Bill > B26-0087

This bill amends the Open Meetings Act to provide more flexible guidelines for public meetings in the District of Columbia. Specifically, the bill allows a meeting to be considered "open to the public" if the public body takes reasonable steps to enable public viewing or hearing of the meeting in real-time, or if real-time technological access is not feasible, to provide access as soon as possible afterward. The bill modifies two sections of the existing law to incorporate this new provision, effectively expanding the definition of public access to government meetings. This change appears designed to accommodate potential technological limitations while ensuring transparency by requiring public bodies to make good-faith efforts to allow public observation of meetings. The act is an emergency amendment, which means it will be in effect for a maximum of 90 days, and it requires approval by the Mayor of the District of Columbia (or Council override of a potential mayoral veto) to become active.

https://lims.dccouncil.gov/Legislation/B26-0087