FSEC staff commits to minimum 14‑day public comment periods and other notice improvements
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Summary
FSEC staff told the council it will adopt a minimum 14‑day public comment period for documents subject to OPMA final action and will seek to build a minimum one‑week turnaround for staff and council review of comments; staff also said the website will feature clearer notices and an upcoming multi‑meeting calendar
FSEC staff on Oct. 15 briefed the council on planned changes to public engagement and notification processes, including a commitment to publish documents subject to council final action with a minimum 14‑day public comment period.
Staff said the change applies to documents where the Open Public Meetings Act requires an opportunity for public comment before final action, unless a different period is mandated by regulation or a specific circumstance requires deviation. The council heard staff are also considering an internal minimum turnaround of about one week after comment periods close to allow staff and counsel to review comments and prepare any needed edits or responses before council action.
Other planned improvements include more prominent posting of upcoming items on FSEC’s redesigned website, linking public comment campaigns directly to associated documents, clearer language in notifications (including govdelivery messages), and a tentative multi‑month public calendar showing upcoming items and the following meeting’s tentative agenda.
Staff said these changes should improve clarity for the public and better align public comment timing with project schedules and statutory milestones. Council members welcomed the changes and requested further work to set firm internal timelines and to coordinate turnaround expectations with busy meeting schedules and complex project workloads.
Staff said details will be refined as the program is rolled out and that some elements — such as calendar horizon and minimum turnaround — remain under discussion.
