Establishes general requirements for meetings of governing bodies of political subdivisions

HB 857 requires all local governments (counties, cities, towns, villages) to establish public comment policies for their meetings by July 2026. It mandates a dedicated public comment period at the start of each regular meeting, allowing residents, businesses, and taxpayers to speak without content restrictions, with a minimum 3-minute speaking time per person. The bill also requires local governments to accept written comments from those unable to attend and limits public comment periods to one hour or 20 speakers (based on the 3-minute minimum), while prohibiting bans except for specific violations like peace disturbances. Written comments submitted before meetings must be shared with attendees and the public unless they violate established rules.