In-Depth Sunshine Law Requirements for Multi-site and Remote Meetings

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the public that risk is offset by the benefits and convenience of being able to participate from an additional location nearerto their home or work. Note that a board is not required to provide additional locations, and the fact that a board previously has had additional locations, or has used a particular place as an additional location, does not create any obligation forthe board to include those locations for future meetings. III. Requirements to Hold Remote Meetings A. Notice requirements The notice of a remote meeting must tell the public how to watch and hearthe live remote meeting, typically via a linkto a remote meeting platform, and how to provide remote oral testimony through an internetlink, a telephone conference, or other means. The notice must also list at least one physical location connected to the remote meeting, where members of the publiccan go in person to participate. A board holding a remote meeting underoption three is not required to allow members of the publicto join board members in person at nonpublic locationswhere board members are physically present,such as their homes or private offices, so there is no requirement for the notice to identify the nonpublic locations where board members will be. The notice may also list additional locations open for public participation and if so, must specify whetherthe meeting will continue without the additional location if the ICT connection is lost or if the meeting will be automatically recessed to restore communication to the additional location. B. Board membervisibility and quorum requirements As a general rule, the remote meeting platforms must allow audiovisual interaction among board members and members of the public attending the meeting, but there are some exceptions to this general rule. To accommodate the challenges some board members may have in remaining on-camera throughout an online meeting,the law only requires a quorum of board members to be visible to the public during the public portion of remote meetings. All board members present at the meeting must have at least an audio connection. In contrast to the visibility requirementfor board members, there is no requ irementfor the public or other non-board participants to be visible during online meetings,though the board must allow the public to provide oral testimony during the meeting, either through the same meeting platform being used by the board members or some other means such as a telephone line ora more limited online connection controlled by the meeting host. Just as aboard member's brief absence from the room during a meeting, such as to take a five-minute restroom break, does not immediately require a board to terminate a meeting due to loss of quorum, a member's brief disappearance from camera view does not immediately trigger the requirementto suspend the remote meeting due to not having a quorum of members visible. If, however, a board member who is needed to In-Depth Sunshine Law Requirements for Remote Meetings, Effective 1/1/2022 Page 4