State waiver allows board meetings by phone

Gov. Cuomo issued an executive order that waives some provisions of Open Meetings Law amid concerns of the coronavirus pandemic.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo has issued an executive order exempting municipal and school boards from provisions of the state Open Meetings Law that require public access to locations where government meetings are being conducted.

The waiver, granted Friday, March 13, will allow elected and appointed boards to conduct meetings by telephone.

The state Open Meetings law already allows board members to participate and vote by video conference as long as notice is provided to identify the location and the site is accessible to the public. Under the executive order, the requirement for the public to have access to the remote location will be waived.

Cuomo in the order does require that the “public has the ability to view or listen to such proceeding and that such meetings are recorded and later transcribed.”

Kristin O’Neill, assistant executive director of the State Committee on Open Government, said efforts to stop the spread of the coronavirus while local governments continue to conduct public meetings have led public officials into “uncharted territory.”

“Most of our questions have been about... how to comply with the Open Meetings Law in light of the coronavirus,” she said.

O’Neill said her advice in regard to coronavirus concerns has been to “use your best judgment,” but to stay within the law if there is uncertainty.

“People have asked if (they) can get a waiver from certain requirements,” she said. “We don’t have any authority to grant waivers. There is nothing built into the statute that even contemplates a waiver of requirements.”

In a formal opinion being given to local officials with questions about preventing the spread of coronavirus, the state Committee on Open Government wrote: “While it appears that no New York court has yet examined a challenge of this type, the staff of the committee believe that judicial review of an alleged violation of the (Open Meetings Law) by a public body will take into consideration that body’s desire to protect public health while continuing to perform necessary government functions.”

The state Open Meetings Law, adopted in 1978, was later amended to allow meeting attendance by teleconference.

“This (coronavirus) is opening up a Pandora’s box of things that we didn’t ever think that we would be facing,” O’Neill said. “However, we are in unprecedented times. The Legislature never contemplated something of this nature.”

For local coverage related to the coronavirus, go to bit.ly/DFCOVID19. For live updates, visit bit.ly/DFcovid19live.