STAFF REPORT TO THE CITY COUNCIL
DATE: Regular Meeting of September 28, 2021
TO: Members of the City Council
SUBMITTED BY: Lori Martin, Administrative Services Director/City Clerk
SUBJECT: Brown Act Executive Order and AB 361 Update
RECOMMENDED ACTION: Pursuant to the recommendations from Contra Costa Health Services, staff recommends that City Council consider continuing the virtual meeting environment until the end of the year.
FISCAL IMPACT OF RECOMMENDATION: None.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:
Governor Gavin Newson signed Executive Order N-15-21 clarifying that cities may continue to meet remotely in accordance with procedures established by prior Executive Orders. On September 16 th
Governor Newsom signed AB361 which allows cities to continue to meet remotely during proclaimed states of emergency under modified Brown Act requirements that are similar but not identical to the rules and procedures established by the previous Executive Brown Act Orders.
This bill, until January 1, 2024, would authorize a local agency to use teleconferencing without complying with the teleconferencing requirements imposed by the Ralph M. Brown Act when a legislative body of a local agency holds a meeting during a declared state of emergency, as that term is defined, when state of local health officials have imposed or recommended measures to promote social distancing, during a proclaimed state of emergency.
In the meantime, staff will continue to work with our AV/Video consultant to install the necessary pieces of equipment and undergo testing to ensure that the Council Chambers are ready to go back to in-person meetings with a virtual hybrid component by the first of the year.
DISCUSSION:
On June 11, 2021, Governor Newsom issued Executive Order N-08-21, which among other things rescinded his prior Executive Order N-29-20 and set a date of October 1, 2021, for public agencies to transition back to public meetings held in full compliance with the Brown Act.
As the Delta variant has surged in California, the legislature has taken action to extend the COVID- 19 exceptions to the Brown Acts’s teleconference requirements, subject to some additional
safeguards. AB 361 allows a local agency to use teleconferencing without complying with the Brown Act provisions in any of the following circumstances:
• The legislative body holds a meeting during a proclaimed state of emergency, and state or local officials have imposed or recommended measures to promote social distancing. • The legislative body holds a meeting during a proclaimed state of emergency for the purpose of determining, by majority vote, whether as a result of the emergency, meeting in person would present imminent risks to the health or safety of attendees. • The legislative body holds a meeting during a proclaimed state of emergency and has determined, by majority vote that, as a result of the emergency, meeting in person would present imminent risks to the health or safety of attendees.
A local agency that holds a meeting under these circumstances would be required by AB 361 to do all of the following, in addition to giving notice of the meeting and posting agendas as required under the Brown act. These additional requirements are intended to protect the public’s right to participate in the meetings of local agency legislative bodies.
Pursuant to AB 361 local agencies are required to do all of the following in addition to meeting notice requirements under the Brown Act:
• Allow the public to access the meeting and require that the agenda provide an opportunity for the public to directly address the legislative body pursuant to the Brown Act’s other teleconferencing provisions.
• In each instance when the local agency provides notice of the teleconferenced meeting or posts its agenda, give notice for how the public can access the meeting and provide public comment.
• Identify and include in the agenda an opportunity for all persons to attend via a call-in or an internet-based service option; the legislative body need not provide a physical location for the public to attend or provide comments.
• Conduct teleconference meetings in a manner that protects the statutory and constitutional rights of the public.
• Stop the meeting until public access is restored in the event of a service disruption that either prevents the local agency from broadcasting the meeting to the public using the call -in or internet-based service option or is within the local agency’s control and prevents the public from submitting public comments (any actions taken during such a service disruption can be challenged under the Brown Act’s existing challenge provisions). • Not require comments be submitted in advance (though the legislative body may provide that as an option) and provide the opportunity to comment in real time. • Provide adequate time for public comment, either by establishing a timed public comment period or by allowing a reasonable amount of time to comment. • If the legislative body uses a third-party website or platform to host the teleconference, and the third-party service requires users to register to participate, the legislative body must provide adequate time during the comment period for users to register and may not close the registration comment period until the comment period has elapsed.
AB 361 also provides that, if the state of emergency remains active for more than 30 days, a local agency must make the following findings by majority vote every 30 days to continue using the bill’s exemption to the Brown Act teleconferencing rules:
• The legislative body has reconsidered the circumstances of the emergency; and • Either of the following circumstances exist: The state of emergency continues to directly impact the ability of members to meet safely in person, or State or local officials continue to impose or recommend social distancing measures.
The goal of AB 361 is “to improve and enhance public access to local agency meetings during the COVID-19 pandemic and future applicable emergencies, by allowing broader access through teleconferencing options” consistent with Executive Order N-29-20. The bill contains an urgency clause which became effective upon signing with a sunset of January 1, 2024.
Attachments:
1. Contra Costa Health Services Recommendations dated 9/20/21
2. AB 361