We are expecting that the emergency legislation being considered by the State Legislature tomorrow will include provisions suspending all or some of the FOAA requirements related to public meetings. For now, our best guidance as to how to handle meetings is as follows:
- Postpone non-essential board and committee meetings.
- If a meeting must be held, consider using Facebook Live, YouTube Live, or another streaming service. Remember that the public has the right to view all meetings, but not the right to speak (unless it is an advertised public hearing). For those members of the public who demand to attend in person, reduce risk by spacing out seating and/or providing a secondary room or location where the meeting will be streamed for those who do not have internet access from home.
- Members of boards who are particularly vulnerable due to age or underlying medical conditions may participate in the meeting by phone, Skype, Facetime, etc.. At this time, you should not worry if a quorum or majority of the board is participating remotely.
- (For town meeting towns only) If your annual town meeting falls within the next two months, consider having a special meeting only to make appropriations to fund municipal government as necessary to allow extension of the annual town meeting. Even if your charter requires that the annual meeting be held on a certain date, delay is very unlikely to impact the legality of the meeting whenever it is held. We expect this issue to be addressed by the Legislature.
Employee issues must be dealt with on a case-by case basis with an eye to consistent policies and fair treatment.
We will be in touch tomorrow evening or as soon as possible thereafter with clear, updated guidance following the Legislature’s vote. In the meantime, please do not hesitate to contact us with any questions.
Be well,
Stephen Langsdorf and Kristin Collins
