Scientific support for the evaluation of the provisions of the 6th State Act Amending the Municipalities Act of 3 June 2020

The 6th State Act amending the Municipalities Act introduced new provisions into the Municipalities Act (Sec. 35(3)), the Administrative District Code (Section 28(3) and the District Code for the Palatinate District Association (Sec. 7(4)). These enable local government bodies to make decisions by video or telephone conference or by written or electronic circular in the event of natural disasters or other extraordinary emergencies. The aforementioned Act of 17 December 2020 extended the validity of the Regulation until 31 March 2022. A retrospective impact assessment was carried out by the Ministry of the Interior of the State of Rhineland-Palatinate until November 2021. The aim was to evaluate the extent to which the regulations have achieved their intended results, to gain insights into their enforcement and to develop potential improvements. The National Institute for Public Administration Germany provided scientific support for this retrospective evaluation in the design, implementation and data collection for a standardised survey of all local governments in Rhineland-Palatinate. In addition, the National Institute for Public Administration Germany conducted guided interviews in which committee chairs and members were asked about their experiences with digital council meetings.