Berkshire County and Beacon Hill — Amidst local efforts from residents and town boards, the Massachusetts House of Representatives approved a bill March 17 that would extend a COVID-era regulation providing for remote and hybrid government meetings pursuant to the Massachusetts Open Meeting Law.
According to State Rep. Leigh Davis (D – 3rd Berkshire District), the measure is slated to pass the State Senate and will soon be on its way to Gov. Maura Healey who may sign the bill into law on March 20. Davis said the House of Representatives met in the morning to begin the process of addressing remote participation and the remote meeting extension. Without that extension, the ability for government bodies around the Commonwealth to conduct a public meeting remotely would expire March 31, the deadline cited in the emergency policy approved by former Gov. Charlie Baker during the pandemic. The proposed bill, H62, grants the extension allowing for remote or hybrid public government meetings to June 30, 2027.
A copy of Bill H62 can be found here.
“This is the first step in the process and Senate President Karen Spilka [(D – Ashland)] has signaled that she’s going to advance the bill and we’re hoping it will reach the governor’s desk by Thursday,” Davis told The Berkshire Edge by telephone. “This is one step into enacting a permanent hybrid law which is left over from [Gov.] Charlie Baker’s executive order in 2020.”
A plethora of individual citizens and municipal officials have pushed for the extension, “that we should keep the hybrid model and have this hybrid meeting option,” she said.
“So, this is one step to show that the legislature is responsive and we’re acting toward this,” Davis said.
For Davis, who was sworn into office on January 1, the recommendation is part of a bigger effort. Citing increased participation and improved government operations, she noted that many officials are advocating for a permanent remote hybrid meeting option.
The Joint Committee on State Administration and Regulatory Oversight, one of four committees on which the freshman legislator serves, is reviewing bills addressing similar endeavors including “An Act to Modernize Participation in Public Meetings,” which the group’s chair, State Rep. Antonio F. D. Cabral (D – New Bedford), is seeking to advance. That bill, H2998, requires “all public bodies [to] provide for remote access and remote participation at every meeting.”
A copy of Bill H2998 can be found here.
“This is something that is being discussed right now—how far we should go,” Davis said of H2998. The Massachusetts Municipal Association (MMA) is in favor of making remote meetings optional due to the cost of such a change for smaller towns, she said. However, H2998 makes mandatory the offering of remote options. “A remote participation or a hybrid option increases accessibility and modernizes public meetings,” Davis said.
Currently, at least one dais in Berkshire County—some meetings of the West Stockbridge Planning Board—doesn’t permit remote or hybrid meetings.
The outcry in Berkshire County for the extension may have contributed to the bill moving forward. “Hearing from communities and also from my colleagues at the State House, hybrid meetings have increased engagement, access, and transparency in local government,” Davis said. “We’ve had a really, really good response, and we’ve had a lot of advocacies toward extending this sunset. I think advocacy is playing a big part in this.”
On March 6, West Stockbridge Select Board Chair Andrew Potter wrote a Letter to the Editor published in The Berkshire Edge voicing concern over the lack of action taken to extend the provisions for remote and hybrid public government meetings. He serves on the MMA’s Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) Commission.
“Since the pandemic, remote and hybrid meetings have become an essential tool for civic engagement,” Potter stated in his letter. “Residents—including seniors, people with disabilities, those with caregiving responsibilities, and workers with long commutes—have been able to participate in local government without unnecessary hardship. Remote access has strengthened democracy, increased transparency, and improved public trust in government.”
According to Potter, “rolling back this progress would be a step in the wrong direction.”
In its March newsletter, Common Ground, the Berkshire Regional Planning Commission (BRPC) put out a “Call to Action” to residents and municipalities to reach out to state legislators “to make hybrid meetings a permanent practice.”
According to BRPC Executive Director Thomas Matuszko, the post was done in concert with other regional planning agencies throughout the Commonwealth as well as the MMA. Matuszco said he has seen increased participation at public meetings given the remote and hybrid options. “Remotely allows members of various committees who may have to work or travel to be able to participate,” he said. “It allows the public to be able to participate.”
With its membership stemming from all over the Berkshire County, driving into meetings might prove challenging due to winter weather events, and older clientele could be reluctant to attend public meetings given COVID concerns, Matuszko said. “We haven’t had to cancel a meeting since this has been in place,” he added.
