CJ Griffin Quoted in New Jersey Monitor, “Lawmakers May Allow More Remote Public Meetings Under Bill”

CJ Griffin, Partner and Director of the Justice Gary S. Stein Public Interest Center at Pashman Stein Walder Hayden P.C., was recently quoted in a New Jersey Monitor article titled, “Lawmakers May Allow More Remote Public Meetings Under Bill.” The article discusses a bill introduced that allows a “public body” to hold meetings, vote and receive public comment through electronic means. A public body, as defined by the state’s public meetings act, includes a commission, authority, board, council, committee or any other voting body that performs a public government function. Current law allows government agencies to hold remote meetings only during a state of emergency or public health emergency.

CJ Griffin said the bill is a good way to make sure people’s voices are heard. During the pandemic, she said, people became more interested in what was going on in their town.

“A big part of that was they could just easily attend the meetings, whereas if you go in person, it’s at 5, 6, 7 o’clock when you’re getting home from work, feeding the kids — a lot of people aren’t going to be able to make it to that meeting,” she said.

Allowing more virtual meetings would also benefit people with mobility issues and ensure citizens don’t get left out of the decision-making process when meeting rooms reach capacity, she added. While the bill is a good example of legislators updating state laws to the 21st century, they should be going one step further and requiring meetings to include a remote public comment period. That would ensure transparency, she said.

“It would be amazing if an agency was not just permitted to have the public comment section include remote speakers, but also required by law to have that, because you know that a lot of agencies are just going to choose not to use remote services at all,” she said.

The bill is expected to be heard Thursday in the Assembly State and Local Government Committee. A companion bill in the Senate has not moved since it was introduced in January.

To read the full New Jersey Monitor article, click here.