New York meeting minutes: what they must record and when they must be available
Short answer
Minutes record every motion, proposal and resolution, everything formally voted on, and the vote. They are available to the public within 2 weeks of the meeting; when the last day falls on a Saturday, Sunday or public holiday, the next business day counts. Minutes of action taken by formal vote in an executive session are available within 1 week.(N.Y. Pub. Off. Law § 106(3))
Where this fits in your meeting cycle: Clarivis is software that helps a board follow these steps: it counts the notice deadline for each meeting set in Clarivis a week or more ahead, shows the minutes deadline for each meeting and drafts the minutes for your board to correct and approve; it does not post the notice or send it to the news media for you.
See how Clarivis helpsQuestions on this page
What must the minutes record?
Statute text
“Minutes shall be taken at all open meetings of a public body which shall consist of a record or summary of all motions, proposals, resolutions and any other matter formally voted upon and the vote thereon.”
Separately, each agency must keep a record of each member's final vote in every proceeding in which the member votes (§ 87(3)(a)). The law does not say that record has to be the minutes, and nothing in it stops a board from keeping it there.
When must minutes be available?
Within 2 weeks of the meeting:
Statute text
“Minutes of meetings of all public bodies shall be available to the public in accordance with the provisions of the freedom of information law within two weeks from the date of such meeting except that minutes taken pursuant to subdivision two of this section shall be available to the public within one week from the date of the executive session. If the agency in which a public body functions maintains a regularly and routinely updated website and utilizes a high speed internet connection, such minutes shall be posted on the website within two weeks from the date of such meeting except that minutes taken pursuant to subdivision two of this section shall be available to the public within one week from the date of the executive session. For purposes of this subdivision unabridged video recordings or unabridged audio recordings or unabridged written transcripts may be deemed to be meeting minutes. Nothing in this section shall require the creation of minutes if the public body would not otherwise take them.”
When the agency the board works in, such as the town, keeps a regularly and routinely updated website and uses a high-speed internet connection, the minutes are also posted on that website within the same 2 weeks (§ 106(3)).
What if the last day falls on a weekend or holiday?
The next business day counts:
Statute text
“When any period of time, computed from a certain day, within which or after which or before which an act is authorized or required to be done, ends on a Saturday, Sunday or a public holiday, such act may be done on the next succeeding business day”
The public holidays are the days N.Y. Gen. Constr. Law § 24 lists, among them general election day, which falls on the Tuesday after the first Monday in November (N.Y. Elec. Law § 8-100(1)(c)).
Do draft minutes count?
Yes. The law asks that minutes be available within the time, and names no approval step, so minutes made available before the board approves them meet it (N.Y. Pub. Off. Law § 106(3)). An unabridged recording or transcript may also count as the minutes (§ 106(3)).
What about executive session minutes?
Minutes are taken of any action the board takes by formal vote in an executive session:
Statute text
“Minutes shall be taken at executive sessions of any action that is taken by formal vote which shall consist of a record or summary of the final determination of such action, and the date and vote thereon”
They are available within 1 week of the executive session (N.Y. Pub. Off. Law § 106(3)). They need not include anything the Freedom of Information Law does not require the board to make public (§ 106(2)). A last day on a Saturday, Sunday or public holiday moves to the next business day here too (N.Y. Gen. Constr. Law § 25-a(1)). Clarivis does not check this one-week time, because it does not record which executive sessions took a formal vote.
How long are minutes kept?
Permanently. The State Archives schedule for local governments lists official minutes, and the records accepted as part of them, as permanent records:
Statute text
“Official minutes and hearing transcripts of governing body or board, commission or committee thereof, including all records accepted as part of minutes: RETENTION: PERMANENT”
What do video meetings add to the minutes?
If any member took part by video, the minutes say which members took part remotely (§ 103-a(2)(e)). See the remote participation guide.
Checklist after each meeting
- Minutes record every motion, proposal and resolution, everything formally voted on, and the vote.
- Available to the public within 2 weeks; posted on the town's website too when it is kept up to date and has a high-speed connection.
- A last day on a Saturday, Sunday or public holiday moves to the next business day.
- Executive session action minutes available within 1 week.
- If a member joined by video, the minutes say which members took part remotely.
- Minutes kept permanently.
What the law does not settle
These are questions to take to your board's attorney; this guide does not answer them.
- Whether the minutes themselves must show how each member voted, or whether a separate vote record is enough.
- Whether a body that would not otherwise take minutes must take them.
How Clarivis helps
Clarivis drafts; people decide. Your board reviews, corrects and approves the minutes.
- Records and transcribes the meeting, then drafts minutes from the transcript for your Committee Admin or Editor to read, correct and approve.
- Tracks the minutes deadline for each meeting, moving it to the next business day when the last day falls on a weekend or public holiday.
- Records when minutes are made available, so the meeting shows that step as done.
Related guides
- What a New York meeting notice must say, and when to give itTime and place, the news media and a designated public place, the 72-hour notice for a meeting set a week ahead
- Executive session in New York: when a board can meet in private, and what followsThe eight purposes, the motion and vote, the minutes
- What counts as a meeting in New York: the official convening and quorumThe official convening, who is covered, and the quorum
- Video meetings in New York: authorization, public access and recordingVideo meetings: authorization, who may join, notice and recording
This guide for other states
Sources
- Public Officers Law § 106, minutes: www.nysenate.gov/legislation/laws/PBO/106
- General Construction Law § 25-a, a period ending on a Saturday, Sunday or public holiday: www.nysenate.gov/legislation/laws/GCN/25-A
- General Construction Law § 24, public holidays: www.nysenate.gov/legislation/laws/GCN/24
- Public Officers Law § 87, record of each member's vote: www.nysenate.gov/legislation/laws/PBO/87
- New York State Archives, LGS-1 retention schedule: www.archives.nysed.gov/records/local-government-record-schedule/general-administration