Bill Text: VA HB182 | 2020 | Regular Session | Prefiled
Bill Title: General Assembly; streaming and recording of meetings.
Spectrum: Moderate Partisan Bill (Democrat 30-6)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2020-02-07 - Continued to 2021 in Rules by voice vote [HB182 Detail]
Download: Virginia-2020-HB182-Prefiled.html
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:
1. That §30-12 of the Code of Virginia is amended and reenacted as follows:
§30-12. Duties of officers of each house.
A. As used in this section, unless the context requires a different meaning:
"Meeting" means a meeting the date and time of which have been scheduled on a public website of any agency of the General Assembly for at least one hour prior to the meeting and that takes place in the State Capitol, the Pocahontas Building, or the General Assembly Building in the City of Richmond.
"Stream" means to transmit audio and video content in a compressed format over the Internet to allow end users to view the content in real time.
B. The several officers of each house of the General Assembly shall perform such duties as shall be required of them by their respective houses.
C. The Clerk of the House of Delegates and the Clerk of the Senate shall implement procedures to ensure that the following shall be streamed with closed captioning:
1. Every subcommittee or committee meeting of a standing committee of the General Assembly, regardless of whether the meeting occurs during a regular or special session of the General Assembly or when the General Assembly is not in session; and
2. Every floor session of the House of Delegates and the Senate, including any joint session of the houses.
D. No meeting described in subsection C shall be streamed during such time as the meeting is closed pursuant to the procedures set forth in §2.2-3712. Streaming of such meeting shall be suspended at such time as the subcommittee, committee, or house begins meeting in closed session and shall resume immediately upon the reconvening of the subcommittee, committee, or house in an open meeting and completion of a roll call or other recorded to vote to certify that (i) only public business matters lawfully exempted from open meeting requirements under Chapter 37 (§2.2-3700 et seq.) of Title 2.2 and such public business matters as were identified in the motion by which the closed meeting was convened were heard, discussed, or considered in the closed meeting by the subcommittee, committee, or house, as required pursuant to subsection D of § 2.2-3712.
E. The Clerk of the House of Delegates and the Clerk of the Senate shall ensure that any meeting required to be streamed pursuant to subsection C is also recorded and archived for the purpose of making such recording available to the public for viewing.
2. That the provisions of this act shall become effective on October 1, 2020.
