OPMA & PRA emergency waivers and suspension extended for one week

The emergency proclamation on the Open Public Meetings Act (OPMA) and Public Records Act (PRA) was recently granted extension for just one week, until midnight on July 9.

This is the latest in a series of short extensions to the OPMA and PRA. The Governor has the power to issue emergency proclamations for 30 days, but they are subject to approval by the legislative leadership, which consists of the leaders of the four caucuses. While the legislative leaders have only been granting short-term extensions, they can legally grant extensions for up to 30 or even 60 days. A longer extension of this proclamation would be very helpful to cities when planning for public meetings.

We encourage cities to let your legislators know that you would like them to take longer-term action and ask them to talk to caucus leaders about the need for longer extensions of the proclamation.

The proclamation was updated on July 2. It now allows cities in phase 3 counties to include an in-person component to public meetings. However, meetings must still be conducted virtually. Cities in phase 3 that wish to consider including an in-person component to meetings should review the proclamation carefully to ensure compliance with all provisions. Previously the proclamation was modified to remove earlier restrictions on the type of business that may be conducted during virtual meetings.

It is not apparent whether the emergency waivers and suspension will continue to be extended. We encourage cities to start planning now for how to manage public meetings if the extension is not granted. This MRSC blog post offers suggestions for cities if such a case occurs.