RESOLUTION NO. __________
RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF
LANCASTER, CALIFORNIA ADOPTING A POLICY
ADDRESSING DISRUPTION OF TELEPHONIC OR INTERNET
SERVICE DURING PUBLIC MEETINGS
WHEREAS, the Ralph M. Brown Act (Government Code § 54950 et seq.) establishes requirements for open and public meetings of local legislative bodies; and WHEREAS, Senate Bill 707 (2025) amended the Brown Act to update teleconferencing and accessibility requirements, including provisions related to remote participation in public meetings; and
WHEREAS, Government Code § 54953.4(b)(1)(A) requires eligible legislative bodies, on or before July 1, 2026, to adopt at a noticed public meeting in open session, and not on the consent calendar, a policy addressing disruption of telephonic or internet service during meetings conducted with remote participation; and
WHEREAS, the required policy must address procedures for recessing and reconvening a meeting in the event of a disruption and the efforts the legislative body will make to attempt to restore service; and
WHEREAS, Government Code § 54953.4 further requires that, in the event of a disruption preventing members of the public from observing or participating in the meeting through a two- way telephonic or audiovisual platform, the legislative body shall recess the open session for at least one hour and make a good faith effort to restore service, and may not reconvene open session until at least one hour has passed or service has been restored, whichever occurs first; and WHEREAS, if telephonic or internet service has not been restored upon reconvening, the legislative body must make findings by roll call vote that good faith efforts to restore service have been made and that the public interest in continuing the meeting outweighs the public interest in remote public access; and
WHEREAS, adoption of a technology disruption policy is required to ensure compliance with state law and to promote transparency and continuity of public meetings; and WHEREAS, the proposed policy addressing disruption of telephonic or internet service during meetings of the Lancaster City Council has been prepared in accordance with Government Code § 54953.4 and is attached hereto as Exhibit 1; and WHEREAS, the activity is not a “Project” as defined under Section 15378 of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) State Guidelines; therefore, pursuant to State Guidelines Section 15060(c)(3), no environmental review is required.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the City Council of the City of Lancaster as follows:
Section 1. Adoption of Policy. The City of Lancaster hereby adopts the policy entitled “Disruption of Telephonic or Internet Service During Public Meetings,” substantially in the form attached hereto as Exhibit 1.
Section 2. Implementation. The City Clerk is authorized and directed to implement the policy in coordination with City staff, legal counsel, and technology support staff, as appropriate.
Section 3. Minor Modifications. The City Attorney may approve minor, non-substantive modifications to the policy as necessary to conform to applicable law, City practices, or formatting requirements, provided such modifications do not materially alter the intent of the policy.
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Exhibit 1
Policy: Disruption of Telephonic or Internet Service During Public Meetings
1. Background
Senate Bill 707 (2025) amended the Brown Act to require eligible legislative bodies to adopt, on or before July 1, 2026, a policy addressing how the City will respond to disruptions in telephonic or internet service that prevent members of the public from attending or observing a meeting remotely. This policy is adopted to comply with that requirement and to ensure continuity of public participation during technical disruptions.
2. Purpose
This policy establishes procedures for responding to a disruption in the telephonic or internet services that provide two-way remote public access to meetings of the Lancaster City Council, as required by the Brown Act (Gov. Code § 54953.4). The policy ensures transparency, public participation, and continuity of government during technology disruptions.
3. Definitions
For purposes of this policy:
“Disruption” means any failure, outage, or other interruption that prevents members of the public from attending or observing the meeting via these remote access services. “Remote access services” means the two-way telephonic service and/or two-way audiovisual platform used to provide real-time remote public attendance and observation of meetings.
4. Applicability
This policy applies to all open and public meetings of the City of Lancaster at which remote public participation is offered or required under the Brown Act.
5. Procedures in the Event of a Service Disruption
5.1. Response to Service Disruption
If the Mayor or Clerk becomes aware of a disruption to the City’s remote access services that prevents members of the public from attending or observing the meeting remotely:
1. The Mayor or Clerk shall immediately announce the disruption to the public.
2. The Mayor may then call for a recess of the open session or convene the legislative body in closed session, consistent with the Brown Act.
3. Staff shall begin efforts to diagnose and restore the disrupted service.
4. The meeting shall remain in recess for at least one hour or until service is restored, whichever is sooner. The recess period may be extended if restoration efforts are ongoing.
5.2. Efforts to Restore Service
The City shall make good faith efforts to restore remote access services, which may include:
Troubleshooting platform or teleconferencing software
Resetting or replacing audiovisual equipment
Attempting alternative connection methods
Contacting necessary support staff or service providers Switching to back-up equipment or platforms, if available The City Clerk/City Clerk Staff shall document the restoration efforts undertaken.
6. Reconvening the Open Session
6.1. Timing
The open session may be reconvened after at least one hour has elapsed from the time of disruption or as soon as service is restored, whichever occurs earlier.
6.2. If Service Is Restored
If the remote access service is restored before or at the time the meeting reconvenes, the meeting shall continue as normal.
6.3. If Service Is Not Restored
If service has not been restored after one hour, the Lancaster City Council may reconvene and:
1. Adjourn the meeting; or
2. Continue the meeting in open session by adopting, by roll call vote, the following, or a substantially similar, finding:
“The City of Lancaster has made good faith efforts to restore telephonic or internet service in accordance with its adopted policy, and the public interest in continuing the meeting outweighs the public interest in remote public access.” Upon adoption of the finding, the legislative body may continue the open session despite the fact that remote access services have not been restored.
7. Recordkeeping
The Clerk shall enter a brief statement into the meeting minutes, including the following:
The nature and time of the disruption
The restoration efforts undertaken
The time the meeting was reconvened (if applicable)
Any finding adopted pursuant to Section 6.3
8. Review and Updates
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This policy may be amended by the Lancaster City Council at a noticed public meeting in open session, not on the consent calendar.
PASSED, APPROVED and ADOPTED this 9 th day of June 2026, by the following vote:
AYES:
NOES:
ABSTAIN:
ABSENT:
ATTEST: APPROVED:
ANDREA ALEXANDER, CMC
City Clerk
City of Lancaster
R. REX PARRIS
Mayor
City of Lancaster
STATE OF CALIFORNIA
COUNTY OF LOS ANGELES
CITY OF LANCASTER
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CERTIFICATION OF RESOLUTION
CITY COUNCIL
I, , City of Lancaster,
California, do hereby certify that this is a true and correct copy of the original Resolution No. _______, for which the original is on file in my office.
WITNESS MY HAND AND THE SEAL OF THE CITY OF LANCASTER, on this
day of , .
(seal)
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