Zoom meeting rule enforced on commissioner in Florida

BY STAN MADDUX

ALa Porte County Commissioner present on Zoom was stripped of his voting authority during a meeting of the governing body for not being there physically.

Commissioner Rich Mrozinski has been living at a second home in Florida for about the past six weeks.

Before he left for the winter, a new policy allowing each commissioner to attend one meeting a year by Zoom without recuperations was supported by his colleagues on the threemember governing body, Joe Haney and Connie Gramarossa.

Under the new policy, a commissioner attending more than one meeting on Zoom can have their ability to vote taken away at any future meetings they show up to participate virtually.

Mrozinski was attending his third consecutive regularly scheduled meeting of the commissioners on Zoom Feb. 16 when Haney motioned his right to vote be taken away during the session.

His request was supported by Gramarossa.

Mrozinski argued he should be exempt from the policy and given a waiver for medical purposes.

Referring to right to privacy laws, Mrozinski did not provide details of the medical condition he blamed for his extended period of time in Florida.

Mrozinski, who saw combat duty in the Vietnam War, did say he received treatment for his condition at a Veterans Administration medical facility in the area.

Haney didn’t believe the claims from Mrozinski, who has spent recent winters at a second home near Orlando.

“I will not recognize snow birding as a valid medical excuse for you not to be here this evening,” Haney said.

Haney then ordered the public record show Mrozinski not present for the meeting.

Mrozinski also questioned whether the action was legal considering he was elected to represent the public.

“You’re not my boss,” he said.

In addition, he said Haney was not qualified to make a ruling on his medical issue since he’s not a physician.

La Porte County Attorney Andrew B. Jones said Haney acted within his authority under a new state law.

“He has the power to make that determination as the chair of this meeting,” he said.

Indiana Public Access Counselor Luke Britt said a state law adopted in 2021 gives local governing bodies permission to adopt rules governing attendance.

Coming out of the pandemic, Britt said state lawmakers did not want elected officials continuing to rely on ZOOM to attend meetings as they did previously to reduce exposure to Covid-19.

Britt said the intent of the legislature was to “avoid situations where you’re legislating from afar, but they also wanted to give flexibility. One of the concerns was the snowbird part of it. They frowned upon that, and they wanted to set the parameters,” he said.

Under state law, Britt said waivers can also be granted to deal with death of a relative, military service, injury or threatened injury to a person or property.

He said the chairman of the local governing body has authority to grant or deny a request for a waiver.

Britt said right to privacy laws regarding health apply only to a select number of people, such as doctors.

He said patients can provide their own medical information or instruct their doctors to do it to substantiate their reason for attending meetings remotely.

After the policy was passed, Mrozinski alleged it was retaliation by his political opponents to try and cost him his winters in the Sunshine State.

Haney said the policy was designed to better serve citizens he felt prefer hearing from or engaging physically with their elected representatives.

“We don’t want people raising taxes from a beach in St. Petersburg,” Britt said.