These are two very important laws which regulate how public meetings are conducted, and guarantee access to interested members of the public.

The Open Meetings Act is a Public Act which -- very simply -- ensures that the public can exercise its right to attend the meetings where decisions are made that affect the public welfare.  Meetings need to be posted using certain guidelines, held in announced locations that are generally accessible to the public, and so on.

The Americans with Disabilities Act provides individuals who have physical or mental challenges with the rights to have "reasonable accommodation" to be able to attend meetings and to have the same information and advantages that a non-impaired person would have.  For example, a blind person may want to have a Braille copy of the agenda or minutes.  A person using a wheelchair must be able to access the room where the meeting is being held.  A deaf or foreign-speaking person may need a translator.  Anyone needing special support to be able to attend a public meeting in Pere Marquette Township should contact the Clerk's office at least five days prior to the meeting date to request auxiliary aids. 

Public meetings at Pere Marquette Charter Township abide by the Open Meetings Act as well as the Americans with Disabilities Act.  The complete text of the Open Meetings Act is available on the Michigan Legislature website.  ADA is a Federal Act; click on the link below to access the text.  Please note that these links are only a few of many websites that provide text and information about these laws.  If you find this an interesting topic, we encourage you to do your own search for further documents, using your favorite search engine.

Michigan Legislature

Americans with Disabilities Act