Remote Public Body Participation for Pregnant People (H 7304, S 2496)

This bill would allow members of public bodies who are pregnant or who have given birth in the past six months to be able to participate in meetings remotely. While we certainly recognize the good intentions behind the bill, we opposed it.

Presently, the Open Meetings Act (OMA) allows public body members to participate remotely under two specific circumstances: if they are on active duty in the armed forces; or they have a disability as defined in state disability law which prevents them from being physically present, and there is no other reasonable accommodation.

As a matter of policy, we have argued post-COVID that there is a strong public benefit to having public bodies – including all individual members – meet in person. Accountability and transparency are enhanced when public bodies and their members meet in person, allowing the public and media to see the interaction among the members and to follow up with them onmatters that get discussed.