Staff Report
City Council
Item No. 5.F
Meeting Date: June 10, 2026
From: Christina Burton, City Clerk
Title: Adoption of a Resolution Approving a Remote Participation and Technology Disruption Policy Pursuant to Senate Bill 707 and the Ralph M. Brown Act.
RECOMMENDATION:
Adopt a Resolution approving the Remote Participation and Service Disruption Policy to comply with Senate Bill 707 amendments to the Ralph M. Brown Act BACKGROUND:
The Ralph M. Brown Act governs open meetings of legislative bodies in California. On October 3, 2025, the Governor signed Senate Bill 707 into law which amended the Brown Act to require certain legislative bodies to provide remote participation options for the public and to adopt a policy addressing disruptions to remote participation services during meetings.
SB 707 also requires eligible legislative bodies to provide translated agendas for public meetings in languages spoken by at least 20 percent of the population residing within the local agency’s jurisdiction, based on available demographic data. Based on current demographic information, the City is required to provide agenda translations in Spanish. In addition, SB 707 requires the City to make available a physical location near where the official agenda and translated agendas are publicly posted, where members of the public may post additional translated versions of the agenda. The City is not responsible for the accuracy or content of any submitted translations.
Staff is currently developing additional administrative procedures and translation processes to ensure compliance with SB 707 requirements and to enhance accessibility and public participation for Spanish-speaking community members.
DISCUSSION:
SB 707 requires the City to formally adopt a policy, on or before July 1, 2026, that outlines the procedures for recessing and reconvening a meeting in the event of disruption of remote service and the efforts that the City Council and staff shall make to attempt to restore the service.
The proposed Remote Participation and Service Disruption Policy establishes procedures to ensure public access to City Council meetings when telephonic or audiovisual participation is offered. Key provisions of the policy include:
Members of the public may attend and comment via two-way telephonic or audiovisual platforms (Zoom)
If a disruption occurs preventing remote access, the meeting must recess City staff must make good-faith efforts to restore service The meeting must remain recessed for at least one hour while restoration is attempted The legislative body may reconvene once service is restored If service cannot be restored within one hour, the legislative body must take action and conduct a vote confirming that good faith efforts were made and that the public interest in continuing the meeting outweighs the need for remote access. (Cal. Gov.
Code § 54953.4(b)(1).)
Responsibilities of the City Council, City Clerk and Information Technology staff during a disruption event.
Adoption of the proposed resolution and policy ensures that the City complies with SB 707 and continues to provide transparent and accessible public meetings.
FISCAL IMPACT:
There is no direct fiscal impact associated with adopting this policy. Existing City technology platforms and staff resources will be used to implement the policy.
FIVE-YEAR STRATEGIC PLAN:
N/A
ATTACHMENTS:
1. Draft Resolution
2. Remote Participation and Service Disruption Policy