Municipal Empowerment Act Would Limit Public Participation
Today, the Governor filed the Municipal Empowerment Act. A coalition of democracy, disability access, and open government advocates expressed strong concerns about the bill’s consequences for access to local government meetings. The proposal would make the format of local open meetings completely discretionary instead of maximizing access by reasonably guaranteeing hybrid public meetings with both in-person and remote access.
The ACLU of Massachusetts, Boston Center for Independent Living, Disability Law Center, Common Cause Massachusetts, League of Women Voters of Massachusetts, Massachusetts Newspaper Publishers Association, MASSPIRG, New England First Amendment Coalition, and New England Newspaper & Press Association released the following joint statement in response to the bill:
“The Municipal Empowerment Act again falls short on ensuring reasonable access to public meetings. It will shut people out of the democratic process by only allowing — and not requiring — municipalities to provide hybrid participation options. This is a core principle of a democratic process, and for disabled people and others, a fundamental civil rights issue. Giving every government body complete discretion about how to provide public access to their meetings means people with disabilities, the elderly, people who lack access to transportation, and others who are simply unable to access in-person meetings will be completely shut out when city councils, select boards, or school committees decide to hold meetings exclusively in person.”
Background:
To date, the House has already passed forward-thinking legislation that would have guaranteed hybrid participation by entities under the Open Meeting Law. The Senate has yet to debate the matter.
In spring of 2023, the coalition conducted a survey of every city council, select board, and school committee in the state. According to that survey, more than half of those bodies are already conducting fully hybrid or live-streamed meetings. Indeed, hybrid meetings are already standard operating procedure for many government entities in municipalities of every size, from Boston to Gosnold.
- City councils and select boards: 45% of city council and select board meetings are fully hybrid and 17% more are live streamed. In total, 62% are fully hybrid or live streamed.
- School committees: 35% of school committee meetings are fully hybrid and 25% are live streamed. In total, 60% are fully hybrid or live streamed.
The coalition supports a legislative proposal HD.368 filed by Representative Tony Cabral that will ensure greater access to open meetings for everyone—particularly for people with disabilities, caregiving responsibilities, or limited transportation—by requiring options for officials and members of the public to attend meetings in person or remotely.