Meeting minutes laws and guides for local governments
What each state’s open-meetings law requires in minutes, when they must be available, how executive sessions are recorded and how long recordings must be kept, with citations to the statutes.
State minutes requirements
PennsylvaniaSunshine Act § 706: roll-call votes by member, citizens who spoke, executive sessions under § 708.OhioR.C. 121.22: minutes promptly prepared; township fiscal officer keeps them (R.C. 507.04).MichiganMCL 15.269: all roll-call votes; proposed minutes in 8 business days, approved in 5.Wisconsin§ 19.88(3): motions and roll-call votes recorded; recordings kept 90 days after minutes.New YorkPOL § 106: minutes within two weeks, posted online if the body has a website.New JerseyOPMA: “reasonably comprehensible” minutes with each member’s vote, promptly available.IndianaOpen Door Law: memoranda with votes by member; township board minutes in a permanent book.IllinoisOMA 2.06: minutes approved within 30 days, posted within 10 days; closed sessions recorded verbatim.Minnesota13D.01: votes recorded; each member’s vote on every appropriation of money.
How-to guides
How to write township meeting minutesGood township minutes are short, accurate and legally complete: they record who attended, every official actio…How to record roll-call votes in minutesRecord a roll-call vote by listing each member’s name with their vote (yes, no, abstain, absent or recused), f…Keeping a resolution and ordinance registerA resolution and ordinance register (or “ordinance book”) is the running index of every resolution and ordinan…AI meeting minutes for local governmentIs it legal, how to review an AI draft, and recordings as public records.
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