HB 2065 Summary

• Expands the definition of "meeting" under Arizona's open meetings law to include one-way electronic communications proposing legal action and exchanges of electronic communications among a quorum discussing or deliberating on matters likely to come before the public body.

• Requires meeting minutes to include a record of how each member voted on legal actions and the names of members proposing each motion.

• Establishes tiered civil penalties for knowing violations of open meetings law: up to $500 for first offense, up to $500 for second offense, and up to $2,500 for third and subsequent offenses.

• Allows the attorney general to sue individual members of public bodies for knowing violations and prohibits public bodies from reimbursing civil penalties imposed on individual members.

• Requires cities and towns with populations over 2,500 to post meeting summaries or recordings online within specified timeframes and maintain these postings for at least one year.