CITY COUNCIL STAFF REPORT
TO: Honorable Mayor and City Council DATE: October 11, 2022 FROM: Matthew Bronson, City Manager
PREPARED BY: David Hale, City Attorney
SUBJECT: Adoption of Findings Related to AB 361 Allowing Continued Teleconferencing Meetings
RECOMMENDATION
Adopt required findings with respect to the City of Grover Beach’s continued utilization of teleconferencing meetings in conformance with AB 361 (Government Code Section 54953).
BACKGROUND:
Assembly Bill (AB) 361, now reflected in Government Code Section 54953, amended and codified the modified Brown Act provisions implemented by Executive Orders of the Governor in March 2020 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Among the provisions of the Brown Act modified by the Governor’s Orders were provisions for participation in legislative meetings by teleconferencing by phone or video platforms such as Microsoft Teams or Zoom. The Brown Act previously required that in the event any legislative body member(s) wished to participate in a meeting remotely, the exact address of the remote location(s) had to be published in advance of the meeting agenda with the remote location(s) available for public participation and comment.
Governor’s Orders N-29-20 and N-08-21 effectively suspended these provisions for health and safety reasons, making it possible for legislative body members to join a meeting virtually without the need for conducing advance noticing or providing direct public access to the location. Effective October 1, 2021, AB 361 functionally codified these provisions through January 2024, allowing agencies to avail themselves of the continued teleconferencing option if desired, provided that the legislative body makes certain findings as outlined below (Government Code Section 54953 (e)(3):
(3) If a state of emergency remains active, or state or local officials have imposed or recommended measures to promote social distancing, in order to continue to teleconference without compliance with paragraph (3) of subdivision (b), the legislative body shall, not later than 30 days after teleconferencing for the first time pursuant to subparagraph (A), (B), or (C) of paragraph (1), and every 30 days thereafter, make the following findings by majority vote:
(A) The legislative body has reconsidered the circumstances of the state of emergency.
(B) Any of the following circumstances exist:
(i) The state of emergency continues to directly impact the ability of the members to meet safely in person.
(ii) State or local officials continue to impose or recommend measures to promote social distancing.
Gov. Code, § 54953
Agenda Item No. 12
Staff Report: AB 361 Findings for Continued Teleconferencing Meetings Page 2 October 11, 2022
The City Council began its use of AB 361 provisions after the bill’s effective date of October 1, 2021, by continuing to hold a teleconferencing meeting using Microsoft Teams on October 5, 2021. Thus, the Council is required to adopt findings before any virtual meeting it wishes to hold more than 30 days after October 5, 2021 and is required to make similar findings every 30 days thereafter as long as Council desires to avail itself of the modified teleconferencing procedures found within AB 361. Although suspended for a period of time, the Council finds that the increased number of reported cases of a recent variant of COVID-19, BA.5 along with a new subvariant BA.4.6 continues to create public health issues particularly in indoor settings. The number of reported cases of these variants are increasing and dominating infections within the United States and therefore allowing the opportunity for Council to make the findings for participation in the Council meeting by availing themselves of the relaxed regulations afforded in AB 361.
AB 361 also requires that the public be given the opportunity to address the legislative body with their comments in real time, which the City has provided since the start of the pandemic and continues to do so. In addition, the bill requires that meeting proceedings be stopped if the public’s virtual access to a meeting is disrupted, for example due to an internet outage. The City has also complied with these new regulations since the beginning of the pandemic, with the exception of a limited period of time wherein they were suspended. Should the Council choose to hold a hybrid meeting with some or all members participating in person, and some or all of the public participating virtually, staff will monitor the virtual meeting component to assure that public access is not interrupted and pause meeting proceedings in the event of a disruption.
To provide both legal compliance and practical flexibility during ongoing uncertain circumstances, staff recommends that, by minute order, the City Council must adopt the following findings with respect to the City of Grover Beach’s utilization of the provisions of AB 361, relating to Brown Act teleconferences:
Findings
1) The City Council has reconsidered the circumstances of the state of emergency created by the coronavirus pandemic.
2) The following circumstances exist:
a.) State or local officials continue to impose or recommend measures to promote social distancing and the ability for teleconferencing without unnecessary and significant exposure to COVID-19 and current variants.
FISCAL IMPACT
There is no fiscal impact associated with adoption of the recommended findings.
ALTERNATIVES
The Council has the following alternatives to consider:
1. Approve the Findings required in AB 361 for compliance with Government Code Section 54953 and assure the flexibility for conducting future virtual City Council meetings, or
2. Provide alternate direction to staff.
PUBLIC NOTIFICATION
The agenda was posted in accordance with the Brown Act.