Oklahoma’s top state House and Senate Republicans said changes to the Open Meeting Act should be on the agenda for the upcoming session.
Senate President Pro Tem Greg Treat (R-Oklahoma City) and House Speaker Charles McCall (R-Atoka) spoke about the law's virtual meetings provision on Wednesday during and Oklahoma State Chamber public affairs forum.
Lawmakers moved quickly last session to allow virtual meetings because of the coronavirus pandemic, but that provision expired last month just as infection rates surged across the state. Treat said he’s heard plenty of good things about virtual meetings, like more Oklahomans and Oklahoma journalists being able to attend.
"All of those things increase transparency. So, to the extent we can do it where we don’t hide from the public — you know, you still have to be accessible, you still have to be able to talk to people face-to-face from time to time — but to the extent we can do that, I’m very interested in dealing with the Open Meeting Act and modernizing that," Treat said.
In the last month, many public bodies have canceled meetings or employed creative alternatives, like designating a quorum to attend meetings in person while others attend remotely.
McCall said while he thinks parts of the Open Meeting Act should be "modernized," there are related issues that need to be addressed.
"It’s not easy for everybody in the state of Oklahoma to jump on a virtual meeting. We’ve got to continue to build out broadband communications networks throughout all four corners of the state," McCall said.
McCall expects six to eight bills in the upcoming session dealing with broadband access. Last year, lawmakers overrode Gov. Kevin Stitt’s veto of a bill to establish a rural broadband expansion council.