TJPDC briefed on new law allowing more virtual meetings

Four years ago, Virginia and the rest of the United States were under states of emergency that allowed for government meetings to be held online. When those emergencies were lifted, the rules reverted back to requiring in-person meetings for most of the time.

Each year since there have been legislative attempts to expand the number of times some appointed bodies can teleconference rather than meet in person. 

This year, HB894 from Delegate Elizabeth Bennett-Parker passed the House of Delegates 74 to 26 and the Virginia Senate 32 to 7. That bill was incorporated into SB734 introduced by Senator David Marsden that passed the Senate 35 to 4 and the House of Delegates 79 to 20. 

The Thomas Jefferson Planning District’s Board of Commissioners adopted a new policy last night that reflects the changes. 

“The first one is to increase from 25 percent to 50 percent the maximum number of meetings you can hold per year,” said David Blount, deputy director of the TJPDC and its legislative liaison. 

That means the TJPDC could hold up to five virtual meetings a year but none of them could be consecutive. 

The other change requires members of the body to have their cameras on in order to be counted toward a quorum. 

“I think the premise behind this and it being brought forth by some folks in the open government world is that this is a virtual meeting and we want to make sure that we can see folks when you’re having these public meetings,” Blount said. 

Watch the TJPDC meeting here:

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