FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT Justin Silverman | 774.244.2365 | justin@nefac.org
With the option to hold virtual public meetings set to expire in Massachusetts on July 15, the state House of Representatives today voted to extend remote access to public meetings until March 31, 2023.
The House also amended the bill to require public meetings to be hybrid thereafter to ensure that members of the public can remotely access and participate in public meetings, in addition to the option of attending in person.
Advocates — including the New England First Amendment Coalition, the ACLU of Massachusetts, Boston Center for Independent Living, Common Cause Massachusetts, Disability Law Center, League of Women Voters of Massachusetts, Massachusetts Newspaper Publishers Association, MASSPIRG and New England Newspaper & Press Association — released the following joint statement in response:
“We applaud the legislature for consistently appreciating the importance of remote access to public meetings. We are deeply grateful to Chairman Cabral for his leadership in filing this amendment, and to Representative Garlick and Senator Lewis for filing the initial legislation to ensure hybrid access and participation in public meetings. Across the Commonwealth, remote access to public meetings has significantly increased public participation in state and local government, and has lowered longstanding barriers for people with disabilities, people with limited access to transportation, and people with work and family obligations. We urge the legislature to ensure that the final legislation includes a permanent requirement for hybrid public meetings.”
NEFAC was formed in 2006 to advance and protect the Five Freedoms of the First Amendment, including the principle of the public’s right to know. We’re a broad-based organization of people who believe in the power of an informed democratic society. Our members include lawyers, journalists, historians, academics and private citizens.
Our coalition is funded through contributions made by those who value the First Amendment and who strive to keep government accountable. Please make a donation here.
Leadership Circle donors include the Rhode Island Foundation, Hearst Connecticut Media Group, The Boston Globe, Paul and Ann Sagan, and the Robertson Foundation. Major Supporters include Boston University, the Academy of New England Journalists, the Society of Professional Journalists Foundation, Genie Gannett for the First Amendment Museum, Linda Pizzuti Henry, Connecticut Public and GBH-Boston.