CITY OF COMMERCE
AGENDA REPORT
TO: Honorable City Council
FROM: City Manager
SUBJECT: Legislative Body Meeting Disruption and Equipment Outage Policy MEETING DATE: July 14, 2026
RECOMMENDATION:
It is recommended the City Council adopt the Legislative Body Meeting Disruption and Equipment Outage Policy (Attachment 1), in compliance with Senate Bill 707, to establish formal procedures for responding to technical disruptions during hybrid meetings and to preserve public access, transparency, and participation.
BACKGROUND/ANALYSIS:
Senate Bill 707 (SB 707) amends the Ralph M. Brown Act and takes effect on July 1, 2026. Among other things, this Senate Bill requires that eligible legislative bodies, including the City Council and the City's boards, commissions, and committees, allow members of the public to attend open meetings by phone or by a two-way audiovisual platform. It also requires that each eligible legislative body adopt a policy at a noticed public meeting addressing how it will respond if telephonic or internet service is disrupted during a meeting.
The proposed policy applies to the City Council and all other City legislative bodies subject to the Brown Act. It defines what counts as a disruption, including a lost connection, audio or video failure, failed language translation or captioning, or a network or power outage, and it sets out how quickly staff must respond depending on whether the disruption is minor, moderate, or major. For major disruptions, the policy requires the meeting to recess for at least one hour while staff make a good-faith effort to restore service, consistent with what SB 707 requires.
The policy also protects public participation by giving speakers who were cut off due to a technical issue a chance to speak later in the same meeting or at the next meeting. It assigns clear responsibilities to IT staff, the City Clerk or Clerk of the legislative body, and the Mayor or Presiding Officer so that everyone knows what to do when a disruption occurs. It also includes procedures for responding to cybersecurity incidents. To reduce the likelihood of problems in the first place, the policy calls for pre-meeting equipment checklists and backup equipment on hand during meetings. It also requires documentation after any disruption and provides for the policy to be reviewed annually so it can be updated as technology, operations, or state law change.
FISCAL IMPACT:
There is no direct fiscal impact associated with the adoption of this policy. The policy establishes procedures required by SB 707 to ensure compliance with the Brown Act and minimize disruptions to legislative meetings.
ALTERNATIVES:
Approve staff recommendation
Disapprove staff recommendation
Provide further direction to staff
Approved and Recommended by: Pat Jacquez-Nares, Interim City Clerk Fiscal Impact reviewed by: Alvaro Castellon, Finance Director Approved as to form by: Noel Tapia, City Attorney
Respectfully submitted: Ernie Hernandez, City Manager Attachments:
Policy