The day a request is received by the Custodian of Records does not count as one of the three business days. The time for providing access may exceed three business days for reasonable cause. Missouri Sunshine Law 8 Public governmental bodies are strongly encouraged to make information available in usable electronic formats, and requests that records be provided in a particular format must be honored if the public governmental body is able to produce the record in the format requested. If the Custodian of Records determines that requested records are closed, then he or she must explain the reason for closure in writing, citing the specific provision permitting closure, within three days of request for explanation. If a record contains both open and closed material, access must be provided to the open material. CHARGES ALLOWED Copy fees of not more than 10 cents per page 9” x 14”, or smaller, plus research time, (billed at actual cost of employees that result in the lowest amount of charges for search, research, and duplication time), are allowed. Persons requesting public records may request an estimate of the cost. Public governmental bodies may require advance payment of fees, and may also decide to reduce or waive fees in the public interest. BRIEF SUMMARY REGARDING LAW ENFORCEMENT RECORDS Records relating to law enforcement operations are addressed in a specific set of statutes within Chapter 610. In general, all incident and arrest reports are open records, but mobile video recordings and investigative reports are closed records until the investigation becomes inactive, as is an arrest record if the person arrested is not charged within 30 days. Other exceptions apply with respect to certain mobile video recordings and portions of records which, if released, would endanger victims, witnesses, undercover officers, or other persons, or which would jeopardize a criminal investigation. Special rules apply to information gained from 911 calls, and particularly graphic crime scene photographs and videos are generally closed.

Other exceptions apply with respect to certain mobile video recordings and portions of records which, if released, would endanger victims, witnesses, undercover officers, or other persons, or which would jeopardize a criminal investigation. Special rules apply to information gained from 911 calls, and particularly graphic crime scene photographs and videos are generally closed. CONCLUSION Again, this brief summary is included in order to give a broad understanding of Sunshine Law basics. Before making any decision on behalf of a public governmental body, be sure to review all relevant sections within Chapter 610, RSMo.

CONCLUSION Again, this brief summary is included in order to give a broad understanding of Sunshine Law basics. Before making any decision on behalf of a public governmental body, be sure to review all relevant sections within Chapter 610, RSMo. Missouri Sunshine Law 9 1) How much can a public governmental body charge for records requests? Section 610.026.1(1), RSMo, allows a public governmental body to charge up to 10 cents per page for standard paper copies, the average hourly rate of pay for clerical staff to duplicate documents, and the actual cost of the research time for fulfilling the request. This provision also requires that the public governmental body use the lowest salaried employees capable of searching, researching, and copying the records. Fees for accessing records on other media, or non-standard paper copies, shall reflect actual cost involved. The requestor may wish to ask for a breakdown of the costs associated with the request to determine how the public governmental body arrived at the final charge. 2) Our board goes in to closed session and we don’t know what they are going to talk about. Don’t they have to let us know why they are closing the meeting? Yes. Section 610.022, RSMo, requires that public governmental bodies give at least 24 hours notice of each proposed closed meeting and the reason for holding it by reference to the specific exception allowed under § 610.021, RSMo. Section 610.022, RSMo, also states that no public governmental body can move from an open meeting into a closed meeting without a roll call vote, and that the vote and the specific section of § 610.021, RSMo, shall be publicly announced and entered in to the minutes. 3) I was told my request would be ready in 2 weeks. Doesn’t the Sunshine Law say they have to give me the records in 3 days? Section 610.023.3, RSMo, requires that each request be responded to as soon as possible, but no later than the end of the third business day following the custodian of records’ receipt of the request. If access is not granted immediately, the custodian of records is required to explain the reason for the delay and the earliest date and time that the records will be available. Therefore, public governmental bodies are allowed to exceed the three days for production, but they are required to notify you of the delay and explain when they anticipate the records will be ready. 4) Can a public governmental body add items to the agenda after it has been posted? Section 610.020.1, RSMo, requires public governmental bodies to post a notice and a tentative agenda for each meeting, and that the agenda be constructed in a manner reasonably calculated to advise the public of the matters to be considered. Further, § 610.020.2, RSMo, requires that this notice be posted at least 24 hours in FAQs - Public Government Body

Section 610.020.1, RSMo, requires public governmental bodies to post a notice and a tentative agenda for each meeting, and that the agenda be constructed in a manner reasonably calculated to advise the public of the matters to be considered. Further, § 610.020.2, RSMo, requires that this notice be posted at least 24 hours in FAQs - Public Government Body Missouri Sunshine Law 10 advance of the meeting. However, § 610.020, RSMo, includes an exception that, if for good cause, 24 hours notice is impossible or impractical, the public governmental body shall give as much notice as possible. Also, the nature of the good cause justifying the departure from normal requirements shall be stated in the minutes. 5) Members of the board get together and talk about business outside of meetings. Is that a violation? Under the Sunshine Law, a meeting takes place when a majority or quorum of a public governmental body gathers to discuss or vote on public business (§ 610.010(5), RSMo, and Colombo v. Buford, 935 S.W.2d 690 (Mo. App. W.D. 1996)). Therefore, if less than a quorum of the public body meets to discuss public business, it is not a “meeting” as defined under the Sunshine Law. However, the Sunshine Law will apply to meetings of groups with less than a quorum when the entity is deliberately attempting to evade the Sunshine Law. See, Colombo, cited above. For example, a public governmental body may not purposely meet in groups with less than a quorum to discuss public business and then ratify those decisions in a subsequent public meeting. 6) Board members e-mail each other about public business – is that considered a meeting? Pursuant to § 610.010(5), RSMo, a public meeting exists when a public body meets and public business is discussed, decided, or public policy is formulated. A single e-mail about an issue would not in and of itself constitute a meeting requiring advance notice. However, by § 610.025, RSMo, any member of a public governmental body who sends an e-mail relating to public business to a majority of the body shall also send a copy to the member’s public office computer or to the custodian of records to be retained as a public record. 7) A requestor refuses to use our request form and sends numerous e-mails with requests for records. Can we require that they fill out our standard request form? Section 610.023.3, RSMo, requires that each request for access to public records is to be responded to as soon as possible; it does not specify a manner in which these requests must be submitted. Therefore, a public governmental body may ask that requestors fill out a form, but it can’t require them to do so. 8) Who can impose penalties for Sunshine Law violations? Only a court can impose penalties if it finds that the Sunshine Law has been violated, and penalties are assessed only if the violation is found to be knowing or purposeful. A court may also void any action that was taken in violation of the law, but it is at the court’s discretion, after considering if it is in the public interest to do so.

Only a court can impose penalties if it finds that the Sunshine Law has been violated, and penalties are assessed only if the violation is found to be knowing or purposeful. A court may also void any action that was taken in violation of the law, but it is at the court’s discretion, after considering if it is in the public interest to do so. Missouri Sunshine Law 11 9) How may we state our motion when we want to enter into a closed session? One sample motion is: “I move that this meeting be closed, and that all records and votes, to the extent permitted by law, pertaining to and/or resulting from this closed meeting be closed under Section 610.021, subsection(s) ___, RSMo, for the purpose of (insert the language of the provision(s) cited).” Please note that the public governmental body should only cite those subsections that are applicable to the material it intends to close (not a standard list of several subsections). 10) Who is subject to the Sunshine Law? To determine if the Sunshine Law applies to a body, refer to the definition of public governmental body in § 610.010, RSMo, p. 4, which includes, but is not limited to: • public bodies created by state constitution or statutes; • public bodies created by order or ordinance of any political subdivision or district; • judicial entities when operating in an administrative capacity; • public bodies created by executive order, including: ✓ ✓any advisory committee or commission appointed by the governor by executive order; ✓ ✓any department or division of the state; ✓ ✓any department or division of any political subdivision of the state; ✓ ✓any department or division of any county or of any municipal government; ✓ ✓any department or division school district; ✓ ✓any department or division of a special purpose district including but not limited to sewer districts and water districts; and ✓ ✓other subdistricts of any political subdivision; • any other legislative or administrative governmental deliberative body under the direction of three or more elected or appointed members having rulemaking or quasi-judicial power; and • certain committees or advisory boards appointed by any of the above entities. Note: The custodian of records of any public governmental body shall maintain a list of the policy advisory committees described in this section.