Some Ohio port authorities will soon be able to hold board meetings by telephone or video conference, thanks to legislation signed by Governor Kasich on January 4, 2017. Pursuant to Substitute House Bill 455, port authority boards of directors will be able to conduct their meetings by interactive video conference or teleconference if they meet certain requirements set forth in the bill. Among other things, a video or telephonic meeting must have a primary location that is open and accessible to the public. In addition, meeting materials must be distributed before the meeting, if available, or otherwise provided to the board during the meeting. This legislation represents a significant change to the open meeting requirements that are generally applicable to public bodies in Ohio. However, before utilizing the new authority, a port board will need to adopt rules implementing the authority according to requirements dictated by the statute. For example, the policy must provide that not more than one board member remotely attending a board meeting may be physically present in the same location. Substitute House Bill 455 is expected to take effect during the first week of February 2017. For more information, the see the full text of the bill.
HB 455: Attending port board meetings by teleconference
