{"id":255,"date":"2024-04-01T10:00:52","date_gmt":"2024-04-01T14:00:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/massachusetts\/press-releases\/countdown-begins-virtual-access-to-public-meetings-set-to-expire-march-31-2025\/"},"modified":"2024-04-01T10:00:52","modified_gmt":"2024-04-01T14:00:52","slug":"countdown-begins-virtual-access-to-public-meetings-set-to-expire-march-31-2025","status":"publish","type":"press","link":"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/massachusetts\/press\/countdown-begins-virtual-access-to-public-meetings-set-to-expire-march-31-2025\/","title":{"rendered":"COUNTDOWN BEGINS: Virtual access to public meetings set to expire March 31, 2025"},"template":"","class_list":["post-255","press","type-press","status-publish","hentry","press_type-press-release"],"acf":{"details":{"summary":"Advocates call for permanent reforms to guarantee hybrid open meetings","featured_image":"","press_type":146,"authors":["{\"site_id\":\"1\",\"post_type\":\"person\",\"post_id\":7814}"],"related_issues":[84,92,464],"related_work":false,"location":24},"sidebar":{"helper_enable_sidebar":false,"helper_media_contact":{"heading":"Media Contact","manually_enter_person":false,"person":null,"name":"","role":"","phone":"","email":""},"helper_links_downloads":{"heading":"Links & Downloads","links":null}},"page_layout":[{"acf_fc_layout":"layout_wysiwyg","_acfe_flexible_toggle":null,"component_wysiwyg":{"content":"With virtual access to public meetings <\/span>set to end<\/span><\/a> a year from today, a coalition of disability rights, free press, open government, and other advocates today renewed their call for permanent reforms to guarantee hybrid access to open meetings.<\/span>\r\n\r\nThe ACLU of Massachusetts, Boston Center for Independent Living, Disability Law Center, Common Cause Massachusetts,\u00a0 League of Women Voters of Massachusetts, Massachusetts Newspaper Publishers Association, MASSPIRG, New England First Amendment Coalition, and New England Newspaper & Press Association released the following joint statement:<\/b>\r\n\r\n\u201cFor four years, people in Massachusetts have been able to participate in state and local democracy in unprecedented ways; now, it\u2019s time to strengthen the infrastructure of our 21st-century democracy \u2014 not retreat from progress. Hybrid access to public meetings has been transformative for people who previously faced barriers to exclusively in-person meetings \u2014 people who are immunocompromised or have a disability, people who have young children or care for disabled or aging family members, people with limited transit options, and more. Universal hybrid access is essential going forward.<\/span>\r\n\r\n\u201cThe countdown is on: If lawmakers don\u2019t act this session, people with disabilities or other reasons they can\u2019t attend meetings will be completely shut out when city councils, select boards, or school committees decide to hold meetings exclusively in person. Accessibility makes our democracy stronger, and we can\u2019t afford to close the door on these perspectives and communities.\u201d<\/span>\r\n\r\nThe coalition supports a legislative proposal (<\/span>H.3040<\/span><\/a>\/<\/span>S.2024<\/span><\/a>) that will ensure greater access to open meetings for everyone by requiring options for officials and members of the public to attend meetings in person or remotely. The bill is currently pending before the Joint Committee on State Administration and Regulatory Oversight.\u00a0<\/span>\r\n\r\nThe coalition recently criticized another bill, the Governor\u2019s Municipal Empowerment Act, which proposes to give public bodies complete discretion about whether to offer remote or hybrid meeting access, because this would surely limit the public\u2019s ability to participate. By contrast, the Legislature has embraced hybrid access for public hearings and other events, demonstrating the feasibility and importance of the coalition\u2019s proposed reforms to the Open Meeting Law.<\/span>"}}]},"yoast_head":"\nCOUNTDOWN BEGINS: Virtual access to public meetings set to expire March 31, 2025 - Common Cause Massachusetts<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/massachusetts\/press-releases\/countdown-begins-virtual-access-to-public-meetings-set-to-expire-march-31-2025\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"COUNTDOWN BEGINS: Virtual access to public meetings set to expire March 31, 2025\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/massachusetts\/press\/countdown-begins-virtual-access-to-public-meetings-set-to-expire-march-31-2025\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Common Cause Massachusetts\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/massachusetts\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/common-cause-share-image.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"630\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/massachusetts\/press-releases\/countdown-begins-virtual-access-to-public-meetings-set-to-expire-march-31-2025\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/massachusetts\/press-releases\/countdown-begins-virtual-access-to-public-meetings-set-to-expire-march-31-2025\/\",\"name\":\"COUNTDOWN BEGINS: Virtual access to public meetings set to expire March 31, 2025 - 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