The COVID-19 pandemic has changed everybody’s lives. To minimize the spread of the disease and safeguard the health of our fellow citizens, we have had to adapt and reexamine the ways in which we learn, assemble, and do business. To that end, this past year the business of local and state government in NH (as in most states) has largely been conducted remotely, and while the experience hasn’t been without its glitches, it has by and large been successful and has shown it’s great potential for increasing public participation in government.

Remote access to public meetings during New Hampshire’s state of emergency has benefited all NH citizens who wish to engage with their government and community, even more so for seniors and people with disabilities who often face significant barriers to participating in person such as lack of public & accessible transportation, need for personal care services, and compromised health. For many the only way they can attend; participate in public hearings, meetings, and briefings is remotely via phone, video streaming, and video conferencing. This technological ability to connect with their government and community has made the difference between being heard and not being heard for many seniors and people with disabilities in NH.

In time, the COVID-19 pandemic will pass. It is our hope however that once life returns to normal NH will maintain access to these new remote tools for civic participation that we have become more familiar with. Currently the House Judiciary Committee is considering SB95 which would do just that. The bill will make changes to state law to allow for continued remote access to public meetings in our state going into the future, and also form a study committee to examine how best to do this. GSIL strongly supports this bill and the improved access to democracy it provides. NH citizens seem to agree. At a virtual public hearing on May 4th, 102 people signed in supporting the bill and all 12 people who gave testimony did so in support of it. Supporters included officials from a number of NH cities & towns and the NH Association of Counties, all of them describing a noticeable increase in the publics’ participation in public meetings when able to so remotely.

With this in mind, GSIL hopes the members of the Judiciary Committee and the House writ large will choose to support SB95.

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