Remote participation continues in Mass.

Cities and towns across Massachusetts continue to use the 2011 open meeting law regulation that allows members of public bodies to participate remotely under certain permissible circumstances.
 
Under the regulation, the chair of the public body must still be physically present for the meeting and must approve the permissible circumstances as well as the allowable form of technology used for participating remotely.
 
The remote participation option has proven valuable when a member of a public body cannot be physically present at a meeting but still wishes to participate and be counted toward a quorum. In such circumstances, all votes must be made by roll call.
 
Many municipalities have adopted local regulations specifying how they will use remote participation.
 
Municipalities that have a regulation to share, or are interested in seeing what other cities and towns have adopted, are asked to contact MMA Legislative Analyst David Lakeman at dlakeman@mma.org.