency meeting shall be met if notice is given at least three days in advance of any special, non-emergency meeting and 24 hours in advance of any emergency meeting, unless in the case of an emergency meeting, threat of personal injury or property damage requires less notice. The notice shall include the date, time and place of the meeting and the agenda.
(1) Notices of special meetings shall be posted on the SRCA website and posted on the entrance door of the State Records Center and Archives (SRCA) in Santa Fe, New Mexico.
(2) Notices of emergency meetings shall be posted on the SRCA website if possible and posted on the entrance door of the SRCA in Santa Fe, New Mexico.
(3) Notices shall also be provided to those broadcast stations licensed by the federal communications commission and those newspapers of general circulation that have made a written request for notices of public meetings. Within ten days of taking action on an emergency matter, the board shall report to the attorney general’s office the action taken and the circumstances creating the emergency.
C. In addition to the other information specified in this section, all notices shall include language providing information about whom an individual in need of a reader, amplifier, qualified sign language interpreter or any other form of auxiliary aid or service may contact to obtain such aid or service. The notices shall further direct the individual to contact the named person at least one week prior to the meeting or as soon as possible. The notice shall also state that public documents, including the agenda and minutes, can be provided in various accessible formats and shall provide the name and telephone number of the person to contact for a summary or other accessible format.
AGENDA: The agenda for any regular or special meeting shall be available in the Office of the State Historian, located in the SRCA in Santa Fe, New Mexico, at least 72 hours in advance of the meeting. The agenda shall also be posted on the SRCA website.
The agenda for an emergency meeting shall be available in the office of the State Records Administrator 24 hours in advance of the meeting, except in the case when threat of personal injury or property damage requires less notice. When possible, the agenda shall also be posted on the SRCA website.
PARTICIPATION BY TELEPHONE: A member of the board may participate in a meeting by means of a conference telephone or other similar communications device when it is otherwise impossible or difficult for the member to attend the meeting in person, provided that the member participating by telephone can be identified when speaking and all meeting participants and members of the public attending the meetings are able to hear each other at the same time.
CLOSED MEETINGS: The board may close a meeting to the public only if the subject matter of the discussion or action is exempted from the open meeting requirement under Subsection H of Section 10-15-1 of the Open Meetings Act (Chapter 10, Article 15 NMSA 1978).
A. If any meeting is closed during an open meeting, such closure shall be approved by a majority vote of a quorum of the board. The authority for the closure and the subjects to be discussed shall be stated with reasonable specificity in the motion for closure, and the vote on closure of each individual member shall be recorded in the minutes. Only those subjects specified in the motion may be discussed in the closed meeting.
B. If the decision to hold a closed meeting is made when the board is not in an open meeting, the closed meeting shall not be held until public notice, appropriate under the circumstances, stating the specific provision of law authorizing the closed meeting and the subjects to be discussed with reasonable specificity is given to the members and to the general public.
C. Following completion of any closed meeting, the minutes of the open meeting that was closed, or the minutes of the next open meeting if the closed meeting was separately scheduled, shall state whether the matters discussed in the closed meeting were limited only to those specified in the motion or notice for closure.
D. Except as provided in Subsection H of Section 10-15-1 of the Open Meetings Act (Chapter 10, Article 15 NMSA 1978), any action taken as a result of discussions in a closed meeting shall be made by a vote of the board in an open public meeting.
MEETINGS HELD DURING TIMES OF STATE EMERGENCIES: In the event that the Governor declares a state of emergency due to the spread of an infectious disease, due to the spread of chemical, biological, or radiological hazards, or due to some other comparable disaster or emergency, the New Mexico Historical Records Advisory Board may hold a meeting designed to preserve the health and safety of the public while also adhering to the purposes of the Open Meetings Act. This shall consist, where possible, of the members of the Board appearing telephonically or by video webcast, with the public able to observe the proceedings at both a physical location and a video webcast or telephonic location. However, where such arrangements are not possible due to public health or safety concerns, and if determined necessary by the Chair, the Board may hold an entirely video and/or telephonic meeting, subject to all of the following conditions and limitations:
A. Each Board member participating in the meeting must be identified when speaking, all participants must be able to hear each other at the same time, and the public must be able to hear any member who speaks during the meeting.
B. Both the notice and the agenda of any video webcast or telephonic meeting shall provide information to the public on how the meeting may be accessed remotely, either through the video webcast, telephone, or similar technology.
C. At any video webcast or telephonic meeting, all votes shall be cast through a roll-call vote. The Chair shall suspend all discussion in the event that the audio is interrupted or becomes unintelligible.
Following the conclusion of a state of emergency as declared by the Governor, the Board may, in the interests of public health and safety, and if determined necessary by the Chair, place reasonable limits on in-person attendance at meetings. The Board shall enable public access to any meeting at which such limitations are imposed through telephonic or video webcast means. The Board shall, in both the notice and the agenda of such a meeting, provide the public with information as to any in-person limitations as well as information on how the meeting may be accessed remotely.
REASONABLE NOTICE DETERMINATION: Pursuant to Subsection D of Section 10-15-1 of the Open Meetings Act (Chapter 10, Article 15 NMSA 1978), the board shall review annually the notice provisions of this Resolution and determine whether they constitute reasonable public notice. The review and determination shall be conducted at the last regular meeting in the fiscal year
ADOPTED this 14th day of July 2022
Attested by:
Dr. Rick Hendricks, Chair
New Mexico Historical Records
State Records Center and Archives