Senate Bill 403 expands to local governments an existing law that prohibits attendees of state public meetings from disrupting the proceedings. It was signed into law by Governor Stitt this week.
The local governments include school boards, county governmental bodies and municipal governments.
“While people have a right and even a responsibility to participate in their government, that doesn’t include disrupting those meetings so that the business of the people cannot be conducted,” said Senator Brenda Stanley, who is the Senate author of SB 403. “I want to thank my fellow members, my House author, Representative Manger, and Governor Stitt for their support of this legislation.”
Violating the law is a misdemeanor. If a person is found guilty of interrupting a public meeting, they could face a year in jail and a $1,000 fine.
Representative Robert Manger pointed to the demonstration in the House on Wednesday as the reason a law like this is needed. (More on the demonstration from KFOR-TV here.)
“As we saw yesterday in the House chamber, no meeting is safe from interruption,” Manger said. “We have rules of decorum that govern our meetings in the Capitol, and I believe that same decorum should be observed in other political subdivisions. I am a firm believer in the rights expressed within the First Amendment, and there are plenty of ways to exercise those rights without having to disruptively protest during a meeting.”
The law goes into effect immediately.
