In-person local meetings to resume in November

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – After months of meeting remotely because of the COVID-19 pandemic, Florida local government officials will need to be ready to resume in-person meetings on Nov. 1.

Gov. Ron DeSantis on Wednesday extended an order that has allowed city councils, county commissions, school boards and other local panels to meet remotely since March. But in an accompanying memo, he said local “government bodies should prepare to meet in person as required by Florida law beginning November 1, 2020.”

State law requires local government boards to meet in person, but DeSantis issued a March 20 executive order that suspended the requirement and allowed them to meet by teleconference or video conference. He subsequently approved a series of extensions.

The suspension of the in-person meeting requirement had been slated to expire Thursday, before DeSantis issued the additional one-month extension Wednesday.