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CTC mulls ‘virtual’ meeting for members
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Posted on Oct 08 2005
The Commonwealth Telecommunications Commission has proposed new regulations allowing its members to conduct virtual meetings.
In a public notice, the commission expressed intent to adopt new rules that would permit the body to meet “virtually” rather than in person, as long as others may attend the meeting at the announced site.
“This is necessary because of the commission’s dispersed geographical representation (multiple islands) and the difficulties of travel in bad weather, as well as the complexities of the travel schedules of the commissioners,” the commission said. “The regulations allow one or more of the commissioners to call in to the announced meeting place, a practice common in the business world.”
At the same time, the proposed procedures ensure that the public will be able to attend CTC meetings, except for executive sessions.
“If one or more commissioners are communicating by telephone, the person(s) attending must either be connected through a telephone set or be able to listen to a speaker phone in the room. If the meeting is through the Internet, the attendees must have access to a computer to see and hear what the commissioners see and hear,” a portion of the draft regulations read.
The proposed regulations also provide for computer access for computerized meetings that happen over a longer time period.
The commission’s regular meetings should ordinarily be the third Thursday of every month, the proposal added.
Comments on the draft regulations may be submitted to CTC until Nov. 30, 2005.
