by Lonnie Brennan
Republican Senator Bruce Tarr has joined at least 40 other, mostly Democrat state legislators this year to sponsor Bill H.3299, which would require all local governments subject to the open meeting law to provide both in-person and remote access to the public. Currently, a number of local boards and commissions do not offer in-person accommodation, instead require all participants to log onto Zoom and participate or view the meeting remotely. And often, you can’t see the faces of most board members. Even local meeting that are recorded often show only a couple of members (see photos above from recent, typical, Georgetown meetings).
The Zoom-only meetings were established in response to the COVID scare (a time when folks were forced to wear facemasks, many forced to take experimental injections to maintain their jobs, and many small businesses were shuttered). The force injections and mask mandates are – for the most part – a thing of the past, but Zoom-only meetings have remained by local choice in many communities.
The bill heard before the Joint Committee on State Administration and Regulatory Oversight requires “public bodies meeting shall have at least one-third of its members physically present at all meetings.”
Those who testified against the bill noted that logistics of forcing boards that currently meet in private offices and rooms without video cameras would require significant investments to purchase cameras and force the boards to log into Zoom to broadcast their meetings. Others argued that meeting in person is inconvenient, requiring travel time, etc.
“The pandemic is gone,” said Democrat Chair Antonio Cabral. “Which way is the best way to really have every resident of this Commonwealth have the same opportunity to participate in their local government? I think that is the question. There will always be costs, but to continue basically under the pandemic rules, I think it’s unrealistic.” ♦
