ASSEMBLY STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT COMMITTEE
STATEMENT TO
ASSEMBLY, No. 1858
with committee amendments
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
DATED: NOVEMBER 14, 2024
The Assembly State and Local Government Committee reports favorably and with committee amendments Assembly Bill No. 1858.
As amended, this bill permits a public body to conduct a meeting and public business, cause a meeting to be open to the public, vote, and receive public comment by means of communication or other electronic equipment.
Under current law, remote meetings, voting, and public comment are only permitted during a state of emergency, public health emergency, or state of local disaster emergency. This bill removes that restriction. Under the bill, any meeting conducted by means of communication or other electronic equipment must be open to the public in a manner consistent with section 7 of P.L.1975, c.231 (C.10:4-12).
“Public body” is defined under the “Senator Byron M. Baer Open Public Meetings Act” to be a commission, authority, board, council, committee, or any other group of two or more persons organized under the laws of this State, and collectively empowered as a voting body to perform a public governmental function affecting the rights, duties, obligations, privileges, benefits, or other legal relations of any person, or collectively authorized to spend public funds including the Legislature, but does not mean or include the judicial branch of the government, any grand or petit jury, any parole board or any agency or body acting in a parole capacity, the State Commission of Investigation, the Apportionment Commission established under Article IV, Section III, of the Constitution, or any political party committee organized under Title 19 of the Revised Statutes.
COMMITTEE AMENDMENTS
The committee amended the bill to:
· provide that any meeting conducted by means of communication or other electronic equipment is required to be open to the public in a manner consistent with section 7 of P.L.1975, c.231 (C.10:4-12); and
· make technical corrections.