S.B. 2038 Summary

• Authorizes boards to conduct meetings by interactive conference technology without requiring public access to physical meeting locations where board members are present, provided the governor has declared a state of emergency for a contagious illness and the board reasonably believes in-person meetings present health risks; this authorization expires June 30, 2021.

• Requires boards using remote meeting technology during emergencies to list at least one public meeting location and inform the public how to remotely view meetings and provide testimony via internet, telephone, or other means.

• Permits boards to require members of the public attending in-person meetings to provide names and contact information for contact tracing purposes during contagious illness emergencies.

• Allows two or more board members to attend state of the city, state of the county, state of the State, or state of the judiciary addresses without this constituting a prohibited meeting, provided no board business is discussed except during the event and no voting commitments are made.

• Changes the requirement that meetings held by interactive conference technology must "terminate" when audio communication fails to instead "recess," allowing reconvening only when audio communication is restored.