§ 44-04-21 — Open voting at public meetings required - Results recorded in minutes

1. Unless otherwise specifically provided by law, all votes of whatever kind taken at any
public meeting governed by the provisions of section 44-04-19 must be open, public
votes, and all nonprocedural votes must be recorded roll call votes, with the votes of
each member being made public at the open meeting. Procedural votes must be
recorded roll call votes upon the request of any member of a governing body holding a
meeting subject to this section. As used in this section, "nonprocedural" should be
broadly interpreted and includes all votes that pertain to the merits of the matter before
the governing body.
2. Minutes must be kept of all open meetings and are records subject to section
44-04-18. The minutes must include, at a minimum:
a. The names of the members attending the meeting;
b. The date and time the meeting was called to order and adjourned;
c. A list of topics discussed regarding public business;
d. A description of each motion made at the meeting and whether the motion was
seconded;
e. The results of every vote taken at the meeting; and
f. The vote of each member on every recorded roll call vote.
Notwithstanding subsection 8 of section 44-04-18, the disclosure of minutes kept
under this subsection may not be conditioned on the approval of the minutes by the
governing body.

3. Subsection 1 does not apply to a nonprocedural vote relating to the consideration of
an amendment by a legislative committee or the legislative assembly during a
legislative session, unless otherwise required by legislative rule.