Lansing City Council cuts public‑comment pre‑registration window from four hours to 30 minutes

Lansing City Council members voted unanimously on May 12 to amend council rule 48, shortening the required pre‑registration time for electronic public comment at council committee meetings from four hours to 30 minutes.

The change is intended to make it easier for residents to sign up to speak closer to a meeting’s start and was introduced for consideration by Council Member Brown. Vice President Carter referred the item to the Committee of the Whole before the council took final action. The council approved the amendment by voice vote; no effective date was specified in the meeting record.

Council Member Hussain praised the review process that led to the change, saying, "we had promised, when we first explored this, and then and when we initially implemented this, that we would review," and thanked leadership and staff for following through. Council Member Cost said she was "very happy that we did look at it and we were able to reduce that time down," adding the shorter window gives some people who miss the four‑hour cutoff a chance to comment.

Members also credited community advocates who pushed for easier access when the rule was originally adopted. No council member recorded a dissenting vote during the motion moved by Council Member Brown. The council did not specify an implementation timeline in the meeting discussion.