Committee favors adding a disability-led, voting seat with remote-voting access

A Government Operations & Military Affairs committee meeting on March 13 reviewed draft language to add a member representing people with disabilities to regional emergency-management committees and signaled support for making that seat voting and accessible to remote participation.

Committee members said Representative Burrows supports making the disability representative "a voting member with the ability to engage in the meetings and vote remotely" to broaden participation, according to a committee speaker. Members then discussed whether local advisory councils are legally permitted to allow remote voting and how that interacts with open-meeting rules.

The committee emphasized practical concerns about accommodations and cost. One member asked who would pay for interpreters or other supports if the chosen representative needed them, warning against creating an "unfunded mandate" for local emergency-management committees if the statute required such participation but provided no funding. To address that concern, a member proposed making the new seat an additional voting member nominated by a disability-led organization so the organization would be likely to facilitate accommodations; committee members indicated agreement with that approach.

Staff indicated the committee will insert language permitting remote participation and an additional voting seat nominated by a disability-led organization and will prepare final line edits for the broader bill. The committee did not take a formal recorded vote during this session; members expressed verbal assent during the discussion.