Virtual Public Meetings End In RI: What To Know

PROVIDENCE, RI — Virtual public meetings are a thing of the past in Rhode Island. Last week, the executive order allowing school committees, town councils and other public entities to meet virtually expired, marking a return to in-person meetings.

Then-Gov. Gina Raimondo first signed the executive order at the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic in March 2020, when the entire state shut down. The order offered special dispensation regarding the state's open meetings law, allowing public entities to conduct their meetings via Zoom and other virtual means.

Gov. Dan McKee renewed the order for the final time June 24. It expired a month later.

With the executive order no longer in effect, public bodies must once again follow the requirements laid out in the Open Meetings Act, Attorney General Peter Neronha said. That means that all members of the group must attend meetings in person, and that members of the public must be allowed to attend in-person. Meetings can be livestreamed to the public, and members of the public can participate in the meetings remotely.