Governor DeWine signs House Bill 51 into law, allowing for virtual public meetings until July 1, 2022

On February 17, 2022, Governor DeWine signed House Bill 51 into law. House Bill 51 includes an uncodified provision authorizing public meetings to be held by teleconference, video conference or other similar electronic technology through June 30, 2022 (Section 3). This provision was included in the bill’s emergency clause, and therefore it was effective immediately.

Legislation authorizing virtual meetings was first enacted in March 2020 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, and was extended by House Bill 404 through July 1, 2021.