COVID-19 DISASTER EMERGENCY COMES TO AN END AND RELATED EXECUTIVE ORDERS EXPIRE
On June 25, 2021 Governor Andrew Cuomo issued Executive Order No. 210 which essentially ended the declaration of emergency related to the COVID-19 crisis and caused the COVID-19 executive orders still in place to expire. It reads;
Expiration of Executive Orders 202 and 205
WHEREAS, on March 7, 2020, I issued Executive Order Number 202, declaring a disaster emergency in the State of New York in response to the COVID-19 pandemic;
WHEREAS, on June 25, 2020, I issued Executive Order Number 205, requiring the Commissioner of Health to issue a travel advisory implementing quarantine restrictions on travelers arriving in the State of New York;
WHEREAS, the State of New York successfully flattened the curve of COVID-19 cases in New York; and has undertaken a cautious, incremental, and evidence-based approach to reopening the State of New York;
WHEREAS, the State of New York successfully slowed the transmission of COVID-19 from almost 11,000 new cases a day, at the peak of the pandemic, to less than 300 new cases a day;
WHEREAS, the State of New York administered more than 20,650,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccine, and more than 71% of adults in the State have received at least one dose of the vaccine;
WHEREAS, the State of New York went from having the highest infection rate in the Country to one of the lowest, with a current seven-day rolling average positivity rate below 0.4%;
WHEREAS, the Declarations of the Secretary of the United States Department Health and Human Services issued pursuant to the federal Public Readiness and Emergency Preparedness (PREP) Act remain in effect and continue to provide authorizations and exemptions for many professions and activities related to the ongoing COVID-19 emergency response including, allowing an expanded list of professionals to administer vaccine or to administer COVID-19 testing;
WHEREAS, the Centers for Disease Control continue their guidance for unvaccinated individuals to wear masks, and for all rider on public transit and in other sensitive settings; and
WHEREAS, it has been determined that Executive Orders 202 through 202.111 and Executive Orders 205 through 205.3 are no longer necessary.
NOW, THEREFORE, I, ANDREW M. CUOMO, Governor of the State of New York, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and laws of the State of New York, do hereby order that upon due consideration, deliberation and review, Executive Orders 202 through 202.111 and Executive Orders 205 through 205.3are hereby rescinded effective June 25, 2021.
G I V E N under my hand and the Privy Seal of the State in the City of Albany this twenty-fourth day of June the year two thousand twenty-one.
This means that the Executive Orders that provided the option for local government boards to conduct remote meetings have now expired and the Open Meetings Law is back in full force and effect. A Board of Fire Commissioners can no longer conduct a remote meeting as of June 25, 2021. Any Board members seeking to participate in a Board meeting must be physically present unless participating via videoconferencing in accordance with requirements of the Open Meeting Law;
(c) A public body that uses videoconferencing to conduct its meetings shall provide an opportunity for the public to attend, listen and observe at any site at which a member participates. Public Officers Law § 103;
4. If videoconferencing is used to conduct a meeting, the public notice for the meeting shall inform the public that videoconferencing will be used, identify the locations for the meeting, and state that the public has the right to attend the meeting at any of the locations. Public Officers Law § 104].
Thus, as of June 25th the public was required to be readmitted to live meetings as a result of the expiration of the declaration of emergency and its related executive orders.
The prior posting that remote meetings would be permitted until July 5th is no longer valid due to the Governor’s action to permit the executive orders on which it was based to expire.
