After missing the finish line by just inches last year, an OPMA bill moves along in a new form. The bill proposing to modernize the Open Public Meetings Act (OPMA) finally made it through both chambers this year by hitching a ride on a different bill.

HB 1329 was voted through the Senate on a unanimous vote last week. HB 1329 was originally focused on encouraging use of remote meetings and requiring public comment options. However, as HB 1329 was moved out of the Senate committee, they included an amendment that added all the language from HB 1056.

As you might recall, 2021’s HB 1056 addresses emergency meetings and notification requirements, but for reasons that remain unclear, the bill failed to pass. So now, effectively, HB 1056 has merged into HB 1329 as it passed out of the Senate. The revised bill now needs to return to the House for concurrence.

As passed, the bill allows public agencies to hold remote meetings with no or limited in-person public attendance during a declared emergency. The bill also clarifies that members of the governing body are not required to attend remote meetings in person as long as they appear or attend by phone or other electronic means that allow for real-time verbal communication.

Additionally, the public agency must provide a free and readily available option for the public to view the proceedings. For more details on this bill, you can read our previous write-up.