Meetings of the veterans advisory board.

A Local Law to amend the New York city charter and the administrative code of the city of New York, in relation to meetings of the veterans’ advisory board.

Established in the New York City Charter is a Veterans Advisory Board (the “Board”), which is tasked with advising the director of the Mayor’s Office of Veterans Affairs (MOVA) on all matters concerning veterans, as well as to meet quarterly and report on its activities on or before December 31 of each year. Currently, the Board consists of nine members, all of whom must be veterans. Five of the members are appointed by the Mayor, and four are appointed by the Speaker of the City Council. Members serve for three year terms. The Mayor and the Speaker are required to considered service in conflicts when making their appointments. This bill would require the Board to meet a minimum of five times per year and to hold at least one meeting in each borough. The Board would be required to provide public notice of the meeting in compliance with New York State’s Public Officers Law. MOVA would be required to: 1) make all meetings of the Board open to the public; 2) post a notice on the office’s website of the date, time, and location of each meeting at least one week prior to the meeting; 3) maintain and update contact information for veterans organizations located within the city, and notify all of these organizations by regular or electronic mail of each Board meeting; and 4) record and broadcast all meetings on the internet.