The state Assembly later on Monday will hold a public hearing assessing the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the ability of governments to adhere to the state's open meetings laws. The hearing will be held in Albany at 10:30 a.m.

The hearing comes 20 months into a pandemic in which spread of the virus has been unpredictable, and some local governments have tried to find a path forward of still holding meetings with public participatiion safely.

That's led many governments, including the state's court system, to use videoconference apps like Zoom -- and they were given approval to do so through executive order signed at the start of the crisis.

The hearing also comes after lawmakers approved legislation this summer during a special session of the Legislature allowing government entities at all levels in New York to continue to hold meetings through videoconference instead of doing so in person until Jan. 15 next year.

The move extended an executive order that had expired in June. But it also raised concerns among some good-government organizations about the extent to which videoconference meetings can shut out the public. At the same time, the use of such technology can also allow people with disabilities to participate in government processes they were shut out of in the past.