Both the Massachusetts Senate and House of Representatives have passed bills that would extend the mandate, with the House bill including a provision to mandate remote access for all municipal meetings beginning on April 1, 2023. The bill passed by the senate would extend remote participation to Dec. 15, 2023.
If the two chambers reconcile these bills, cities and towns across the Commonwealth will need to continue or start providing virtual access to municipal meetings.
For some communities on the North Shore, this new legislation will have very little impact. Remote and hybrid meetings were key for municipal offices' operations during the pandemic and have offered flexibility since.
Peabody City Clerk Allyson Danforth said the city has made remote participation a permanent part of meetings, after implementing the option on April 9, 2020.
Lynn City Clerk Janet Rowe said the city will wait for the legislature's decision and comply with whatever version of the bill is passed.
"Most of all our boards used remote participation during COVID and adapted well," Rowe said.
The Massachusetts Municipal Association says that without setting aside funding in these bills, the mandate included in the House bill could put a burden on local governments who aren't tech savvy.
"Every city and town in the Commonwealth has dozens of councils, boards, and commissions, which hold numerous public meetings a year. The final House bill would impact thousands of local public bodies. The costs of technology, equipment, staff and necessary space to run all of these public meetings ... in a hybrid fashion is simply untenable," the organization said in a statement.
"Municipalities have been dedicated to continuing this access and MMA recognizes the intent and goal of virtual access and participation by the public, yet the path to achieving the House's goal is steep and complex. An expansive and expensive mandate at this time is not realistic and would undermine the thoughtful work by municipalities to propel this essential work forward," the statement said.
© 2022 Daily Item, Lynn, Mass. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
