The Michigan House of Representatives has passed Senate Bill 1246. The bill would amend the Open Meetings Act to revise recent provisions added to the act by Public Act 228 of 2020 (SB 1108) that deal with remote attendance at meetings of a public body.

Changes include:

– Extending the sunset allowing public bodies to conduct electronic meetings virtually for any reason from December 31, 2020 to March 31, 2021.

– Allowing a local state of emergency or state of disaster to be declared pursuant to a local ordinance (in addition to those declared under law or charter) and adds a local chief administrative officer (in addition to a local official or local governing body) as a person who may declare.

– Sets requirements a public body shall follow if a meeting is held in person before April 1, 2021 including adherence to social distancing and mitigation measures recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for purposes of preventing the spread of COVID-19, and adopting heightened standards of facility cleaning.

A Senate concurrence vote is anticipated tomorrow, Thursday, December 17, 2020.

Please review the legislation in its entirety (above information is only a highlight) and consult with your municipal attorney.

Jennifer Rigterink is a legislative associate for the League handling economic development, land use and municipal services issues.  She can be reached at [email protected] or 517-908-0305.