After going online because of the pandemic, zoning decisions and regulatory hearings on Zoom are coming to an end, for the most part. Boards and commissions across the state are having to adjust how they do business.
During a Virginia Redistricting Commission Meeting last week, commissioner Jose Feliciano reminded members that when they met this week would determine where they met.
“We're talking about possibly meeting late next week which is Thursday or Friday - which is the first and second - which has passed the 30th deadline,” he said. “So I think that's going to be a little stickler.”
Virginia’s state of emergency allowing public bodies to meet virtually expires on June 30th. Come July, electronic meetings will mostly go away. The Redistricting Commission, for example, will need to have a quorum in one physical location before members could join virtually.
Megan Rhyne of the Virginia Coalition for Open Government says in-person meetings have subtleties that let citizens know about the dynamics of boards and politics.
“It's about seeing people's reactions. It's about the side conversations that happen,” she said.
Virtual meetings did allow many citizens to participate, if they had reliable internet. That doesn’t have to go away, Rhyne said.
“They have always had the power to allow the public to participate electronically - state regional and local,” she said. “When the governor's emergency has been lifted, it will be up to each individual body, whether at the state level, whether at the regional level or whether at the local level.”
Two bills amending the Virginia Freedom of Information Act expanding virtual participation by board and commission members go into effect Thursday.
HB 1931, sponsored by Del Mark Levine, expands the provisions for members to participation digitally. The new law will allow for caring for a family member’s medical condition, and clarifies that the number of times a member participates digitally due to personal matters to two meetings, or a quarter of the meetings held that calendar year, whichever is greater.
Senator Jeremy McPike sponsored SB 1271allows public bodies to meet without a physical quorum during states of emergency. The bill’s summary says that previously the meetings could only meet virtually under a state of emergency with the purpose of addressing the emergency.
This report, provided by Virginia Public Radio, was made possible with support from the Virginia Education Association.
