DeSantis Extends Allowing Remote Local Meetings

County and city government boards will be able to continue holding online meetings until Aug. 1 under an executive order signed Tuesday by Gov. Ron DeSantis. The move was an extension of earlier orders and stems from efforts to curb the spread of the coronavirus. Boards, including city councils, county commissions and school boards, are ordinarily required to meet in person, but DeSantis initially issued an executive order March 20 that allowed online meetings because of the pandemic.

The order was subsequently extended and was scheduled to expire on June 30. When the first order was issued, DeSantis noted that he had gotten an advisory opinion from Attorney General Ashley Moody on the legality of local governments holding meetings through teleconferencing and other technological means.

Article reposted with permission from The News Service of Florida.