Several groups, including NEFAC, 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, and the New England Newspaper and Press Association, criticized Governor Maura Healey’s Municipal Empowerment Act.
The group focused on sections 2-5, worrying about its impact on access to local government meetings. The bill doesn’t ensure hybrid meetings with both in-person and remote options. Instead, it lets each municipality decide the meeting format, which the groups find problematic.
The advocates argue that without mandatory hybrid options, people with disabilities or other limitations might be left out if meetings are only in person. In a press release, the group expressed disappointment that the bill doesn’t improve on previous efforts to guarantee hybrid participation and tackle barriers to democratic involvement.
The groups are also concerned about which committee handles this matter, with the jurisdiction of the Joint Committee on Municipalities and Regional Government, rather than the Joint Committee on State Administration and Regulatory Oversight. They worry this could create inconsistencies in meeting access across municipalities, going against the Open Meeting Law’s principles.
The coalition had also sent their concerns directly to Governor Healey in a letter: “Respectfully, the Open Meeting Law provisions of the Municipal Empowerment Act are a step backward,” they wrote in a Feb. 27 letter. “These reforms will shut people out of the democratic process by only allowing — and not requiring — municipalities to provide hybrid or remote participation options.”
