Sen. Howard Authored Bill Codifying Virtual Public Meetings Passes House

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March 24, 2022

By News Director Jared Atha

Legislation authored in the Oklahoma State Senate by District 38 Senator Brent Howard allowing members of a public body to participate in virtual meetings has been approved by the Oklahoma House of Representatives.

District 38 covers southwest and western Oklahoma, including Beckham, Washita, Greer and Kiowa Counties.

House Bill 3415, allows a public body to hold meetings virtually where members of the public body may participate in the meeting online, and would prohibit members of public bodies from participating virtually in more than 25% of the body’s regular and special meetings in any calendar year. Additionally, the member must attend from a single fixed location.

The bill protects public participation by requiring that the public meeting notice indicate if the meeting includes electronic or in-person participation, including the telephone number or the source that may be utilized to access the meeting.

The measure also allows public bodies to conduct emergency meetings electronically if the Governor has declared a statewide state of emergency, or if there has been a local state of emergency declared by local elected officials. The local state of emergency cannot last longer than 30 days without a vote of the respective public body.

Rep. Andy Fugate, D-Del City, filed a friendly amendment to add a definition for “public health emergency” to clarify when emergency meetings may be held.

The bill does not apply to those serving on a virtual charter school approved and sponsored by the Statewide Virtual Charter School Board.

HB3415 passed the House 70-21 and may now be considered in the Senate.

Copyright 2022 Paragon Communications. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed without permission.

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