Updates to Brown Act and Local Agency Official Training Requirements City Clerk
June 23, 2026
Remote
Participation by
Councilmembers
(Legislative Bodies)
Teleconferencing by Legislative Body Members (city Council) • SB 707 provides additional flexibility for remote participation during declared emergencies and certain qualifying
circumstances ("just cause").
• Alternative teleconferencing options come with extensive procedural requirements and remain fairly limited in practice. • Traditional Brown Act teleconferencing remains available and unchanged.
• Existing requirements still include public access, agenda posting, roll-call voting, and maintaining a quorum within the City's jurisdiction.
• Audio and video participation required
Advisory Bodies
• Because only the City Council qualifies as an “eligible legislative body”, these new requirements (summarized below) do not apply to Belmont’s city advisory bodies.
Key Takeaway: Belmont's current meeting practices already comply with most of these requirements.
Effective July 1,
2026
Public Access & Meeting Requirements for Legislative Bodies Expanded Public Participation
• Two-way remote public comment required
• Telephonic or audiovisual access must be provided
• Automatic captioning required when available
Meeting Disruption Policy
• Agencies must adopt procedures for internet or phone outages during meetings
Language Accessibility
• Belmont does not currently meet thresholds requiring full agenda translation
• Public-provided translations may be posted alongside City agendas • Reasonable accommodations for interpretation must be provided Key Takeaway: Belmont's current hybrid Zoom meetings largely satisfy the new requirements.
Public Access
to Meeting
Materials
AB 2647 – Agenda Materials
• Late-distributed agenda materials may be posted online • Initial staff report must still be available at least 72 hours before the meeting
Key Takeaway: The City’s current agenda distribution
procedures already align with many of the new statutory requirements, with staff anticipating procedural refinements rather than significant operational changes.
Training
Requirments
SB 827 – Training Requirements - Beginning January 1,
2026:
Ethics Training
• Department heads and similar officers
• Within 6 months of assuming office
• Every 2 years thereafter
Fiscal Training
• Legislative body members
• Certain appointed officials involved in budget or public resource decisions
Agency Responsibility
• Maintain training records for 5 years
• Make records available upon request
Key Takeaway: New statewide training and recordkeeping requirements expand accountability and transparency.
Recommended
Implementations
Next Steps
• Resolution adopting Council Protocols with the
Meeting Disruption Language
• Implement meeting disruption procedures
• Continue hybrid meeting practices
• Develop training tracking and record retention
procedures
Thank you!
belmont.gov