On March 18th, 2020 Governor Stitt signed into law Senate Bill 661 which temporarily modifies the Oklahoma Open Meeting Act to allow for teleconferencing as a method of holding public meetings that are subject to the Act. The modification will extend until the State of Emergency declared by Governor Stitt is terminated or November 15, 2020, whichever date occurs first.
The new law adds Teleconferencing as an option and clarifies the requirements for videoconferencing.
"Teleconference" means “a conference among members of a public body remote from one another who are linked by telecommunication devices and/or technology permitting auditory communication between and among members of the public body and/or between and among members of the public body and members of the public.”
"Videoconference" now means “a conference among members of a public body remote from one another who are linked by interactive telecommunication devices or technology and/or technology permitting both visual and auditory communication between and among members of the public body and/or between and among members of the public body and members of the public. During any video conference, both the visual and auditory communications functions shall attempt to be utilized.”
The language changes in the bill provide for:
Relaxation of In-Person quorum: Members of a governing body (City Council, Town Board, Public Trust, etc.) may attend a meeting:
Remote by Teleconference
Remote by Videoconference
By attending at the physical location of the meeting, if there is one.
All or even a majority (quorum) may attend remotely through one of the two options. The Bill also allows a meeting to be held remotely and without a physical location.
Requirement to post governing body membership attendance methods: In addition to regular notice posting requirements (date, time, location, matters to be discussed) the notice must identify whether teleconferencing or videoconferencing will be used as well as how each member plans to attend the meeting (video conference, or teleconference, or in-person). Once the meeting notice is posted, governing body members cannot change their method of attending the meeting (i.e. a member designated to attend in person cannot then attend by teleconference or video conference). The only exception is that a member designated to attend remotely may instead attend the meeting in person (so long as a physical location for the meeting was listed).
Public access to all documents: All documents shared electronically with governing body members during the meeting must be immediately available to the general public in the same form as they were shared with the members of the governing body. Many cities and town provide Agenda materials in paper form. However, a more convenient method to address this requirement may be to provide agenda material electronically and through the city or town website.
General Public Attendance Required via audio or video conference: Members of the general public who attend the meeting remotely must be allowed to participate in the meeting to the same extent that they could if they attended the meeting in-person. This means that, if you allow the public to speak (during citizen comments or during a public hearing item), then those who attend remotely must be given the chance to speak via the teleconference or video conference. If you use Slack, Microsoft Teams/Skype, or GoToMeeting, be prepared to use the large meeting format. Fortunately, these services have offered free expanded licenses for large meetings due to the Coronavirus emergency. See below under “Technical Assistance” for more details and links to free resources.
Audio disconnects: If the audio disconnects due to a problem or issue, the meeting is suspended until the audio is restored.
Recording requirements: The meeting must be recorded by written or electronic means. All votes occurring during any meeting utilizing teleconference or video conference shall occur and be recorded by roll call votes.
Executive Sessions: These are now allowed via teleconference or video conference. The Notice of meeting and the agenda identifying the executive session must identify whether teleconferencing or videoconferencing will be used as well as how each governing body member will attend the session (see #2, above).
Requirement to post Notice of meetings at the principal office or meeting location is suspended: The public body shall not be required to make the notice of a public meeting available to the public in the principal office of the public body or at the location of the meeting during normal business hours at least twenty-four (24) hours prior to the meeting. The suspension of this requirement shall also extend until the State of Emergency declared by Governor Stitt is terminated or November 15, 2020, whichever date occurs first.
Technical Assistance:
All major web conferencing solutions often include screen sharing, document sharing, video sharing through built-in laptop web cams are room cameras, audio conferencing using computer microphones and speakers, and teleconferencing (sometimes referred to as a conference bridge) as a backup solution using phone numbers with a passcode or meeting number.
Rising to the top, 3 providers are offering their enhanced, or paid for versions for free due to the COVID-19 emergency. This includes GoToMeeting, Microsoft Teams (part of Office 365), and Google Hangouts Meet (part of Google G-Suite). Of these, OMAG is already a heavy user of Microsoft’s solution as OMAG has been a long-time adopter of Office 365.
LogMeIn’s GoToMeeting service is offering free “Emergency Remote Work Kits” for municipalities, health care providers, and other non-profit organizations. Information on requesting a free Emergency Remote Work Kit from GoToMeeting is available here.
Microsoft’s solution, called Microsoft Teams, which is part of Office 365, has removed restrictions on the free version for individuals and organizations through January 2021, with support for 250 participants with 10,000 viewers, recording, and screen sharing. They have also added a free 6-month trial of Office 365 E1 which includes this option. Information on Microsoft’s free offerings for the emergency are available here.
Google’s Hangouts Meet tool is also offering free access to the tool, with 250 participants and live streaming to 100,000 viewers, recording, and screen sharing. More information on Google’s offerings during the emergency are available here.
All of these solutions can essentially tick every box above. They allow a meeting organizer to limit members of the public to “View Only”, can temporarily authorize attendees (in this case, members of the public) to speak for the open comments period, allow for members of the public to view the same documents and files, and can record the meeting for later posting on a website or Youtube channel.
OMAG’s recommendation from a technical perspective would be to test the technology with your governing body members in advance of the meeting but on a one-on-one basis, using your local IT resources. OMAG’s IT Department also stands ready to offer advice and assistance by emailing itsupport@omag.org