Congress in Crisis: How Legislatures are Continuing to Meet during the Pandemic

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, legislatures at the national, state and local level are adapting to keep the lawmaking process going while minimizing the need for face-to-face meetings. While some have simply lowered quorum thresholds or reduced the number of sessions while continuing to meet in person, others are trialing more ambitious remote participation systems where lawmakers convene, deliberate, and vote virtually. Still others have used shift as an opportunity to create mechanisms for greater civic engagement.

For a short overview of how legislatures in Brazil, Chile, France, and other countries are using technology to convene, deliberate and vote remotely, see the GovLab’s short video, Continuity of Congress.

Such approaches vary widely, both in goals and outcomes. In this blog post, we have compiled several reports, articles, and other resources that are useful for comparing approaches to continuity in legislatures around the world.

National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) — Continuity of Legislature During Emergency

NCSL has compiled key points and information for legislatures to consider in developing or reviewing a continuity of government plan in the case of an emergency and, in turn, a disruption in regular government operations. In this blog post, NCSL suggests what to look for when examining state constitutions for provisions that may either help or hinder in designing a continuity of government plan, and highlights other aspects of legislative operations that may help facilitate the legislative process during an emergency.

The House of Commons Library — “Coronavirus: Changes to practice and procedure in other parliaments”

This UK Briefing Paper illustrates changes that have been made to procedures and practices in response to coronavirus in the House of Commons and a small selection of other parliaments. It begins with a more concentrated focus on UK proceedings, then moves to showcase new ways of working from France, Australia, Canada, and several other countries around the world.

The Inter-Parliamentary Union: Parliaments in a time of pandemic

As parliaments worldwide attempt to adapt to function in the midst of COVID-19, the Inter-Parliamentary Union offers resources for parliaments including a country by country compilation of parliamentary responses to the pandemic and a practical Q and A on remote working tools and technology to continue functioning during the crisis.

Demand Progress — continuityofcongress.org

A hub for resources on the “continuity of Congress,” including legislative actions, reports & analyses, video briefings, simulated remote proceedings, state & international actions, news, and more. Check in periodically for updates from this rapidly evolving website.

Elena Souris and Hollie Russon Gilman via New America — “Democracy Is Hard. These Cities Are Finding Ways to Pull It Off”

In this article, the authors emphasize the importance of effective civic engagement during a crisis and reference in-depth examples documenting what cities around the world are doing and why strengthening democracy is so critical.

Remote participation in lawmaking is still an under-explored territory that raises as many questions as it does answers. Finding the right remote methods and platforms for each legislature will likely be a matter of trial and error. Further, it is unclear which, if any, legislative processes will continue virtually once the crisis subsides. Despite these challenges, the process of trialing new solutions is necessary to keep the legislative process going throughout the current crisis, and may open the door for further innovations in the future.

For an updated snapshot published on April 24, 2020, click here.