RESOLUTION NO. 2026-_____
A R
ESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF
ANAHEIM ESTABLISHING COUNCIL POLICY NO. 1.14
REGARDING THE CITY’S POLICY IN RESPONSE TO
TELEPHONIC OR INTERNET SERVICE DISRUPTION
DURING PUBLIC MEETING
WHEREAS, Senate Bill 707 (2025) amended the Brown Act to require eligible legislative bodies to adopt a policy addressing how the agencies will respond to disruptions in telephonic or internet service that prevent members of the public from attending or observing a meeting remotely; and
WHEREAS, the City Council desires to adopt a policy setting forth procedures responding to a disruption in telephonic or internet services that provide two-way remote public access to meetings, as required by the Brown Act (Gov. Code § 54953.4); and WHEREAS, the policy affirms the City’s commitment to maintain transparency, accessibility, and continuity of government during technology disruptions; and WHEREAS, the policy complies with the requirements of Senate Bill 707 (2025) and to ensure continuity of public participation during technical disruptions.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED:
Section 1. Council Policy No. 1.14 e ntitled “Telephonic or Internet Service Disruption During Public Meeting” is hereby established to create a new policy and attached hereto as reference (Exhibit A).
S
ection 2. This Resolution shall be come effective on July 1, 2026.
THE FOREGOING RESOLUTION is approved and adopted by the City Council of the City of Anaheim this ___ day of __________________ 2026, by the following roll call vote:
AYES:
NOES:
ABSENT:
ABSTAIN:
CITY OF ANAHEIM
________________________________
MAYOR OF THE CITY OF ANAHEIM
ATTEST:
___________________________________ __
CITY CLERK OF THE CITY OF ANAHEIM
EXHIBIT A
Council Policy No. 1.14 - Telephonic or Internet
Service Disruption During Public Meeting
(attached behind this page)
City of Anaheim COUNCIL POLICY
Subject: Telephonic or Internet Service Disruption Policy # 1.14 During Public Meeting Adopted Date:
Page (1) of (3)
A. BACKGROUND
Senate Bill 707 (2025) amended the Brown Act to require eligible legislative bodies to adopt, on or before July 1, 2026, a policy addressing how the agency will respond to disruptions in telephonic or internet service that prevent members of the public from attending or observing a meeting remotely.
This policy is adopted to comply with that requirement and to ensure continuity of public participation during technical disruptions.
B. PURPOSE
This policy sets forth procedures for responding to a disruption in the telephonic or internet services that provide two-way remote public access to Anaheim City Council meetings, as required by the Brown Act (Gov. Code § 54953.4). The policy affirms the City’s commitment to maintain transparency, accessibility, and continuity of government during technology disruptions.
C. DEFINITIONS
For purposes of this policy:
• Disruption - any failure, outage, or other interruption that prevents members of the public from attending or observing the meeting via these remote access services.
• Remote access services - the two-way telephonic service and/or two-way audiovisual platform used to provide real-time remote public attendance and observation of meetings.
D. APPLICABILITY
This policy applies to all open and public meetings of the Anaheim City Council at which remote public participation is offered or required under the Brown Act.
E. PROCEDURES IN THE EVENT OF SERVICE DISRUPTION
1. Response to Service Disruption
If the Mayor, or presiding officer or City Clerk becomes aware of a disruption that prevents members of the public from attending or observing the meeting remotely, the following steps shall occur:
i. The Mayor, or presiding officer, shall immediately announce the service disruption to the public.
City of Anaheim COUNCIL POLICY
Subject: Telephonic or Internet Service Disruption Policy # 1.14 During Public Meeting Adopted Date:
Page (2) of (3)
ii. The Mayor, or presiding officer, shall call for a recess of the open session or convene the City Council in closed session, consistent with the Brown Act. iii. The meeting shall remain in recess for at least one hour or until service is restored, whichever occurs first.
iv. During the recess, staff shall make a good faith effort to diagnose and restore the disrupted service.
2. Reconvening the Open Session
The open session may be reconvened after at least one hour has elapsed from the time of disruption or as soon as service is restored, whichever occurs earlier.
If after the expiration of the hour, service has not been restored, the Mayor, or presiding officer, shall report on the status of staff’s efforts to restore remote access services, and the City Council may reconvene and:
i. Adjourn the meeting;
ii. Extend the recess to allow staff more time to make a good faith effort to restore remote access services; or
iii. Continue the meeting in open session by adopting, by roll call vote, the following or a substantially similar, finding:
“The City of Anaheim has made good faith efforts to restore telephonic or internet service in accordance with its adopted policy, and the public interest in continuing the meeting outweighs the public interest in remote public access.”
Upon adoption of the finding, the City Council may continue the meeting in open session despite the fact that remote access services have not been restored.
F. RECORDKEEPING
The City Clerk shall enter a brief statement into the meeting minutes, including the following:
• The nature and time of the service disruption
• The restoration efforts undertaken
• The time the meeting was reconvened (if applicable)
• Any finding adopted pursuant to Section E.2 “Reconvening the Open Session”.
This documentation should be retained in accordance with the City’s record retention policies.
City of Anaheim COUNCIL POLICY
Subject: Telephonic or Internet Service Disruption Policy # 1.14 During Public Meeting Adopted Date:
Page (3) of (3)
G. REVIEW AND UPDATES:
This policy may be amended by the City Council at a noticed public meeting during open session, not on the consent calendar.
Reference: Resolution No. 2026-XXX