Submission Date:
Question:
Can you please explain the clause below found in Governor Cuomo's Executive Order dated 3/13/2020. It reads:
“Suspension of law allowing the attendance of meetings telephonically or other similar service:
Article 7 of the Public Officers Law, to the extent necessary to permit any public body to meet and take such actions authorized by the law without permitting in public in-person access to meetings and authorizing such meetings to be held remotely by conference call or similar service, provided that the public has the ability to view or listen to such proceeding and that such meetings are recorded and later transcribed.”
It is understood the Order allows a public body may hold and take action in meetings held remotely. The question comes to announcing the meeting and announcing the location of the remote conference call or similar device. Is notification required? And if so, to what extent? Location of participant?
A second question is regarding whether or not a location must be open to the public to attend OR if it is required the public also be able to access the meeting via telephone/telecommunication.
Executive order can be found here: https://www.governor.ny.gov/sites/governor.ny.gov/files/atoms/files/EO_202_1.pdf
Answer:
I have a phrase I use in my office to remind my team (and me) to be diligent, but always play it cool: “Quick work is [not such very good[1]] work.”
To get ahead of the Covid-19 Pandemic, our government is acting QUICKLY. The closings, the attention to a million health-related and logistical details—our leaders are having to handle an immense amount of work, in a very small amount of time.
When working quickly, one of the first things to go by the wayside is word-smithing. As can be seen from the member’s questions, that is what happened here. The Order is helpful, but its phrasing probably could have been a bit more clear.[2] UPDATE: Further, this March 13th Order may be confused for an earlier Order on March 7, which was the focus of a notice by the NY Committee on Open Government, that went out to many people, and has now been superseded by the Order referenced in the members question.[3]
So, unpacking the order (and explaining a few things it is clear the asking member already understands, but I am providing for helpful context), what does it mean for libraries?
Libraries are required by the New York Education Law (which creates them) to follow the Open Meetings Law (a/k/a “Article 7 of the Public Officers Law”). This Order relaxes some of the laws requirements to suit our state’s pandemic response.
Typically, to comply with the Open Meetings Law, a library must: 1) provide notice of a meeting and announce the use of any teleconferencing in advance; 2) identify the location(s) for the meeting; and 3) state the public’s right to attend the meeting in person. If the meeting will be live-streamed over the internet, the announcement must include the web address. And finally, whenever possible, the library must post the notice of the meeting “conspicuously” on its website. [4] (It has been firmly and repeatedly established that no voting can take place via teleconference, but videoconferencing is allowed).
The Open Meetings Law was passed because, as the New York Legislature puts it:
It is essential to the maintenance of a democratic society that the public business be performed in an open and public manner and that the citizens of this state be fully aware of and able to observe the performance of public officials and attend and listen to the deliberations and decisions that go into the making of public policy. The people must be able to remain informed if they are to retain control over those who are their public servants. It is the only climate under which the commonweal[5] will prosper and enable the governmental process to operate for the benefit of those who created it.[6]
So what is different now? We’re trying to maintain our democracy, but also keep it from getting sick. With that goal in mind, lets parse the Order, and answer the member’s questions.
1. The Order says: “…without permitting in public in-person access to meetings…”
This means that for the duration of the Order, the public does not have to be able to physically attend your library’s board meetings. Basically, it empowers your library to cut down the size of those physically assembling. This is consistent with other recent Executive Orders regarding eliminating large gatherings.
2. The Order says: “…authorizing such meetings to be held remotely by conference call or similar service…”
This means that for the duration of the Order, contrary to the usual requirements, your board can meet view conference call (or “similar” service).
3. The Order says: “…provided that the public has the ability to view or listen to such proceeding and that such meetings are recorded and later transcribed.”
This means[7] that in order to take advantage of the relaxed requirements I set out in “1” and “2” above, the public has to be able to see OR hear the meetings, BUT ONLY if your library arranges for them to be recorded and (later!) transcribed.
These are significant adjustments to the requirements of the law. But with regard to notice, which is at the heart of the member’s question, the Order has waived none of law’s requirements.
With that in mind, to the greatest extent possible, sending notice to the media as usual, and posting notice of the meeting in a physical, non-virtual place viewable to the public is still required. While disclosing the exact location of all meeting participants may not be possible (since they will be on the phone), the notice should strive to include as much information as possible that is most useful to the public, including the location of any physical participants. And the method you select for sharing the meeting in real time (livestreaming, a broadcast) should be accessible to the general public.
It might be also be helpful, when crafting your notice, to include acknowledgement that this meeting and notice will be a little bit different:
In keeping with Executive Order 202.1 (regarding emergency adjustments to the Open Meetings Law in response to the Covid-19 pandemic), the public is not permitted in-person access to this meeting, and the meeting shall be held remotely via [METHOD]. As required by the Governor’s Order, the public will have the ability to [VIEW OR LISTEN TO] such proceeding at [METHOD], and the meeting shall be recorded, transcribed, and made available on the Library’s web site before [DATE].
Since current federal government guidance is that gatherings of more than ten people are not recommended at this time, it makes sense to not provide or allow access to a physical location in which to gather to listen to or view the meeting—at least for now. But business must get done.
Good luck with your meetings; your board members have a lot to think about.
[1] I actually use shorter, monosyllabic word, but Ask the Lawyer is rated “G.”
[2] I am assuming that “legal aid in the Governor’s Office” is not a relaxing job right now (if it ever is).
[3] Thanks for the heads-up on the COOG’s 3/9/20 advisory memo, Grace Riario at Ramapo Catskills Library System (which, to emphasize, has been superseded by the 3/13/20 Executive Order). With so much happening so fast, it is good to be able to add this layer of clarification.
[4] For a more thorough explanation, visit https://opengovernment.ny.gov/open-meetings-law
[5] Not a typo, but a cool old word for the general welfare.
[6] Public Officers Law, Article 7, §100.
[7] For anyone who wants to get together (virtually!) and discuss the significance of potentially missing commas in this part, please send comments to [email protected].
Tag:
COVID-19, Emergency Response, Executive Order, Open Meetings Law
