SB 707: Brown Act Modernization
City of Huntington Beach Compliance
May 19, 2026
Table of Contents
Introduction
Updated Regulations
Remote Participation
Managing Disruptions
Social Media
Compensation Reporting
Accessibility
Language and Outreach
Policy Adoption
Resolution No. 2026-17: Technology Disruption
Ordinance No. 4349: Public Participation & Disruptive Behavior
Introduction
Intent of SB 707
Modernization of the Brown Act prioritizes
digital accessibility
evolved teleconferencing rules
language access
Full implementation required before July 1, 2026.
AB 361 (2020)
Pandemic-era flexibility for remote meetings without physical locations. (Expired)
Interim
City of Huntington Beach opted out of remote meetings. (December 2022) SB 707 (2025)
Updates rules through 2030.
Eligibility
Eligible Legislative Body - City Council in a city with a population of 30,000 or more in a county with a population of more than 600,000.
Huntington Beach City Council qualifies as an “Eligible Legislative Body.” Eligible Legislative Body
City of Huntington Beach
Population >30,000
Population ~196,000
Training & Distribution
Full copy of the Brown Act provided to all elected and appointed members.
Materials will be distributed when onboarding new officials and following any legislative updates for existing members.
Updated Regulations
Remote Participation
Social Media
Compensation Reporting
Managing Disruptions – Meeting Decorum
Digital Accessibility
Language
Outreach
Remote Participation - Member
Remote participation allowed for City Council Members as a “reasonable accommodation”.
Disability/ADA
Just Cause – childcare or caregiving, military service
Emergency Circumstances – contagious illness
Remote participation due to disability counts toward quorum.
Audio and video participation unless disability prohibits video use.
Disclosures
Disclosure at roll call and update as needed.
Disclose anyone over the age of 18 present in the room and relationship.
Max Remote Uses/Year = 5 per member.
Remote Participation: Two-Way Public Access
The City must provide live two-way telephonic or audiovisual access.
Zoom Webinar for public participation will start June 2026.
Accessibility Standards - Dial-in numbers and meeting links must be clearly posted on the agenda and tested prior to start to ensure barrier-free access.
City Council must adopt a policy for technological disruptions.
Resolution No. 2026-17 proposed for adoption this evening.
Managing Disruptions - Technology
Technology Disruption
Mandatory Pause
If remote access service fails, the City Council must recess while staff restores the connection.
Public Notification
Staff must immediately post real-time status updates on the meeting webpage and announce the delay on all available social channels.
Physical Access
The physical meeting room must remain open and accessible to the public during the entire recess period.
The “Public Interest Finding”
If remote service is not restored after 1 hour, the City Council may make a formal finding that the "public interest in continuing the meeting outweighs the lack of remote access.“ Roll Call Requirement
This finding must be adopted by a recorded roll call vote before any further business occurs.
Record Keeping
Record the finding verbatim in the minutes and post notice on the meeting recap page.
Update meeting disruption procedures for remote participants.
Opportunity to implement broader decorum and participation policy Managing Disruptions - Decorum
Authority to Remove
Clarifies statutory authority to remove disruptive remote participants to maintain the orderly conduct of the meeting.
The Warning Rule
Issue a specific warning before muting or disconnecting a disruptive user.
Neutral Application
Establish clear conduct rules (e.g., time limits, profanity) and apply them neutrally to all speakers.
Social Media and Compensation Reporting
Social Media
Compensation Reporting
Sunset Removed
Social media interaction rules (AB 992) are now permanent Permitted Engagement
Officials MAY engage with the public's posts on City matters (e.g., answering questions on a resident's post).
Strict Prohibition
Officials CANNOT respond to, like, share, or repost other City Council Members' content on the same topic to avoid “serial meetings.” Open Session Report
An oral report must be made in open session before taking final action on compensation.
Expanded Scope
Requirement now applies to all "department heads" (previously only required for executives such as the City Manager).
Required Details
The verbal report will include the position title, a summary of compensation elements, and any contract changes.
Accessibility
Agenda Request System
A system must be in place for electronically accepting and fulfilling requests for agendas and meeting documents.
City is compliant with a direct link from the City’s homepage to the City Council agendas.
Webpage
Dedicated Webpage - Maintain a specific "Public Meetings" webpage. The interface and agenda page itself must be translated into applicable languages.
Content Standards - Dial-in/AV instructions.
Language and Outreach
Language Access
20% threshold for translation of agendas into applicable languages, when non-English language(s) spoken by at least 20% of residents, when at least 20% of those residents also report speaking English “less than very well.” Make a publicly accessible space for the public to post translated agendas.
Outreach
Must make reasonable efforts of outreach to underrepresented and non-English speaking communities.
Policy Adoption
Policy Adoption
Policies must be adopted in open session at a noticed public meeting and not placed on the Consent Calendar.
Recommended Action
Adopt Resolution No. 2026-17 Technology Disruption During Public Comments Approve for introduction Ordinance No. 4349 Public Participation and Disruptive Behavior
Questions?