OREAST RAKO CITY OF EAST PALO ALTO
OFFICE OF THE CITY COUNCIL
ACORPORATED
Dear Assemblymember Rubio:
Thank you for your leadership in the State Assembly on critical issues ranging from pre-school education and safe drinking water, to continuous medical care for children under the age of five and transparency and flexibility in public meetings. We appreciate your inclusive approach to addressing the needs of all Californians and empowering communities to come together to create positive change for all.
We are writing to request that Assembly Bill ("AB") 2449 be amended to allow city councils, their standing committees, and regional boards more flexibility to establish their own teleconference requirements related to quorums, just cause and emergency requirements, and limitations on the number of remote meetings members may attend.
In March 2020, the Governor issued Executive Order N-29-20, giving local agencies more flexibility to deploy teleconferencing, and it was a monumental success. It protected the health and safety of civil servants and the public, while effectively and efficiently conducting the public's business.
Teleconferencing during the pandemic increased public participation, reduced single occupancy vehicle trips and travel costs, and decreased greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.
We believe there are several unintended consequences of AB 2449 and respectfully request that the following requirements be considered for amendment:
1. Just cause travel. Local city councils and their standing committees are often comprised of individuals with full-time occupations. AB 2449's "just cause" requirement unfairly allows travel while on business "of the legislative body or another state or local agency," but not travel related to an individual's occupation. This raises an equity concern that participation in local and regional government would be limited to officials at a certain socioeconomic level. Travel for a member's occupation should be allowed under "just cause."
2. Cap on number of remote meetings allowed. The limitation on the number of meetings that may be attended remotely appears arbitrary. The State could consider mandating a "floor" for in-person meetings, i.e. at least two meetings per year must be in person, and allow regional boards and standing committees maximum flexibility in determining the "ceiling" or "cap" on the number of remote meetings permissible. To contrast, local officials serve in the communities in which they live and the return to in-person meetings for local jurisdictions is not an issue. Nonetheless, local jurisdictions and their constituents are best suited to decide whether to host in-person or virtual meetings and to decide the limitations of those meetings.
East Palo Alto Government Center - 2415 University Avenue, East Palo Alto, CA 94303 - 650.853.3100
3. Quorum. Requiring a quorum at a single physical location for regional boards and their subcommittees, and mandating that members of these bodies travel long distances to attend in-person meetings, contradicts the State's efforts to curb GHG emissions and seems arbitrary and particularly burdensome when regional boards are comprised of a geographically diverse membership of cities and counties. Regional boards, as well as standing committees of a city council should be allowed to stay 100% remote, with the option of deciding as a body, how many meetings should be attended in-person versus remote.
4. Webcasting technology. Unlike local city councils, regional boards meet in a variety of locations that often are not equipped with webcasting technology to enable hybrid meetings.
Under AB 2449 regional boards will need to pivot from online meetings to in-person meetings.
5. Disclosure. The requirement to publicly disclose any individual in the room over the age of 18 is a privacy violation. For example, if a member is under the care of an at-home nurse, this should not need to be shared publicly.
We have serious concerns regarding AB 2449's measures to limit remote teleconferencing to a handful of emergency or restrictive just cause approvals. Without amendment, these measures will result in unnecessarily long travel times to meetings, suppressed attendance, and difficulty reaching quorum, which will in turn negatively impact the governing body's productive work.
We respectfully request that AB 2449 be amended to provide more flexibility to regional agencies and local governing bodies. The Brown Act ensures that officials and their constituents can have open and transparent meetings, which we now know can occur using modern technology. As representatives of local governments and regional boards, we believe in the benefit of increased access in our communities. We look forward to collaborating with you to promote greater flexibility and participation in the decision making process by incorporating the changes we have proposed.
Thank you for your time and consideration of this important matter that impacts all of us.
Sincerely,
Lisa Gauthier
Mayor
City of East Palo Alto
CC: Senator Josh Becker
Assemblymember Diane Papan
East Palo Alto Government Center - 2415 University Avenue, East Palo Alto, CA 94303 - 650.853.3100