Fremont City Council Meeting: 01/10/23 07:00 PM
3300 Capitol Avenue Div/Dept: City Attorney's Office
Fremont, CA 94538 Category: Plans, Policies and Studies
SCHEDULED
Sponsors:
COUNCIL STAFF REPORT (ID # 4708) DOC ID: 4708
Updated: 12/22/2022 9:26 AM by Susan Gauthier Page 1
AB 361 - Consider Making Findings to Allow the City Council and the Legislative Bodies of the City of Fremont to Continue Holding Meetings via Videoconference pursuant to AB 361
Contact Persons:
Name: Rafael Alvarado Christina Briggs
Title: City Attorney Assistant City Manager
Div/Dept: City Attorney's Office City Manager's Office
Phone: 510-284-4030 510-284-4022
E-Mail: [email protected] [email protected]
Executive Summary: In order for the City Council and the City’s legislative bodies to continue holding meetings by teleconferencing pursuant to Government Code Section 54953(e) (AB 361), the City Council needs to reconsider the circumstances of the state of emergency created by the COVID-19 pandemic every 30 days and find that the state of emergency continues to directly impact the ability of the members to meet safely in person.
BACKGROUND: On September 16, 2021, Governor Newsom signed AB 361 amending the Brown Act to allow local agencies to meet remotely during declared emergencies under certain conditions. AB 361 builds upon Executive Order N-29-20, issued by the Governor on March 17, 2020, which relaxed the teleconferencing requirements of the Brown Act to facilitate virtual meetings during the COVID-19 declared emergency.
AB 361 authorizes local agencies to continue meeting remotely without following the Brown Act’s standard teleconferencing provisions, including the requirement that meetings be conducted in physical locations, if the meeting is held during a state of emergency proclaimed by the Governor and either of the following applies: (1) state or local officials have imposed or recommended measures to promote social distancing; or (2) the agency has already determined or is determining whether, as a result of the emergency, meeting in person would present imminent risks to the health or safety of attendees.
To continue meeting remotely pursuant to AB 361, an agency must make periodic findings that: (1) the body has reconsidered the circumstances of the declared emergency; and (2) the emergency impacts the ability of the body’s members to meet safely in person, or state or local officials continue to impose or recommend measures to promote social distancing. These findings should be made not later than 30 days after teleconferencing for the first time pursuant to AB 361, and every 30 days thereafter.
DISCUSSION/ANALYSIS: The City Council and the City’s other legislative bodies have met using teleconferencing throughout the COVID-19 pandemic to protect the health and safety of the public and staff. The factual circumstances exist for the City to continue to hold meetings pursuant to AB 361. Specifically, the Governor’s declared State of Emergency in response to the COVID-19 pandemic (the “Emergency”) is still in place. In addition, the City of Fremont COVID-19 Employee Resource Guide requires physical distancing for City employees, customers and visitors, to the extent possible. And finally, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention continue to advise that COVID-19 spreads more easily Council Staff Report (ID # 4708) Meeting of January 10, 2023 Updated: 12/22/2022 9:26 AM by Susan Gauthier Page 2
indoors than outdoors and that people are more likely to be exposed to COVID-19 when they are closer than 6 feet apart from others for longer periods of time. Therefore, due to the ongoing COVID 19 pandemic, the need to promote social distancing to reduce the likelihood of exposure to COVID-19, and the imminent risks to the health or safety of meeting attendees, the Emergency impacts the ability of the City Council and the legislative bodies of the City to meet safely in person.
FISCAL IMPACT: None.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW: N/A
ATTACHMENTS: None.
RECOMMENDATION: Staff recommends that the City Council make the following findings in order to continue holding videoconference meetings for the City Council and the City’s legislative bodies:
1. The City Council has reconsidered the circumstances of the COVID-19 state of emergency;
2. The state of emergency continues to directly impact the ability of the members to meet safely in person; and
3. Staff is directed to schedule reconsideration of these findings at the regularly scheduled City Council meeting on February 7, 2023.