Middle Township Committee Seeks to Regulate Photos, Recordings at Public Meetings

COURT HOUSE — Middle Township Committee wants to control still and video photography and audiotaping of its public meetings.
On its draft agenda for Monday, April 6 at 6 p.m., committee has a proposed resolution to require any person wishing to photograph, videotape or make an audio recording of any Township Committee meeting to get prior permission from the mayor or his designated representative.
The resolution would empower the mayor to direct audio and video taping to cease in a public meeting “upon the request of a member of the public who desires to discuss a personal matter with the committee, the mayor may direct the audio-video taping be interrupted when an audio-video recording could be embarrassing or humiliating if played at a later time.”
The new proposal goes so far as to include ceremonial occasions, such as when committee members take their oath at annual reorganization. Ordinarily there are numerous cameras at such events.
If Township Committee is involved, the photographer, videographer or audio recording person must first obtain permission from the mayor or his representative, “but will be granted routinely subject to compliance with the foregoing guidelines where applicable.”
Those wishing to photograph or video tape a meeting must first prove to the mayor or his designated representative “that the equipment sought to be utilized meets the sound and light criteria enumerated…A failure to obtain advance approval for the equipment prior to each public meeting shall preclude its use at any such meeting.”
The resolution states that committee “has found it necessary in order to protect the rights of the majority of the citizens within the township and to ensure the unfettered administration and conduct of municipal government to regulate still photography, videotaping and audio taping within municipal facilities, and specifically of public meetings.”
Immediately after any video taping at public meetings, “the original videotape shall be provided to the Municipal Clerk for the purpose of duplication.
“A copy of the videotape shall be made and the original shall be available for pickup at the Municipal Building by the individual who videotaped the public meeting, or portions thereof, within five business days of the meeting.”
If the mayor or clerk does not request the original videotape for duplication, the individual who made the tape shall maintain the original for a year.
Still photographers are required to use cameras that make no more noise than a Leica 35mm rangefinder camera, and photographers are to maintain negatives (something that no longer is done by news organizations since technology has changed) for one year.
The regulation seems closely patterned after state Supreme Court guidelines for cameras in the courtroom.
Still photographers are to stand in the rear of the room and not move about during the meeting. They can have no more than two cameras with more than two lenses each.
“Still camera photographers shall assume fixed positions within the designated areas and once the photographers are positioned such photographers shall not be permitted to move about in any way as to attract attention through further movement. Still photographers shall not be permitted to move about in order to photograph public meetings.”
“The Township Committee shall retain the photographs as required by law and make available to the general public duplicates of any photographs for which it has either copies or the negatives subject to payment of the cost of duplication.”
The regulation places further restrictions:
“Except as otherwise provided herein with regard to public meetings, no photographs may be taken or audio/video tape recordings made within a public facility of any person, place or event relating to the administration and or conduct of official municipal business.”
Tape recordings, too, will fall under the control of committee, if the proposal is adopted.
Recording devices must be “unobtrusive, limited to the size-category commonly known as hand-held, mini-cassette, or standard portable cassette. It shall be placed in an appropriate position and may not be moved in any way as to attract attention.”
No special lighting equipment will be allowed on video or still cameras.
The police department is charged with enforcing the new restrictions.