Public participation guidelines

Anyone with a legitimate interest in the actions of the Murray State University Board of Regents may participate during the public participation portion of an Open Meeting. The amount of time set aside for public participation will not exceed 30 minutes. The time will be divided equally among those signed up to present, with no single speaker or group spokesperson speaking for more than five minutes.

The following guidelines and requirements are set for those wishing to participate:

1. Interested parties must register on the Public Participation Sign-In Sheet prior to the beginning of the meeting.
2. Each participant must be recognized by the Chairperson and will be requested to begin by announcing his or her name and group affiliation. Each group should designate one spokesperson.
3. The speaker should give any materials (15 copies) he or she desires the Board to receive to the Board Secretary for distribution to the Regents.
4. Items that are excluded from the Open Meetings Act may not be discussed.
5. The Chairperson has the authority to terminate the remarks of any individual when the speaker does not adhere to the guidelines and reserves the right to restrict comments on a topic.
6. All remarks shall be made to the Board of Regents as a body and not to a particular board member.
7. No persons shall be allowed to make obscene, derogatory, or slanderous remarks.
8. Remarks shall end when the speaker’s allotted time has expired.
9. No participant may speak more than once on the same topic.

The Board will respond to comments made during the public participation periods only to ask a clarifying question, correct a factual error or provide specific factual information in answer to a direct question.