Committee passes bill allowing county and regional library boards to meet remotely; amendment adds community service boards

A Georgia House committee voted to pass House Bill 516 to allow county and regional library boards of trustees to conduct meetings through teleconferencing, sponsor Representative Neu said. The committee also approved an amendment to add community service boards created under Article 1 of Chapter 2 of Title 37 to the teleconferencing exception.

Julie Walker, identified in testimony as a Georgia librarian, told the committee that county and regional library trustees are unpaid volunteers who increasingly have difficulty maintaining quorums because of work obligations, long drives and family commitments. "It would be extremely helpful to have this virtual option for these unpaid, busy trustees who provide meaningful governance for and support for our libraries," Walker said. She said some regional systems include up to seven counties and that there are 60 county and regional library systems in Georgia.

Committee members noted the temporary allowance for remote meetings during the COVID emergency and said the bill would restore a remote-meeting option for local library boards after the emergency orders expired. Representative Mary Margaret Oliver proposed an amendment to add community service boards created pursuant to Article 1 of Chapter 2 of Title 37; the transcript records that the language would be added as subsection F and that legislative counsel was preparing the amendment text.

The committee approved the amendment by voice vote and then voted to pass the bill as amended. The transcript records motions, seconds and voice approval but does not record roll-call totals. The bill leaves unchanged the option for boards to meet in person; it would simply allow remote participation as an option. The transcript did not specify whether the bill includes requirements for public notice, remote‑meeting procedures, or technology standards.