Approval of this item will amend the Rules of the Broward MPO in order to allow for virtual participation in meetings through the use of communications media technology.

With the expiration of the governor's emergency order which allowed for virtual (or partially virtual/hybrid) meetings, MPO staff sought direction from the Executive Committee on Board Member preferences for meetings going forward. At both the June and July Executive Committee meetings, the Executive Committee indicated a strong preference to continue with the hybrid meetings and directed staff to take the necessary steps to allow for this.

In order to make hybrid meetings a permanent option for Board Members, two things must occur:

• The technology in the Board Room must be upgraded and adapted to allow the hardware already in place (such as the microphones and voting panels) to integrate with Zoom as well as a new browser-based remote voting system. Once this system is in place, Board Members would ultimately have the capability to sign in, participate, and vote in meetings from virtually anywhere. MPO staff intends that by the time of mail-out for this agenda, a version of this system should be fully installed, tested, and available for Board Members to use, with further improvements being made through the beginning of next year in accordance with the proposed Agreement with Intent Digital on the September 9, 2021 MPO Board agenda.
• The Rules of the MPO must be amended to allow for the use of such technology (communications media technology) as described above. The MPO General Counsel has drafted the necessary language and is prepared to present this for approval to the Executive Committee and MPO Board at their meetings on September 9, 2021.

For the proposed Amendments to the Rules of the Broward MPO, please see Section 2.04.10 in the Attachment. All proposed Amendments to the Rules are shown using the "strikethrough-and-underline method." To approve an amendment to the Rules, pursuant to Rule 12.0 of the Broward MPO, the Board is required to approve any such amendment by a 2/3 vote of those Board members who are present and authorized to vote at the Board meeting.

MPO staff recommends approval of the proposed amendments to the Rules of the MPO. Questions and comments will be addressed at the meeting.

If you have any questions about this item, please contact Alan Gabriel at (954) 763-4242 or agabriel@wsh-law.com.