DE Under 3: Behind the Scenes of EEOC’s Full Commission Hearing
Government in the Virtual World: A Look at Public Meetings and Hearings
Ethics Laws and the Importance of Transparency for Public Officials
On March 28, 2025, Mass. Governor Maura Healy signed an emergency law extending the COVID-19 remote and hybrid meeting authorizations for public meetings of local boards and committees until June 30, 2027. The law, Chapter 2...more
Governor Inslee’s March 24, 2022 signing of House Bill 1329 marks the introduction of changes to the Open Public Meetings Act (OPMA), the focus of which concerns public meetings’ accessibility and participation in the same....more
On September 2, 2021, Governor Kathy Hochul signed legislation (S.50001/A.40001), which includes a number of statutory protections and other emergency public health measures adopted in response to the recent increase in the...more
At the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic, on March 16, 2020, at the Attorney General’s request, Governor Greg Abbott utilized Section 418.016 of the Government Code to suspend certain requirements of the Texas Open Meetings Act...more
Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, Rhode Island public bodies have been authorized to meet remotely pursuant to Executive Orders issued by the Rhode Island Governor’s Office...more
In March 2020, in response to the COVID-19 public health crisis, Governor Newsom issued Executive Order N-29-20, suspending open public meeting requirements under the Brown Act and Bagley-Keene Act thereby allowing state and...more
As of July 1, 2021, public entities must take care to conduct their public meetings and public business in-person, as was the norm prior to the COVID-19 pandemic... ...more
Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, the work of public entities had to continue. Amended Substitute House Bill 197 made that possible, by modifying the requirements of R.C. 121.22 to permit public bodies to meet by...more
In response to public agencies’ urgent need to adapt to the challenges brought by the COVID-19 pandemic, in March 2020, California Gov. Gavin Newsom issued Executive Order N-29-20 (amending in part Executive Order N-25-20) to...more
Unbelievably, it was March 17, 2020, when Governor Gavin Newsom issued Executive Order N-29-20 (amending Executive Order N-25-20 in part), which allows local or state legislative bodies to hold meetings via teleconference and...more
Three New Bills Could Make Permanent Changes to Public Meetings - As we conclude a full year of virtual meetings, the use of “Zoom” and other virtual meeting applications has become so commonplace that it might be easy to...more
On November 19, 2020, the Ohio General Assembly passed Substitute House Bill 404, which extends the ability to hold virtual public meetings in response to the COVID-19 pandemic beyond the previous December 1, 2020, deadline,...more
Recognizing the need for citizens to gather and debate at town meetings, and in an effort to protect the health and safety of all those in attendance, the Maine Department of Economic and Community Development (DECD) has...more
Due to protests, the City of Philadelphia is currently shut down. Philadelphia Zoning, Land Use, and Construction COVID-19 Update - This is a current status report on a number of key items, including several changes...more
On May 23, the Illinois General Assembly passed Senate Bill 2135, which in part amended the Open Meetings Act to permit, and set conditions for, conducting board meetings by audio or video conference without the physical...more
State and City Government – General - With limited exceptions, all Philadelphia government buildings are closed to the public, and all non-essential government operations are suspended....more
Washington public meeting and public records laws contemplate that members of the public can be physically present at the meeting location or the agency office. During this time of social distancing, however, those...more
In a recent order, the Circuit Court of Will County joined the Attorney General’s Public Access Counselor (PAC) in supporting public boards’ ability to hold virtual board meetings during the coronavirus disease 2019...more
This week, Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf signed Senate Bill 841 into law, which permits the limited suspension of certain requirements to allow municipalities to conduct business remotely during the COVID-19 emergency. ...more
Gov. Andrew Cuomo issued New York State Executive Order ("EO") No. 202.15, which modifies or suspends several New York State (the "State") statutes, laws, codes, rules and regulations and further establishes directives to...more
As the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic continues, state government agencies are increasingly responding with closures and cancellations. In Pennsylvania, the Department of Environmental Protection recently cancelled seven...more
With social distancing guidelines limiting the number of people gathering in one place to 10 or fewer, and with the Governor's "stay at home" order now in effect, local governments have been doing their best to maintain the...more
The North Carolina open meetings law gives the public a right to attend official meetings of public entities and require public entities to provide notice of and access to official meetings. Amid the current threat posed by...more
In light of COVID-19 concerns and the practice of social distancing, some public bodies may be considering for the first time how public open meetings can be conducted telephonically or by other remote means. While conducting...more