The first meeting of each two-year session of the Ohio General Assembly is constitutionally required on the first Monday of an odd-numbered year, regardless of the weather. Some colleges and other entities held virtual events Monday after a storm dumped as much as a foot of snow on parts of Ohio. Meanwhile, there's a bill that would allow some other public bodies to hold online meetings awaiting action from Gov. Mike DeWine.
House Bill 257 passed the House and Senate nearly unanimously, with Republicans and Democrats embracing allowing certain public boards whose members aren’t paid to meet remotely. The bill was sent to DeWine on Dec. 30.
The legislation would require an entity that would be permitted to meet virtually to adopt a policy on those meetings, and that the public and the media are notified 72 hours in advance. Members must notify the chairperson 48 hours before the meeting that they want to attend virtually.
It specifically allows virtual meetings of the Public Employees Retirement System, the Board of Trustees of the Ohio Police and Fire Pension Fund, the School Employees Retirement Board and the State Highway Patrol Retirement Board. The State Teachers Retirement System has a virtual meeting policy after getting authorization in the state budget in 2021.
The measure has widespread backing, though even supporters admitted virtual meetings aren't ideal and that in-person events generate better discussion opportunities between board members and the public. But Rep. Jim Hoops (R-Napoleon) said in seeking input on his bill, he heard from more than 300 members of public boards who said that public participation increased during virtual sessions.
Leigh Herington, executive director of the Northeast Ohio Public Energy Council, told senators at a hearing last year that having a virtual meeting option for the public and for officials is helpful.
“I can attest that it was at times difficult to obtain a quorum at NOPEC board meetings due to inclement weather making the board member commutes from all over Ohio to attend the meeting in person impossible," said Herington, a former state lawmaker himself.
Virtual meetings of lawmakers were allowed during the pandemic, under legislation that passed in 2020, but expired in 2022.
The bill would not have any effect on the General Assembly. The legislation states that virtual meetings are not allowed if members of the public body that's meeting are elected to their positions, so the bill doesn’t permit legislators to meet in full session or in committees online.
