Expands use of videoconferencing to purely advisory bodies

◆ The sponsor's argument

Why James Skoufis says this is needed

Presently, the Open Meetings Law requires the physical presence of a quorum of members of purely advisory committees and subcommittees at locations open to the public when they participate in meetings of such bodies by videoconference. This makes holding meetings more complex, resulting in less transparency for the public. The Open Meetings Law requires that when meetings of committees and subcommittees of public bodies, including those that are advisory only and lack decision-making authority, are conducted using videoconferenc- ing, not only must the public be able to attend virtually, but a quorum of members of the public body must be physically present at one or more locations open to the public. Under current law, members of the body experiencing extraordinary circumstances can participate in meetings remotely from locations that are not open to the public. Still, they do not count toward a quorum. Such a physical presence requirement for meetings of purely advisory committees and subcommittees does not enhance transparency, results in inefficiency, increases the cost of holding meetings, causes far fewer public committee meetings to be held, and decreases the number of public meetings of such bodies available for the public to observe. Removing the physical presence requirement will increase transparency and substantially increase the number and frequency of non-decisional committee meetings of advisory-only bodies. Authorizing purely advisory subordinate bodies to meet by publicly live-streamed and recorded video- conference, with ample public notice and without requiring members to travel long distances to assemble physically in public, will facilitate the readily accessible convening of such meetings and thereby both foster the principle of public scrutiny of the workings of state and local government that lies at the heart of the Open Meetings Law and serve the broader public interest without materially trenching upon either. The Open Meetings Law should be amended to authorize meetings of purely advisory committees, subcommittees, and other subordinate bodies to be conducted openly and accessibly, using ubiquitous and universally accepted videoconferencing and live-streaming technology without requir- ing members to assemble physically at locations open to the public. An amendment to the Open Meetings Law that eliminates the requirement of being physically present to count toward a quorum for meetings of purely advisory subordinate bodies and permits such bodies to conduct their meetings using readily available and widely used technologies that provide fully effective and comprehensive contemporaneous public access to those meetings advances the objectives of the Open Meetings Law and its guiding principle: transparency in government proceedings.

This is the sponsor's own case for the bill, quoted from their memorandum. It is not Agora's description of what the bill does.