7.7.9 Emergencies. A public body may discuss, consider, and decide a matter not

on the agenda when an actual emergency exists requiring that the body dispense with the

advance notice and agenda requirements. A.R.S. § 38-431.02(D). See Section 7.6.5 for a

discussion of what constitutes an actual emergency.

To use the emergency exception, the public body must do several things. First, the

public body must give "such notice as is appropriate to the circumstances" and must "post

a notice within twenty-four hours declaring that an emergency session has been held" and

setting forth the same information required in an agenda for a regular meeting. A.R.S.

§ 38-431.02(D); see Form 7.9.

Next, prior to the emergency discussion, consideration, or decision, the public body

must announce in a public meeting the reasons necessitating the emergency action.

A.R.S. § 38-431.02(J). If the emergency discussion or consideration is to take place in an

executive session, this public announcement must occur at a public meeting prior to the

executive session. Id.

Finally, the public body must place in the minutes of the meeting a statement of the

reasons for the emergency. Id. In the case of an executive session, this statement will

appear twice, once in the minutes of the public meeting where the reasons were publicly

announced, and again in the minutes of the executive session where the emergency

discussion or consideration took place. See Section 7.8.2(7).