The 2005 General Assembly is expected to OK permanent, uniform rules for telephone- and video-conferencing by the state’s commissions, boards and between-session legislative studies.

Backers hope a compromise measure approved by the FOI Advisory Council and the Joint Commission on Technology and Science will put an end to a years-long struggle over the e-meeting issue.

Chief supporters of the measure are expected to be Sen. Steve Newman, R-Lynchburg; Sen. Edd Houck, D-Spotsylvania; Sen. William Wampler, R-Bristol; Del. Sam Nixon, R-Chesterfield; Del. Joe May, R-Leesburg; and House Majority Leader Morgan Griffith, R-Salem.

As written, the new law would enhance public access, trim officials’ long-distance travel, yet still require face-to-face discussions for most public-meeting participants.

Key to reaching a compromise with open-government groups was the legislators’ willingness to keep a FOIA requirement that quorums must still be physically present at a primary meeting site (whatever the number of remote-site participants or the frequency of e-conferencing).

Once the quorum issue got resolved, all sides agreed to relax many of the more stringent, longstanding teleconferencing rules.

Prior notice for e-meetings will be seven working days, not 30 days as in the past. Emergency use could still occur with minimal notice.

Remote-location participants may be outside Virginia if public access is still provided; previously, non-Virginia locations could not be used (even in Bristol, Tenn., or Bluefield, W.Va.).

Closed meetings could occur, using the same statutory rules that cover all other closed meetings; in the past, no portion of an e-meeting could be closed.

Only one meeting annually must avoid use of teleconferencing; before, only one in every four meetings could use electronic communication.

Minutes must include names of members at each remote location, as well as names of those at the central meeting location. In the past, FOIA required three-year retention of an audio or audio-video recording of any e-meeting; hereafter, annual reports would simply summarize in writing the teleconferencing experiences, identity of participants at various sites, public comment if any, etc.

In arguing against “dispersed quorums,” the Virginia Press Association said, “We are addressing a governmental function, not a private business function. The crucial test of any new rule that facilitates electronic public meetings must be the ability of that rule to ensure maximum access to the deliberative process and decisions of the public body. If there is no primary location where a critical mass of the public body may be seen and heard together, citizens see no interaction of members as a group.” Officials also “lose the opportunity to meet and exchange views with other interested members of the public who are in attendance. ”

The Coalition agreed, as did the ACLU and the Virginia Association of Broadcasters.

Until now, U.Va. has had a separate set of electronic rules for its board of visitors and board committees, but it’s hoped the university will embrace the new rules without change.

These rules, if adopted, replace existing FOI law (largely written in 1989) and put an end to a five-year experiment with video-conferencing. The pilot project, sponsored by Newman and due to expire June 30, had relaxed the FOIA conferencing rules in an effort to encourage increased remote access using video technology; for a variety of reasons, its provisions were rarely used.

Local government will still be prohibited from meeting electronically. Delegate Brian Moran, D-Alexandria, introduced a bill in the last session to repeal that prohibition, but quickly dropped the idea when opposition surfaced.