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Implementing hybrid meeting infrastructure in municipalities across Massachusetts is not too costly of a goal, Common Cause Executive Director Geoff Foster argued during the group's lobby day Wednesday.
The government transparency group is backing a Rep. Antonio Cabral bill (H 3299) to require all entities covered by the Open Meeting Law — including local government bodies and state agencies — to provide both remote and in-person meeting options both for meeting participants and for members of the public to watch. A pandemic-era policy extended through June 30, 2027 allows for remote and hybrid meeting access, but does not require it.
"Optional hybrid access risks excluding those who already face systemic barriers — such as seniors, disabled residents, and low-income individuals. Access to government is a civil rights issue, and civil rights shouldn't be left to local discretion," a handout that Common Cause Massachusetts advocates who knocked on lawmakers' doors distributed Wednesday.
One attendee asked Foster about the costs of implementing hybrid meetings at the local level.
He responded that Common Cause, the ACLU and the League of Women Voters did a study of all 351 communities in Massachusetts and found that about 50% were already retrofitted for hybrid access, with rooms in government buildings set up with microphones and cameras.
"It's just a matter of making sure that they know that they have to turn those cameras and microphones on," Foster said.
He added that a grant window closed last week for municipal governments to apply for tech and broadband improvements through the federal Bipartisan Infrastructure Act.
Additionally, every year, the Massachusetts Office of Disabilities issues grants to local governments for capital investment projects to make their buildings more accessible to people with disabilities. He said communities could apply for funding for these retrofits through that grant program.
Lastly, he said two sessions ago the Legislature put a $30 million bond authorization into a bond bill for municipal IT infrastructure "to help with this very issue," which former Gov. Charlie Baker vetoed.
"But we also know that there is still a will in the Legislature, knowing that there might be some additional investments at the state level that we could make into that as well," he said.
