Arizona AG says public meetings can be held online
The Arizona attorney general issued an opinion this week suggesting that public bodies may hold meetings online as long as the public is given notice and allowed to observe. A school district wanted to know if it could conduct deliberations online in real time if it followed the state open meeting law. The AG said it would not violate the law as long as it provides "clear notice to the public," takes minutes, provides clear instructions for the public to access the meeting online, and provides reasonable accommodations for anyone with a disability or people without Internet connection, including providing online access at the agency's own offices.
Dan Barr, one of Arizona's leading access experts, told the Arizona Republic that this is a good AG opinion, and I agree. It's about time government starts making its public meetings more accessible to the public. I think this could work provided an agency goes out of its way to let everyone know when and where the meeting will take place online, and provided an agency provides free terminals for anyone to watch. Many agencies televise their meetings live, and that's great, but the online world allows for interaction as well. Imagine an online meeting that includes a running comments board that citizens could post to during the meeting, open for everyone to watch, including the elected officials. This can open up civic participation to people who can't travel to City Hall or for people who simply see attending a public meeting as a hassle (which is 99 percent of the American public, based on what I observed as a City Hall reporter). Also, transcripts of the officials' and citizens' comments could be instantly recorded, providing a verbatim record that is easier to read through than requesting tapes and listening to two hours of discussion. Of course, it isn't perfect. There's nothing like seeing public officials in real life to pick up on nonverbal communications during a meeting, but perhaps cams can be used for each elected official and other technological advances can enhance the discourse.
Good stuff. Now, let's see how it works in real life.