Milpitas City Council
May 5, 2026

1 CHAPTER I. Purpose and Overview
A. Purpose
This City Council Procedures and Protocols Handbook (Handbook) outlines the Milpitas City Council governing practices.

B. Applicability of Handbook
When not in conflict with the Constitution, the laws of the State of California or the Milpitas Municipal Code, this Handbook shall govern.

C. Revisions to the Handbook
This Handbook will be brought to Council for updates, as needed, due to changes in the law or if the City Council desires to change its procedures or protocols.

Adoption Date: January 11, 2022

Revision 1: February 21, 2023

Revision 2: June 20, 2023

Revision 3: January 23, 2024

Revision 4: September 2, 2025

2 CHAPTER II. Duties of the City Council
A. General Authorities of City Council
Milpitas was incorporated on January 26, 1954. As a general law city, Milpitas derives its authority from and is subject to the California Constitution and the general laws of the State of California.

The City Council is the policy and lawmaking body of the City. State and local laws define the powers and responsibilities of the City Council.

The City has a Council-Manager form of government in which the elected City Council sets policy direction and the City Manager implements Council policy, manages day-to- day operations and provides professional recommendations to support the Council on policy decisions. Although the Council and City Manager operate in all four dimensions of the governance process: mission, policy, administration and management, the Council’s focus is on the mission and policy while the City Manager’s focus is on administration and management. Clarity of roles are informed by this Handbook and Municipal Code provisions that provide the overall framework for the governance relationship.

B. Duties of Mayor
The Mayor is directly elected by Milpitas voters. The Mayor is the official head of the City of Milpitas for all ceremonial purposes. The Mayor is entitled to vote on all matters but does not possess any veto power. The Mayor signs all ordinances and resolutions after approval by the majority of the City Council.

C. Duties of Vice Mayor (Mayor Pro Tempore)
The Vice Mayor is selected from those on the Council during the first meeting at which the Mayor and returning or incoming Councilmembers commence their terms.

Nomination is done through a motion and appointment is based on a majority vote.

In the event that the Mayor cannot attend a ceremonial function, the Vice Mayor shall serve as the official head of the City in his or her stead. In the event that neither the Mayor nor Vice Mayor can preside at a ceremonial function, one of the remaining members of the City Council shall serve as the official head of the City on a rotating basis to be administered by City staff.

D. Duties of Mayor and Councilmembers

1. Arrive on time for all Council meetings.

2. Review all meeting materials published in accordance with the Open Government Ordinance and other applicable laws, in preparation for Council meetings. As a body, provide clear direction to staff to aid in the development and consideration of proposed ordinances, policies, and

3 procedures. Pass ordinances, adopt resolutions, approve new projects and programs, and approve the budget and contracts.

3. Keep in touch with the community and interpret what is heard to Council colleagues and to the staff.

4. Participate in City Council meetings and other public forums.

5. Represent the City Council by fulfilling the liaison assignments to legislators, external agencies, and the City’s boards and commission.

6. Requests for Staff Resources
a. Mayor and Councilmember requests to consider new programs, services, or requests for significant allocations of resources, shall be directed to the budget process to the maximum extent possible. b. Mayor or Councilmember requests for minor (generally less than four hours of staff time) research or other staff work must be directed to the City Manager.
c. If more than four hours of staff time will be required to complete the task/project, the item will be placed on the agenda to ask the City Council if time should be spent on the proposed item. A discussion and prioritization of Mayor and Councilmember requests are scheduled on a quarterly basis.
d. Mayor and Councilmember requests for more than four hours of staff work for City Council consideration will adhere to all the City of Milpitas Open Government Ordinance provisions, including, but not limited to:
- I-310-2.30 Agenda Requirements. “(b) At least six (6) days before a regular City Council meeting, a preliminary agenda shall be posted containing a meaningful
description of each item of business to be transacted.” - “(c) A description is meaningful if it is sufficiently clear and specific to alert members of the public whose interests are affected by the item that he or she may have reason to
attend the meeting or seek more information on the item. - To achieve the above requirements, all materials must be submitted to the City Clerk, to the extent possible, no less than eight (8) days in advance of a Council meeting.
e. Staff responses to a Councilmember inquiry, including the original inquiry, shall be distributed to the Mayor and all City Councilmembers.

7. Absences

4 a. Whenever a member knows in advance that he or she will be absent from a City Council meeting, it is the responsibility of that member to notify the City Manager or City Clerk as soon as possible of the impending absence.
b. If a City Council member is absent without permission from all regular City Council meetings for 60 calendar days consecutively from the last regular meeting he or she attended, his or her office becomes vacant pursuant to Government Code 36513.

8. Administration of Oaths
The Mayor may require any person addressing the City Council to be sworn as a witness and to testify under oath; and must so require if directed to do so by a majority of the City Council. The Mayor may administer oaths. Appeals and revocation hearings are the most likely instances when testimony is taken under oath.

9. Subpoenas
In accordance with Government Code 37104, the City Council may issue subpoenas requiring attendance of witnesses or production of books or other documents for evidence or testimony in any action or proceeding pending before it.

10. City Council Subcommittees
Council subcommittees, when used, are to help the Council do its job.

Subcommittees ordinarily will assist the Council by studying an issue and preparing policy alternatives and implications for Council deliberation.

Council subcommittees may not speak or act for the Council, and the subcommittee members should be regularly reporting out their work to the City Council through a scheduled agenda item.

There are generally two types of subcommittees as follows:
 Standing subcommittees that have continuous subject matter jurisdiction and will continue to exist until the City Council terminates their existence through formal action.
 Ad hoc subcommittees have limited subject matter jurisdiction and are usually formed primarily to study a particular topic or immediate issue, and once their task is complete, the ad hoc subcommittee will automatically terminate.

Both standing and ad hoc subcommittees of the City Council are subject to the Brown Act pursuant to the City’s Open Government Ordinance.

Subcommittees shall obtain City Council concurrence before they proceed in any direction different from the original instructions of the City Council. In addition, Subcommittees should not implement policy, provide direction that would result in incurring additional expenses or provide direction to staff to

5 take any actions that are not consistent with existing City Council direction without first obtaining City Council approval for such actions.

11. Compensation for Mayor and Councilmembers
Information about compensation for the Mayor and Councilmembers can be found in the Milpitas Municipal Code I-14-1.00, et seq.

12. Travel Expenses and Reimbursements
Information about travel expenses and reimbursements for City related expenses can be found in the City Council Travel Policy 3-1.

E. City Council Vacancies
A vacancy in the office of Councilmember or Mayor may be filled in the manner set forth in Title I, Chapter 3 of the Milpitas Municipal Codeby appointment by the City Council.

The appointee shall hold office until the next special municipal election which shall be immediately called to fill the remainder of the vacant term as provided under Milpitas Municipal Code Section I-3-2.00. Any unexpired remainder of the term of such office shall be filled by the voters at such election..

F. Role of City Manager.

1. The City Manager is the chief executive officer and the head of the administrative branch of the City government. The City Manager is appointed by the City Council and reports to the full City Council. The City Manager shall work in collaboration with the City Attorney.

2. The City Manager implements policies and procedures initiated by City Council and manages the day-to-day operations of the City. The City Manager supports the full Council in setting clear goals for the City and optimizes the use of City resources to meet these goals.

3. The City Manager is the appointing authority, responsible for all City personnel. The City Manager or designee serves as a liaison to each commission. The use of City-owned property is handled through the City Manager’s Office. The City Manager supports effective policy making and oversight by the City Council by providing information, formulating policy proposals, advising and informing the Council on policy matters while promoting team building and collaboration, and ensuring that the administration’s delivery of service is consistent with City Council direction.

4. The City Manager prepares the budget annually, advises the City Council of future financial needs, and is responsible for budget administration after adoption. The City Manager prepares and submits to the City Council a complete report at the end of each fiscal year on the finances and administrative activities of the City during the preceding year. City Manager

6 shall also present quarterly fiscal/budgetary updates or as requested throughout the year.

G. Role of City Attorney.

1. The City Attorney is appointed by the City Council and reports to the full City Council. The City Attorney advises the City Council and City officers in their official capacity on legal matters affecting the City, attends all City Council meetings and some board/commission meetings, and represents the City in legal actions and proceedings. The City Attorney shall work in collaboration with the City Manager.

2. The Office of the City Attorney approves as to form all bonds and contracts made by the City, approves all ordinances and resolutions and related amendments for the City, and prosecutes criminal cases for violation of City ordinances.

3. The members of the City Attorney’s Office (attorneys and staff) maintain an attorney-client relationship with the City, full City Council or individual members thereof, its officers, agents and employees, so their official communications are protected as confidential attorney-client privilege.

H. Photographs of Past Councilmembers.

1. Past Mayor and Councilmember Photos will be displayed in the City Council Chamber as soon as reasonably practicable after the Mayor or City Councilmember’s term ends.

7 CHAPTER III. Mayor and Councilmember Conduct
A. Mayor and Councilmembers shall:

The Milpitas City Council Code of Conduct, as approved by the City Council and noted below, shall be included in Council meeting agendas and read aloud at all City Council meetings.

Milpitas City Council Code of Conduct
 Be respectful and courteous (words, tone, and body language)  Model civility.
 Avoid surprises.
 Praise publicly and criticize privately.
 Focus on the issue, not the person.
 Use electronic devices appropriately while on the Council dais.  Disclose conflicts of interest and affiliations related to agenda items.  Separate governing from campaigning.
 The Council speaks with one voice after making policy on issues.  Respect the line between policy and administration.
 Council will hold one another accountable to comply with this Code of Conduct.

B. Mayor and Councilmember Best Practices for Council Meetings  put constituents first at all times;
 treat each other and members of the public with dignity, courtesy, and respect;
 maintain confidentiality of all closed session materials and discussion;  be attentive to others, limiting interruptions and distractions;  encourage diverse viewpoints in debate while being mindful not to prolong discourse or block consensus;
 agree to respectfully disagree;
 keep comments clear, concise, and on topic;
 start meetings on time, work from the agenda; and
 present problems in a way that promotes discussion and resolution.

C. Mayor and Councilmember Conduct with City Staff:

8 1. Always maintain professionalism, treat all staff with respect.

2. Direct staff personnel issues to the City Manager.

3. Comments about staff performance should not be made in public or to the individual employee and should only be made to the City Manager through private correspondence or conversation.

4. Comments about staff in the office of the City Attorney should be made directly to the City Attorney.

5. In accordance with Milpitas Municipal Code VI-1-2.04, except for purposes of inquiry, the City Council and its members shall deal with the administrative staff solely through the City Manager.

6. The Mayor and Councilmembers must not attempt to influence City staff on the making of employment appointments, awarding of contracts, selecting of consultants, processing of development applications, or granting of City licenses and permits.

7. Routine administrative support will be provided to the Mayor and all Councilmembers. Requests for additional staff support – even in high priority or emergency situations — should be made to the City Manager.

8. Do not solicit political support from staff. The Mayor and Councilmembers should not solicit any type of political support (financial contributions, display of posters or lawn signs, name on support list, etc.) from City staff.

City staff may, as private citizens with constitutional rights, support political candidates but all such activities must be done away from the workplace and on personal time.

9 CHAPTER IV. Meetings
A. All Council decisions must occur at City Council meetings pursuant to the requirements of the Ralph M. Brown Act. The City Council shall not use a series of telephone calls, a conference call, mass e-mailing or any other method of communication to discuss or decide matters within the jurisdiction of the Council among a majority of the Councilmembers.

B. Quorum

1. No business may be transacted by the Council at a regular or special meeting unless a quorum of the membership is present (on a 5 member Council, a quorum is 3 members).

2. When there is no quorum, the Mayor or Vice Mayor, or any Councilmember may adjourn a meeting, or if no Councilmember is present, the City Clerk may adjourn a meeting.

C. Council Meeting Dates; Cancellation

1. If at any time any regular meeting of the Council falls on a holiday, the regular meeting shall be held on the next business day or the earliest business day within a week.

2. Any meeting of the City Council may be canceled in advance by the Mayor.

It can also be cancelled by a majority of the Councilmembers at a City Council meeting. The City Manager may also cancel a meeting in cases of need, such as an emergency or when a majority of members have provided notice of their unavailability to attend a meeting.

D. Types of Meetings

1. Regular meetings are held on the first and third Tuesdays of each month in the City Hall Council Chambers, 455 E. Calaveras Blvd., Milpitas, California. Pursuant to the requirements of the City’s Open Government Ordinance, the Preliminary agenda is posted by the Wednesday preceding the regular meeting date. The Brown Act requires the posting of an agenda at least 72 hours prior to a regular meeting.

2. Special Meetings may be called by the Mayor. They can also be called by a majority of the Council at a public meeting. Any special meeting called requires a minimum of 24 hours notice as required by the Brown Act. Only business described in the notice may be transacted.

3. Study Sessions may be held as part of a regular meeting or special meeting and are held for the purpose of providing information to the City Council, particularly on issues that are more complex or more time- consuming. Study sessions may be conducted jointly with another City board, commission or committee or another governmental agency. At study sessions Councilmembers may state their individual responses and

10 questions to the information provided and may collectively provide direction to City staff. No formal action is taken at the study sessions.

4. Closed Sessions can be part of either regular or special meetings, typically in advance of the regular or special meetings. The start time of the Closed Sessions shall be publicly noticed in accordance with the law. The Council conducts its business in public to the greatest extent possible. State law, however, recognizes that in certain limited circumstances authorized by the Brown Act, that the Council will need to meet in private without the public present. These matters may include certain personnel matters, labor negotiations, real property negotiations, matters of public security, and the discussion of litigation, among other topics listed in the Brown Act. These rules provide for strict confidentiality of City Council discussion as required by State law, and no Councilmember shall disclose anything discussed in closed session to any individual not present in that closed session. Violating this confidentiality requirement can subject an individual Councilmember to disciplinary action, a referral to the grand jury, and in some limited circumstances, criminal prosecution. In limited instances, if action is taken in closed session, the City Attorney may need to report out any action taken and any vote on that action. Closed Session meetings will be conducted in accordance with Milpitas City Council Code of Conduct.

5. Emergency Meetings can occur in limited circumstances when there is a work stoppage, crippling activity, other activity that impairs public health, safety, or dire emergency. Depending on the factual circumstances, 24 hour notice or one hour notice may be required, or no notice at all.

E. Teleconferencing

1. Remote Public Participation. For the open session portion of each City Council meeting, if telephonic or internet service is operational at the meeting location, the City Manager or their designee shall arrange for an appropriate two-way telephonic or audio-visual platform through which members of the public can attend the meeting. The following procedures shall apply:
a. At the beginning of the meeting, the Mayor shall ask staff to verify that the two-way telephonic or audio-visual platform is connected and operating.
b. During the Public Forum section of the agenda and during public comment on any item considered, the Mayor shall have discretion to choose any appropriate means for recognizing a speaker, including the use of a “raise hand” button or other technological feature of the platform. At the beginning of the meeting, the Mayor, the Clerk, or such other person as the Mayor may designate, shall advise members of the public on the method by which they may be recognized to speak on an item.
c. The Mayor may direct that one, some, or all persons participating remotely be muted at all times that they are not recognized to

11 speak. The Mayor may also provide that a speaker be muted to address a technological issue (such as helping the prevent an echo), or as would otherwise be legally permissible to control the meeting.
d. The City Manager shall designate a staff member to operate the telephonic or audio-visual platform during the meeting. It shall be that person’s responsibility to operate the platform under the direction of the Mayor and to promptly notify the Council in the event of a disruption that prevents the broadcasting of the meeting over the platform. In the event of a disruption, the Council shall follow the procedures set forth in paragraph F, below.

The requirements of this section shall not apply to meetings in an emergency situation pursuant to Government Code section 54956.5 or other meetings exempted under Government Code section 54953.4(b)(II) or other applicable law.

1.2. Council Participation from Multiple Public Locations. Pursuant to Government Code Section 54953(b), teleconferencing may be used as a method for conducting meetings where Councilmembers may be counted towards a quorum and participate fully in the meeting from remote locations. If a Councilmember participates in a meeting via teleconference, the following requirements must be met:
a. The remote locations must be connected to the main meeting location by telephone, video, or both.
b. The notice and agenda of the meeting must identify the remote location.
c. The agenda must be posted at the remote location and be accessible to the public.
d. All votes must be by roll call.
e. The meeting must in all respects comply with the Brown Act, including participation by members of the public present in the remote locations.
f. During the teleconference, at least a quorum of the members of the City Council shall participate from locations within the boundaries of the City.

3. Council Participation from Nonpublic Locations. Pursuant to the Brown Act, members of the City Council may only participate in meetings from nonpublic locations under a handful of situations. The rules governing these situations can be nuanced and complex, so Councilmembers are encourage to consult the City Attorney or City Clerk in advance of any request for remote participation. In general, however, Councilmembers

12 may participate from non-public locations under the following circumstances:
a. When approved by the City’s ADA Coordinator as a reasonable accommodation under the Americans with Disabilities Act or the Fair Employment and Housing Act.
b. During a proclaimed state of emergency or local emergency, either:
(i) To determine whether meeting in person would present imminent risks to the health or safety of attendees as a result of the emergency; or
(ii) After having determined, by majority vote, that meeting in person would present imminent risks to the health or safety of attendees as a result of the emergency, provided that any additional findings required by Government Code section 54953.2(b) have been made within the prior 45 days.
c. When a Councilmember determines that they have one of the seven categories of “just cause” defined by Government Code section 54953.8.3(c). Remote participation shall only be allowed under this section if:
(i) The Councilmember notifies the Council at the earliest opportunity possible of their need to participate remotely for just cause, including a general description of the
circumstances relating to their need to appear remotely; (ii) A majority of the Council is present at a single noticed location within the jurisdiction; and
(iii) The Councilmember has not already participated for “just cause” 5 times in the current year.

Remote participation of a Councilmember may impose a number of additional requirements, which may vary depending on the specific type of remote participation involved. Councilmembers are encouraged to ask the City Attorney or City Clerk about such requirements whenever remote participation is contemplated.

2. Alternatively, a Councilmember may appear virtually at a limited number of meetings without identifying his or her location on the agenda, posting the agenda in the remote location, or allowing public attendance in the remote location so long the Councilmember is participating remotely for just cause or due to emergency circumstances. The Councilmember must inform the City Manager as early as possible of the just cause or emergency circumstance so that the need for a remote appearance can be agendized and acted on by the entire Council.

13 a. An emergency circumstance means a physical or family medical emergency that prevents a Councilmember from attending in person. b. Just cause means, (A) a childcare or caregiving need of a child, parent, grandparent, grandchild, sibling, spouse, or domestic partner that requires a Councilmember to participate remotely, (B) a contagious illness that prevents a Councilmember from attending in person, (C) a need related to a physical or mental disability, or (D) travel while on official business of the City or another state or local agency.
c. The Councilmember requesting the virtual appearance shall offer the Council a general description of the circumstances relating to his or her need to appear virtually. The description generally need not exceed 20 words and shall not require the Councilmember to disclose any medical diagnosis or disability, or any personal medical information that is already exempt under existing law. The Council shall act on the request based on this description
d. A Councilmember may appear virtually for just cause not more than two times per calendar year. A Councilmember may not participate virtually pursuant to the relaxed Brown Act rules for a period of more than three consecutive months or 20 percent of the regular meetings for the local agency within a calendar year, or more than two meetings if the legislative body regularly meets fewer than 10 times per calendar year. e. During the meeting, the Councilmember shall publicly disclose, before any action is taken, whether any other individuals 18 years of age or older are present in the room at the remote location with the Councilmember, and the general nature of the Councilmember’s relationship with any such individuals.
f. The member shall participate through both audio and visual technology, which means that the Councilmember must have their camera turned on during the conduct of the meeting.

3. Because there are other legal nuances to making use of the teleconferencing provisions in the Brown Act, please check in with the City Attorney or City Clerk in advance.

4. During certain state of emergency situations, it may also be possible to meet remotely without complying with some of the requirements above, depending on certain findings that must be met during a state of emergency as required by the Brown Act. See, Cal. Gov. Code 54953(e) F. Meeting Technology Disruption Policy
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 agency 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

14 requirement and to ensure continuity of public participation during technical disruptions.

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 City of Milpitas 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.

1. 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.

2. Applicability - This policy applies to all open and public meetings of the City Council at which remote public participation is offered or required under the Brown Act.

3. Procedures in the Event of a Service Disruption
a. Response to Service Disruption - If the Presiding Officer or Clerk becomes aware of a disruption to the agencyCity’s remote access services that prevents members of the public from attending or observing the meeting remotely:
(i) The Presiding Officer or Clerk shall immediately announce the disruption to the public.
(ii) The Presiding Officer may then call for a recess of the open session or convene the legislative body in closed session, consistent with the Brown Act.
(iii) Staff shall begin efforts to diagnose and restore the disrupted service.
(iv) The meeting shall remain in recess for at leastup to one hour or until service is restored, whichever is sooner. The recess period may be extended if restoration efforts are ongoing. b. Efforts to Restore Service - The agencyCity shall make good faith efforts to restore remote access services, which may include:
o Troubleshooting platform or teleconferencing software o Resetting or replacing audiovisual equipment
o Attempting alternative connection methods
o Contacting necessary support staff or service providers

15 o Switching to back-up equipment or platforms, if available The Information Technology Department shall document the restoration efforts undertaken.

4. Reconvening the Open Session
a. 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.
b. 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.
c. If service is not restored - If service has not been restored after one hour, the City Council may reconvene and:
(i) Adjourn the meeting; or
(ii) Continue the meeting in open session by adopting, by roll call vote, the following, or a substantially similar, finding:
“The City of Milpitas City Council 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, with the exception that the meeting may not be resumed if one or more Councilmember is participating remotely.

5. 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 the Meeting Technology Disruption Policy

6. Review and Updates - This policy may be amended by the City Council at a noticed public meeting in open session, not on the consent calendar.

F.G. Presiding Officer

1. The Mayor presides at all City Council meetings. In the absence of the Mayor, the Vice Mayor is the presiding officer. If both the Mayor and Vice Mayor are absent, the remaining Councilmembers should select a

16 presiding officer for that meeting. The presiding officer votes on all questions as do other members of the City Council.

2. The Mayor/presiding officer always sits in the middle seat at all formal council meetings. The Vice Mayor and City Manager are always seated immediately next to the Mayor/presiding officer. Councilmembers then select their dais position based on seniority. Seniority is defined by continuous time of service as an elected member of the City Council. When two or more Councilmembers have equivalent time of service, those Councilmembers shall be given priority in seat selection by the highest number of votes in his/her most recent election.

3. The presiding officer conducts the meetings of the City Council to:
a. Ensure that consideration of items on the agenda move along without delay.
b. Ensure that petitioners, proponents and opponents are heard but not allowed to disrupt the meeting.
c. Ensure that decorum is maintained at the meeting.
d. In presiding over matters where the public has provided testimony and/or raised questions, the presiding officer should:
(i) Restate every question coming before the Council.
(ii) Direct questions or comments requiring a response to staff for a response.
(iii) Ensure that staff and members of the public direct their comments to the presiding officer.
(iv) If necessary, help keep Councilmember questions relevant to the matter being considered by the Council.
(v) If necessary, consider calling for a brief recess if orderly conduct of the meeting is being disrupted.
(vi) Announce the decision of the Council on all subjects.

4. Ensure that each member of the Council is provided an opportunity to completely express their views on items of business, the Mayor should:
(i) See that Councilmembers ask to be recognized by the Mayor before speaking.
(ii) Ensure that each Councilmember is given the opportunity to fully express their views.

5. The Chief of Police, or his or her representative, is the ex officio sergeant- at-arms of the City Council. The ex officio sergeant-at-arms shall carry out

17 all orders and instructions given by the presiding officer for the purpose of maintaining order and decorum in the council chamber.

G.H. Voting; Rules of Procedure

1. A motion, second, and a majority vote of the Council shall be required for any formal action of Council (except where a different vote requirement is set by state law). Votes and abstentions are taken by roll call, electronic voting, or any other means that allows the public to determine the votes of individual members as allowed by law. Votes and abstentions shall be recorded in the meeting minutes.

2. Steps in making, discussing and voting on a formal motion:
a. The maker of the motion asks for recognition by the presiding officer. After the individual is recognized, he or she will say, "I move that we ..."
b. The presiding officer will ask if there is a second. Another member of the group must second the motion in order for it to be discussed.

A second is made by saying "I second the motion." The Mayor or any Councilmember can suggest one or more modifications in the motion, which the member making the motion can accept or reject.

There also may be times where the City Manager or City Attorney may suggest an amendment to the motion for clarity purposes for the public, which the member making the motion can accept or reject.
c. The presiding officer then restates the motion "It has been moved and seconded that ..." and opens the floor to discussion and debate. d. The presiding officer will recognize members who wish to comment on the motion. Only one “main motion” may be discussed at a time. e. Once discussion has concluded, the presiding officer will "call for the question" and conduct a roll call vote.
f. The presiding officer will announce the result of the vote.

3. Unless state law requires otherwise, a majority vote is needed for the motion to pass. In the event of a tie vote, the motion does not pass.

4. Subject to state law limitations and to the extent this Handbook does not address an issue of parliamentary procedure, Roberts Rules of Order shall apply. For example, even though Roberts Rules of Order permit a legislative body to reconsider or rescind prior actions, under due process the City Council cannot reconsider or rescind a quasi-judicial decision after the decision is final, in the absence of statutory authority to the contrary.

18 5. The City Attorney serves as parliamentarian during City Council meetings.

The role of the parliamentarian is advisory; the Chair has the power to rule on questions of order.

H.I. Continued Matters

1. Any matter may be continued to a subsequent meeting.

2. If the Mayor or Councilmember who was not present at a prior meeting has reviewed the relevant documents and minutes from the missed meeting and, if possible, reviewed the recording or webcast from the meeting, then he or she shall disclose those actions on the record at the beginning of the discussion of the item and may vote on the continued matter. a. Exception: Continued Public Hearing. If a hearing is required for an agenda item, then the Mayor or a Councilmember shall not participate in the decision if that member was not present during the entire hearing from the time of its opening to the time of its close. (MMC § I-20-3.14.)
I.J. Public Participation

1. Members of the public are encouraged and invited to participate in the legislative process by submitting written comments before the meeting or speaking at a meeting.

It is the intent of these rules to allow everyone to be heard without fear of jeers or cheers that may discourage public participation. For this reason, these rules are taken seriously. Persons attending the meeting will refrain from behavior which will disrupt the public meeting. This includes making loud noises, clapping, shouting, booing, hissing, or engaging in any other activity in a manner that disturbs, disrupts, or impedes the orderly conduct of the meeting. Disruptive or threatening behavior may result in removal from the Council meeting.

2. Only the presiding officer can interrupt a speaker during a presentation.

However, a Councilmember can ask the Mayor for a point of order if the speaker is off the topic or exhibiting behavior or language the Councilmember finds disruptive.

3. Time Limits for public comment:
a. Individual Speakers - 3 minutes or less as determined by the Mayor/presiding officer.
b. Organized group (in lieu of individual speakers) – up to 15 minutes, depending on the number of speakers represented and at the discretion of the Mayor.

19 c. The presiding officer may take a poll to determine number of speakers for each item and, at his/her discretion, limit the amount of time allotted to the speaker(s) when needed.

4. Individuals who wish to speak should submit a speaker card to the City Clerk to be called up at the appropriate time. Each speaker may only speak once on an item and shall speak at the podium into the microphone and address the City Council. A speaker may also provide comments virtually if the meeting format allows virtual participation.

5. Written or photographic materials relevant to consideration of a matter may be submitted to the Council. Copies of such materials should be provided for the Mayor, Councilmembers, City Clerk, City Manager and City Attorney. The materials must be submitted to the City Clerk’s Office by email to [email protected] by 12:00 p.m. on the day of the meeting, for distribution to the city officials in advance of the meeting/hearing. The City Council retains discretion to accept or to reject new documentation furnished on the night of the City Council meeting/hearing. Accepted materials are retained by the City and become part of the official public record.

6. Wireless/Cellular telephones or any other telecommunications device should be in silent mode or turned off during the City Council meeting.

7. Literature distribution or petition circulation is not permitted when the City Council is in session. Such activity may occur outside the meeting room, provided access is not blocked.

8. Objects and symbolic materials, such as signs or banners, will be allowed in the Council Chambers, with the following restrictions:
a. Signs or symbolic objects shall not obstruct the view or passage of other attendees or otherwise disturb the meeting.
b. Objects that are deemed a safety threat to persons at the meeting or could damage the facility itself will not be allowed.

J.K. Discussion Items on the agenda are to be conducted in the following order:

1. Staff / applicant presentation

2. Council questions to applicant and/or staff

3. Open public hearing (or public comment section) for comments

4. Close public hearing (or public comment section)

5. Response by staff to public questions/concerns, if warranted

6. Council discussion and deliberation

20 7. Council votes
K.L. Quasi-Judicial Matters/Appeals/Revocation Hearings

1. Quasi-judicial matters and appeals will be considered at a noticed public hearing and will follow the order stated in Section I above, with the following time allocations:
a. Applicant/Appellant – 15 minutes
b. Individual Speakers – 3 minutes
c. Rebuttal – 5 minutes
d. In an appeal, if the appellant is not the applicant, the applicant shall also have 15 min and is entitled to make any concluding remarks prior to closure of the public hearing
The time limits may be changed by the presiding officer to permit full and fair consideration of a particular matter depending on the number of items on the agenda and the number of persons desiring to speak on a matter.

2. If the Mayor or a Councilmember has spoken or met with a proponent or opponent of a quasi-judicial matter or has visited the site of a project which is the subject of a hearing, that contact, or visit should be acknowledged and described on the record prior to the opening of the hearing. Any facts that could influence the Mayor or a Councilmember's decision, must be included in the public record.

L.M. Items Considered after 11:00 p.m.

1. Unless a majority of the Council determines there is a need to act, no items shall continue, and no new items shall be heard after 11:00 p.m.

M.N. Conflict of Interest

1. The Political Reform Act (PRA) enforced by the Fair Political Practices Commission (FPPC), controls financial conflicts of interest.

2. In accordance with the Open Government Ordinance (MMC I-310-2.180), at the beginning of each City Council meeting or upon the arrival of the Mayor or Councilmember, the City Attorney shall ask the Mayor and each member of the City Council to disclose any financial or personal conflict with any item on the City Council's agenda. Pursuant to Government Code section 87105, if the Mayor or a Councilmember discloses that such a personal financial interest is present, he or she shall publicly identify the conflict or potential conflict in detail sufficient to be understood by the public and shall recuse him or herself from taking action on the item if required to do so by law and leave the meeting room.

3. The other applicable law is Government Code §1090, which applies only to contracts in which a public official has a financial interest.

21 4. Whenever it appears to a Councilmember that he or she may have a prohibited financial interest in any item that may be presented to the City Council, the Councilmember should consult with the City Attorney at the earliest opportunity for advice on whether a disqualifying conflict of interest exists.

5. With full consideration of the City Attorney’s advice, it is up to each individual Councilmember to decide for him/herself whether there is a conflict of interest. When a Councilmember may be in doubt, the City Attorney can obtain more formal advice from the Fair Political Practices Commission (FPPC).

6. A member shall not vote upon any matter on which s/he has a conflict of interest.

7. A member shall openly state the reason for his/her conflict of interest, or work in consultation with the City Attorney to state something on the record.

8. A member who is disqualified by a conflict of interest shall recuse him/herself from the dais and leave the room unless it is during the Consent Calendar.

N. Meeting Language

1. In accordance with Article III, Section 6 of the California Constitution, English is the official language of the State of California. English should be the language used for the formal portions of any meeting. All business of the Council should be transacted in English.

2. Councilmembers who wish to translate brief comments or questions made in English from the dais into a language that assists limited English‐ proficient speakers may do so, so long as the question or comment is first placed into the record in English, and the translation is a true and correct translation of the English comment.

3. Councilmembers may address their constituents in any language they choose outside of a meeting in which the official business of the City is conducted.

4. When appropriate or otherwise required by law, the City may provide access, services, and programs for limited English‐proficient speakers such as translation services for limited English‐proficient speakers including in person, telephonic, or Zoom translation services.

5. Limited English‐proficient speakers must be allowed the same amount of time to comment on at item or at public comment as other speakers. The translation of a person’s comments cannot be counted toward his or her time limit.

22 CHAPTER V. Meeting Agendas and Minutes
A. Agenda Order
City Council agendas will be prepared by the City Clerk and presented to the City Council in the order described below. The presiding officer with the approval of a majority of the Council can change the order of hearing the items on the agenda.

1. Opening
a. Call to Order by Mayor and Roll Call by City Clerk
b. Adjourn to Closed Session
c. Closed Session Announcement
d. Pledge of Allegiance. If the Mayor and Vice Mayor are both absent, then the City Clerk calls the meeting to order and a temporary presiding officer is elected by a majority of those councilmembers present. Upon the arrival of the Mayor or Vice Mayor, the temporary presiding officer relinquishes the chair at the conclusion of the business then before the City Council.
e. Invocation. In accordance with the policy adopted by City Council (SOP 1.2), the Mayor and Councilmembers shall invite a community member to give an invocation at the speaker podium.

2. Ceremonial matters. The presentation and receipt of proclamations and commendations not requiring formal legislative action.

3. Public Forum. Members of the public wishing to comment on any item not appearing on the agenda may address the City Council at this time. State law prevents Council from taking action on any matter not on the agenda.

Comments may be referred to staff for follow up. Individuals are limited to 3 minutes. However, the presiding officer has discretion to reduce the speaking time in situations where there are a large number of persons who wish to speak.

4. Announcements of Conflict of Interests and Campaign Contributions. City Attorney shall ask the Mayor and Councilmembers to declare any conflicts of interest or campaign donations related to items on the agenda in accordance with the Milpitas Open Government Ordinance (Municipal Code I-310)

5. Reading of the City Council Code of Conduct

6. Approval of Agenda

23 7. Consent Calendar. All matters listed under the Consent Calendar, including minutes, are considered by the Council to be routine and will be enacted by one motion without discussion (except for simple clarifying questions). If discussion is desired, that item may be removed and considered separately.

8. Public Hearing. Duly noticed hearings as mandated by local, state, or federal law, providing an opportunity for public review and comment of a proposed action by the Council.

9. Community Development. This section will cover the Community Development City Service Area and will include items related to Building Safety and Housing, Economic Development, Engineering (Land Development), Fire (Fire Prevention), and Planning.

10. Community Services and Sustainable Infrastructure. This section will cover the Community Services and Sustainable Infrastructure City Service Area and will include items related to Engineering (Capital Projects), Public Works, and Recreation and Community Services.

11. Public Safety. This section will cover the Public Safety City Service Area and will include items related to Fire/ and Police.

12. Leadership and Strategic Support. This section will cover the Leadership and Strategic Support City Service Area and will include items related to the City Clerk, City Council, City Manager, Finance, Human Resources, and Information Technology.

13. Reports of Mayor and Councilmembers. Reports and work plans from Commissions will be presented in this section. Reports from Council Subcommittees will also be presented in this section.

14. Announcements and Future Agenda Items. The Mayor and Councilmembers shall report on any meetings or conferences attended and paid for by the City and may also report on various assignments or other events. The Mayor and Councilmembers shall be limited to the same amount of speaking time as members of the public during open public comment (3 minutes). The City Manager may also make brief announcements. This section will include special reports and any other requests for staff work by the Mayor and Council.

15. Adjournment
B. Agenda Item Submission

1. The City Manager has the primary responsibility for the development of the Council Agenda, excluding closed session items, ensuring all protocols are followed, and that management of the agenda is closely linked to

24 organizational goals and work plans. The City Attorney has the primary responsibility for development of the Closed Session items, ensuring all protocols are followed and that the management of the closed session items is closely linked to the organizational goals. Any item that is placed on the agenda shall be in accordance with the City’s Open Government ordinance (MMC I-310) so that it can be clearly understood by members of the community.

2. Mayor or Councilmember:
a. The Mayor or a Councilmember may request the City Manager to add an item to the open session of a Council agenda or the City Attorney to add an item to the closed session. No staff report or other staff work will occur until the item is discussed before the full City Council. Discussion and prioritization by the City Council will occur on a quarterly basis.
b. Councilmembers may make this request verbally during a meeting or may submit a written request to the City Manager or City Attorney at other times.
c. See Section 2.C.4 “Request for Staff Resources” for further details on any associated staff work related an agenda item request.

3. Members of the Public. A member of the public may request Council action in the following ways:
a. Write a letter to the City Council
b. Speak during the Public Comment period at a City Council meeting c. Attend annual Council goal setting meeting and provide input Upon agreement of a majority of the City Council, Council will determine whether to place on a future agenda an item requested by the public.

C. Meeting Minutes

1. The preparation of accurate minutes is the responsibility of the City Clerk. a) In general, summary minutes are used to record proceedings. The record focuses on who spoke and the motions and votes. Video recordings are used in order to serve a number of administrative, legal, and historical functions and to provide verbatim record of meetings. Failure to record does not affect the validity of any proceedings or action taken by the City Council.
b) The City Clerk may be directed by the presiding officer, with the consent of the City Council, to enter in the minutes a synopsis of the

25 discussion of any matter coming before the City Council. The synopsis should be in complete sentences.
c) The Mayor or a Councilmember may request, through the presiding officer, the privilege of having a previously prepared written abstract summarizing the major points of his or her statement on any subject under consideration entered into the minutes. If the City Council consents, such an abstract is entered into the minutes. d) Items such as letters which individuals request “to have entered into the record” are referred to in, but do not become a part of, the minutes. e) Changes in substantive matters may be made only at the direction of a majority of the City Council. Clerical corrections are to be made when discovered in order to maintain accuracy.

26 CHAPTER VI. City Council Actions
Several different types of action may be taken by the Mayor and/or City Council.

A. Proclamations.

Proclamations are issued by the Mayor without formal action by the City Council.

Proclamations are public announcements directing attention to a person, organization or event, such as Citizen of the Year, Girl Scout Week, or International Year of the Child. Councilmembers need to make their requests to the Mayor, only the Mayor can issue proclamations. If the Mayor refuses to sign a particular proclamation, the requesting Councilmember may ask that this be considered by the Mayor and City Council at the following City Council meeting.

This request must be provided to the City Manager in writing.

B. Commendations.

Commendations are acknowledgments of the activities of a person or organization, signed by the Mayor and any additional councilmembers who have proactively expressed interest in signing without formal action being takenrequiring formal Council action. Commendations typically acknowledge exceptional endeavors or are given to retiring employees and departing board and commission members and are presented at an appropriate function or council meeting. If the Mayor refuses to sign a particular commendation, the requesting Councilmember may ask that this be considered by the Mayor and City Council at the following City Council meeting. This request must be provided to the City Manager in writing.

C. Keys to the City
Keys to the City of Milpitas are only to be issued upon majority approval by the Mayor and City Council. The only exception to this is that a key to the City may be provided to a City with which Milpitas has a formal Sister City relationship without City Council approval. Any City Councilmember may request that consideration for issuance of a key to the City be added to a future City Council agenda. This request must be provided, in writing to the City Manager. The request must define the significant and/or extraordinary achievement or contribution that the recipient (person, group or organization) has made to the City of Milpitas to justify the presentation of the key to the City.

D. Ordinances.

Legislative acts of the City Council are known as ordinances. Subject to certain state law exceptions, most ordinances are introduced at one meeting and are adopted by majority vote at a subsequent meeting, and go into effect 30 days after adoption.

27 An ordinance is necessary (1) when state law requires a regulation to be adopted by ordinance, (2) to amend or repeal provisions of the Municipal Code or any uncodified ordinances, and (3) to impose regulations on persons or property in the City.

Ordinances shall be prepared by the City Attorney. Ordinances are prepared for presentation to the City Council when ordered by a majority vote of the City Council, or when requested by the Mayor or the City Manager, or when prepared on the City Attorney’s own initiative.

E. Resolutions.

Resolutions are City Council actions which become effective upon adoption and encompass the business not addressed through ordinances. They are typically used to handle routine business and administrative matters requiring some type of formal memorialization. Resolutions are used for various reasons, such as when specifically required by law, when needed as a separate evidentiary document to be transmitted to another agency, or where the frequency of future reference back to its contents warrants separate documents to facilitate reference and research.

F. Motions.

The least formal of City Council actions, motions typically are used for procedural matters (such as to continue items) or for administrative matters (such as to accept reports). An adopted motion is as legally effective and binding as an adopted resolution but generally is recorded simply as an item entry in the minutes.

28 CHAPTER VII. Communication
A. California Public Records Act.

All letters, memoranda, and email and other electronic communications involving City Councilmembers and members of boards, commissions, committees and task forces, the subject of which relate to the conduct of government or the performance of any governmental function, with a few exceptions as outlined in the Public Records Act, are public records. Emails and texts with content that concerns City business with other City employees or officials or interested members of the public are likely public records even if they are sent to/from a personal account or device.

B. Ralph M. Brown Act
Each Councilmember should be mindful of all of the requirements of the Brown Act and the Open Government Ordinance contained at Milpitas Municipal Code I-310.1.00 in communicating with each other. A majority of the Council shall not use a series of telephone calls, a conference call, mass e-mailing or any other informal session to discuss or decide matters before the City Council. This type of communication would be considered a “serial meeting” in violation of the law.

Section 54952.2(b)(1) of the Brown Act prohibits a majority of members of a legislative body outside of a lawful meeting from directly or indirectly using a series of meetings to discuss, deliberate or take action on any item of business within the subject matter jurisdiction of the body. Paragraph (b)(2) expressly provides that substantive briefings of members of a legislative body by staff are permissible, as long as staff does not communicate the comments or positions of members to any other members.

A serial meeting is a series of meetings or communications between individuals in which ideas are exchanged among a majority of a legislative body (i.e., three council members) through either one or more persons acting as intermediaries or through use of a technological device (such as a telephone answering machine, or e-mail or voice mail), even though a majority of members never gather in a room at the same time. Serial meetings commonly occur in one of two ways; either a staff member, a member of the body, or some other person individually contacts a majority of members of a body and shares ideas among the majority (“I’ve talked to Councilmembers A and B and they will vote ‘yes.’ Will you?”) or, without the involvement of a third person, member A calls member B, who then calls member C, and so on, until a majority of the body has reached a collective concurrence on a matter.

29 1. Contacts with staff
Staff can inadvertently become a conduit among a majority of a legislative body in the course of providing briefings on items of local agency business.

To avoid an illegal serial meeting through a staff briefing:
a. Individual briefings of a majority of members of a legislative body should be “unidirectional,” in that information should flow from staff to the member and the member's participation should be limited to asking questions and acquiring information. Otherwise, multiple members could separately give staff direction thereby causing staff to shape or modify its ultimate recommendations in order to reconcile the views of the various members, resulting in an action outside a meeting. b. Members should not ask staff to describe the views of other members of the body, and staff should not volunteer those views if known.
c. Staff may present its viewpoint to the member but should not ask for the member's views, and the member should avoid providing his or her views unless it is absolutely clear that the staff member is not discussing the matter with a quorum of the legislative body.

2. Contacts with constituents, bargaining unit representatives, developers, and lobbyists
As with staff, a constituent, bargaining group representative, developer, or lobbyist can also inadvertently become an intermediary who causes an illegal serial meeting. Constituents' unfamiliarity with the requirements of the Act aggravates this potential problem because they may expect a member of a legislative body to be willing to commit to a position in a private conversation in advance of a meeting. To avoid serial meetings via constituent conversations:
a. First, state the ground rules “up front.” Ask if the constituent has or intends to talk with other members of the body about the same subject; if so, make it clear that the constituent should not disclose the views of other members during the conversation.
b. Explain to the constituent that you will not make a final decision on a matter prior to the meeting. For example: “State law prevents me from giving you a commitment outside a meeting. I will listen to what you have to say and give it consideration as I make up my mind.” c. Do more listening and asking questions than expressing opinions.

30 d. If you disclose your thoughts about a matter, counsel the constituent not to share them with other members of the legislative body.

3. Contacts with fellow members of the same legislative body Direct contacts concerning local agency business with fellow members of the same legislative body, whether through face-to-face or telephonic conversations, notes or letters, electronic mail, or staff members, are the most obvious means by which an illegal serial meeting can occur. This is not to say that a member of a legislative body is precluded from discussing items of agency business with another member of the body outside of a meeting; as long as the communication does not involve a quorum of the body, no “meeting” has occurred. There is, however, always the risk that one participant in the communication will disclose the views of the other participant to a third or fourth member, creating an illegal serial meeting. Therefore, it is recommended you avoid discussing local agency business with a quorum of the body or communicating the views of other members outside a meeting.

C. Mail Processing

1. Members of the City Council may receive mail and other materials through City Hall.

2. All mail received and specifically addressed to the Mayor or a Councilmember shall be placed in the mail drawer for that person without first being opened.

3. General correspondence addressed to Councilmembers as a whole may be opened and delivered to all Councilmembers if appropriate.

D. Correspondence

1. The City Manager or designee is authorized to receive and take administrative action on all correspondence directed to the City Council.

The City Manager or designee may also respond to correspondence submitted to the full City Council on non-agenda items or authorize a staff member to respond. A courtesy copy is provided to each Councilmember.

2. Generally, correspondence relating to a specific City Council agenda item shall be distributed with the agenda report; correspondence received after the publication of agenda packets is to be compiled and distributed to the City Council prior to the City Council meeting.

3. After the City Council has taken a position on an issue, official correspondence should reflect this position. While Councilmembers who may disagree with a position are free to prepare correspondence on such issues as private citizens, City letterhead, official City Council title, and staff

31 support should not be utilized. In addition, City letterhead and staff support cannot be utilized for personal or political purposes.

E. City letterhead, logo, insignia, and brand, as well as staff support, cannot be utilized for personal or political purposes.

F. Council Communication to Planning Commission

1. The Mayor and Councilmembers should be mindful not to unduly influence the decision at the Planning Commission meeting so as not to get ahead of the process.

2. It is not appropriate for the Mayor or a Councilmember to make public comments at the Planning Commission meeting unless he/she is acting in his or her personal capacity. If/when the matter comes before the City Council, such member should recuse him or herself from the matter.

G. External Communication

1. The Mayor and Councilmembers may communicate on behalf of the City through media interviews, letters, and newsletters. They may also be quoted in City issued press releases. Although the Mayor and Councilmembers are able to express individual opinions, any communication made on behalf of the City shall be aligned with Council adopted policies, programs, priorities. City issued press releases will include a quote by Mayor and other quotes, if any, will be determined by the City Manager, based on related work by each Councilmember.

32 CHAPTER VIII. Council Liaison Roles
The Mayor and Councilmembers serve on behalf of Milpitas as members of other governmental entities, committees, and agencies.

A. City Council Liaison

1. All City Councilmembers shall serve as liaisons to other City Commissions which shall be approved by the full City Council. In serving as a liaison, a City Councilmember shall endeavor to attend all Commission meetings of the Commission to which he or she is assigned.

2. Statements made by the City Council liaison about the City's official position should reflect the majority opinion of the City Council, which is defined by current or past official City Council action via City Council vote or consensus.

3. If the Mayor or a Councilmember wishes to attend the meeting of a Board, Agency, Committee or Task Force to which he/she has not been appointed to serve on by the City Council, the Mayor or Councilmember, as a courtesy, should advise the City representative(s), if any, as well as the respective chair, and should be mindful of the influence of his/her presence.

If the presence of the Mayor or Councilmember shall constitute a quorum of the City Council, the meeting should be noticed as that of the City Council and all Councilmembers invited. An exception to this rule is when the Mayor or Councilmember observes only and does not speak at the meeting.

B. Milpitas Public Financing Authority, Milpitas Municipal Financing Authority, and Housing Authority Commission.

The Mayor and Councilmembers serve as the members of the Milpitas Public Financing Authority, Milpitas Municipal Financing Authority, and Housing Authority Commission.

C. Regional Boards and Outside Agency Representatives.

1. The role of a Member on regional Boards will vary depending on the nature of the appointment.

2. Reporting. Council representatives to Regional Boards shall keep the Mayor and Councilmembers informed of ongoing business through short written reports to the Mayor and Councilmembers or update reports to the City Council during the "Mayor and Councilmember Reports" opportunity on the City Council meeting agenda.

3. In the event the primary assigned liaison is unable to attend a particular meeting, he or she should notify the chair of the board/agency, and the appointed alternate Council representative, or Mayor, should attend in the place of the primary.

Senate Bill No. 707
CHAPTER 327
An act to amend Sections 54952.7, 54953, 54953.5, 54953.7, 54954.2, 54954.3, 54956, 54956.5, 54957.6, 54957.9, and 54957.95 of, to amend and repeal Section 54952.2 of, to add Sections 54953.8, 54953.8.1, 54953.8.2, and 54957.96 to, and to add and repeal Sections 54953.4, 54953.8.3, 54953.8.4, 54953.8.5, 54953.8.6, and 54953.8.7 of, the Government Code, relating to local government.
[Approved by Governor October 3, 2025. Filed with Secretary of State October 3, 2025.]
legislative counsel’s digest
SB 707, Durazo. Open meetings: meeting and teleconference requirements.
(1) Existing law, the Ralph M. Brown Act, requires, with speci fi ed exceptions, that all meetings of a legislative body, as de fi ned, of a local agency be open and public and that all persons be permitted to attend and participate.

This bill would, beginning July 1, 2026, and until January 1, 2030, require an eligible legislative body, as defi ned, to comply with additional meeting requirements, including that, except as speci fi ed, all open and public meetings include an opportunity for members of the public to attend via a 2-way telephonic service or a 2-way audiovisual platform, as defi ned, and that the eligible legislative body take specified actions to encourage residents to participate in public meetings, as speci fi ed. The bill would require an eligible legislative body, on or before July 1, 2026, to approve at a noticed public meeting in open session a policy regarding disruption of telephonic or internet services occurring during meetings subject to these provisions, as specifi ed, and would require the eligible legislative body to comply with certain requirements relating to disruption, including for certain disruptions, recessing the open session for at least one hour and making a good faith attempt to restore the service, as specifi ed.
(2) Existing law prohibits a majority of the members of a legislative body, outside a meeting authorized by the act, from using a series of communications of any kind to discuss, deliberate, or take action on any item of business that is within the subject matter jurisdiction of the legislative body. Existing law de fi nes “meetings” for these purposes to mean any congregation of a majority of the members of a legislative body at the same time and location, as speci fi ed, to hear, discuss, deliberate, or take action on any item that is within the subject matter jurisdiction of the legislative body. Until January 1, 2026, existing law excepts from the prohibition a member engaging in separate conversations or communications outside of 91 STATE OF CALIFORNIA

AUTHENTICATED

ELECTRONIC LEGAL MATERIAL

a meeting with any other person using an internet-based social media platform for specified purposes, provided, among other things, that a majority of the members do not use the internet-based social media platform to discuss among themselves business of a speci fi c nature that is within the subject matter jurisdiction of the legislative body.

This bill would make the above-described exception related to communications on an internet-based social media platform applicable indefi nitely.
(3) Existing law requires a legislative body, prior to taking fi nal action, to orally report a summary of a recommendation for a fi nal action on specifi ed forms of compensation for a local agency executive, as de fi ned, during the open meeting in which the fi nal action is to be taken.

This bill would also require the legislative body to make that oral report, as provided above, prior to taking fi nal action on those speci fi ed forms of compensation for a department head or other similar administrative offi cer of the local agency.
(4) Existing law requires a legislative body of a local agency or its designee, at least 72 hours before a regular meeting, to post an agenda that meets speci fi ed requirements, including that the agenda contain a brief general description of each item of business to be transacted or discussed at the meeting, as specifi ed.

This bill would, beginning July 1, 2026, and until July 1, 2030, require the agenda for each meeting of an eligible legislative body, as de fi ned, to be translated into all applicable languages. The bill would define “applicable languages” to mean languages, according to data from the most recent American Community Survey, spoken jointly by 20% or more of the applicable population, as speci fi ed, provided that 20% or more of the population that speaks that language that in that city or county speaks English less than “very well,” as specifi ed, and except as provided.

Existing law requires every agenda for regular meetings to provide an opportunity for members of the public to directly address the legislative body on any item of interest of the public, as specified. Existing law specifies that the agenda is not required to provide an opportunity for members of the public to address the legislative body on any item that has already been considered by a committee, as speci fi ed, except if the item has been substantially changed since the committee heard the item, as determined by the legislative body.

This bill would add certain exceptions to the provision related to an item that has already been considered by a committee, including excepting committees whose primary subject matter jurisdiction focuses on elections, budgets, police oversight, privacy, removing from, or restricting access to, materials available in public libraries, or taxes or related spending proposals, except as specifi ed.
(5) Existing law authorizes a legislative body of a local agency to require a copy of the act to be given to each member of the legislative body and specifi ed persons elected to serve as a member of the legislative body, and authorizes an elected legislative body member to require a copy to be given 91 — 2 — Ch. 327

to each member of each legislative body all or a majority of whose members are appointed by or under the authority of the elected legislative body.

This bill would instead require a local agency to provide a copy of the act to any person elected or appointed to serve as a member of a legislative body of the local agency.

Existing law authorizes legislative bodies of local agencies to impose requirements upon themselves which allow greater access to their meetings than prescribed by the minimal standards set forth in the act, and authorizes an elected legislative body of a local agency to also impose those requirements on those appointed legislative bodies of the local agency of which all or a majority of the members are appointed by or under the authority of the elected legislative body.

This bill would remove the above-described requirement that members of an appointed legislative body of a local agency must be appointed by or under the authority of the elected legislative body of a local agency in order for the elected legislative body to impose the above-described requirements on the appointed legislative body.
(6) Existing law provides any person attending an open and public meeting of a legislative body of a local agency with the right to record the proceedings with an audio or visual recorder or a still or motion picture camera, as specifi ed.

This bill would remove the reference to an audio or visual recorder or a still or motion picture camera for purposes of recording the proceedings, as described above.
(7) Existing law authorizes a legislative body of a local agency to use teleconferencing, as speci fi ed, and requires a legislative body of a local agency that elects to use teleconferencing to comply with specifi ed general requirements, including that the local agency post agendas at all teleconference locations, identify each teleconference location in the notice and agenda of the meeting or proceeding, and have each teleconference location be accessible to the public. Existing law also requires that, during the teleconference, at least a quorum of the members of the legislative body participate from locations within the boundaries of the territory over which the local agency exercises jurisdiction, except as specifi ed.

Existing law authorizes members who are outside the jurisdiction of a health authority, as de fi ned, that conducts a teleconferencing meeting to, notwithstanding the above-described general teleconference provisions, count towards the establishment of a quorum when participating in the teleconference if, among other things, at least 50% of the number of members that would establish a quorum are present within the boundaries of the territory over which the authority exercises jurisdiction.

Existing law authorizes, in certain circumstances, the legislative body of a local agency to use speci fi ed alternative teleconferencing which include provisions related to, among others, notice of the means by which members of the public may access the meeting and offer public comment and identifying and including an opportunity for all persons to attend via a call-in option or an internet-based service option. Those circumstances in which 91 Ch. 327— 3 —

the legislative body of a local agency is authorized to use the alternative teleconferencing provisions include speci fi ed circumstances relating to a state of emergency, as de fi ned, and, until January 1, 2026, subject to specifi ed limitations, a member’s need to participate remotely due to just cause, defi ned to include, among other things, a need related to a physical or mental disability, or emergency circumstances, as de fi ned, if certain quorum and disclosure requirements are met.

Existing law also authorizes certain eligible legislative bodies, including neighborhood councils and student body associations and student-run community college organizations to, until January 1, 2026, use alternate teleconferencing if, among other requirements, the city council or board of trustees, as applicable, has adopted an authorizing resolution and 2⁄3 of the
neighborhood city council or specifi ed student organization, as applicable, votes to use alternate teleconference provisions, as specifi ed.

This bill would revise and recast the above-speci fi ed teleconferencing and alternative teleconferencing provisions to uniformly apply certain noticing, disclosure, accessibility, and public commenting provisions. The bill would require a legislative body of a local agency that elects to use teleconferencing pursuant to these alternative teleconferencing provisions to comply with, in addition to any other applicable requirements under the act, specifi ed requirements, including that the legislative body provides at least either 2-way audiovisual platform or 2-way telephonic service and a live webcasting of the meeting as a means by which the public may, among other things, remotely hear and visually observe the meeting, and that a member of the legislative body who participates in a teleconference meeting from a remote location pursuant to these alternative teleconferencing provisions and the specifi c provision of law that the member relied upon to permit their participation by teleconferencing are listed in the minutes of the meeting. The bill would require a local agency to identify and make available to legislative bodies a list of one or more meeting locations that may be available for use by the legislative bodies to conduct their meetings.

The bill would specify that nothing in the bill’s provisions is to be construed to prohibit a member of a legislative body with a disability, as defi ned, from participating in any meeting of the legislative body by remote participation as a reasonable accommodation pursuant to any applicable law. The bill would apply certain provisions relative to, among other things, quorum establishment to that circumstance.

The bill would instead authorize a health authority, as defi ned, to conduct a teleconference meeting pursuant to the above-described alternative teleconferencing provisions.

The bill would revise and recast the alternative teleconferencing provisions applicable in a state of emergency, as defi ned. The bill would also include a local emergency, as defi ned, as a circumstance in which a legislative body of a local agency is authorized to use the alternative teleconferencing provisions.

The bill would revise and recast the alternative teleconferencing provisions applicable in cases of a member’s need to participate remotely due to just 91 — 4 — Ch. 327

cause or emergency circumstances, as de fi ned, to remove the provision applicable to emergency circumstances, to revise related de fi nitions, including broadening the de fi nition of just cause to include, among other things, a physical or family medical emergency that prevents a member from attending in person, and to require the minutes for a meeting to identify the specifi c provision of law that each member relied upon to participate remotely, as specifi ed. The bill would extend the authorization to use the alternative teleconferencing provision until January 1, 2030.

The bill would revise and recast the alternative teleconferencing provisions applicable to neighborhood councils and student body associations and student-run community college organizations. In regards to the alternative teleconferencing provisions applicable to student body associations and student-run community college organizations, the bill would exempt the California Online Community College from specifi ed requirements for an in-person quorum, a physical location for public participation, and certain accommodations under the authorization, and remove the ability for a person with a disability that requires certain accommodations to count towards the in-person quorum requirement. The bill would specify that the student body associations and student-run community college organizations described above are those in any community college recognized within the California Community Colleges system, and would extend the authorization to the Student Senate for California Community Colleges. The bill would extend the authorization to use the alternative teleconferencing provisions applicable to neighborhood councils and student body associations and student-run community college organizations until January 1, 2030.

The bill would, until January 1, 2030, also authorize a specified subsidiary body of local agencies to conduct a teleconference meeting pursuant to the above-described alternative teleconferencing provisions, provided that it complies with the requirements for alternative teleconferencing described above and additional requirements, including that the subsidiary body designates one physical meeting location within the boundaries of the legislative body that created the subsidiary body where members of the subsidiary body who are not participating remotely shall be present and members of the public may physically attend, observe, hear, and participate in the meeting, as specifi ed.

The bill would, until January 1, 2030, also authorize speci fi ed multijurisdictional bodies of local agencies to conduct a teleconference meeting pursuant to the above-described alternative teleconferencing provisions, provided that it complies with the requirements for alternative teleconferencing described above and additional requirements, including that the eligible multijurisdictional body has adopted a resolution that authorizes the multijurisdictional body to use teleconferencing at a regular meeting in open session.

The bill would specify that these teleconferencing provisions are cumulative, and would authorize a legislative body to elect to use any teleconferencing provisions that are applicable to a meeting, regardless of 91 Ch. 327— 5 —

whether any other teleconferencing provisions would also be applicable to that meeting.

Existing law defi nes “teleconference” for purposes of the authorization for a legislative body of a local agency to use teleconferencing to mean a meeting of a legislative body, the members of which are in different locations, connected by electronic means, through either audio or video, or both.

This bill would specify that “teleconference” does not include the attendance of one or more members of a legislative body in a meeting of the body solely by watching or listening via webcasting or any other similar electronic medium that does not permit members to interactively speak, discuss, or deliberate on matters.
(8) Existing law authorizes a special meeting to be called any time by, among other persons, the presiding offi cer of the legislative body of a local agency, by delivering specifi ed written notices and posting a notice on the local agency’s internet website, if the local agency has one. Existing law requires speci fi ed legislative bodies to comply with the internet website posting requirement.

The bill would remove the requirement that only speci fi ed legislative bodies comply with the internet website posting requirement, thereby imposing that requirement on all legislative bodies.
(9) Existing law authorizes a legislative body of a local agency to hold an emergency meeting without complying with specifi ed notice and posting requirements in the case of emergency circumstances, as speci fi ed, and imposes various requirements under these provisions applicable to either legislative bodies generally or legislative bodies which are a school board.

This bill would remove the school board distinction from the above-described provisions, thereby imposing the same requirements to hold an emergency meeting on all legislative bodies of local agencies.

By imposing additional duties on legislative bodies of local agencies, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
(10) Existing law authorizes, in addition to other related speci fi ed authorizations, the presiding member of the legislative body conducting a meeting or their designee to remove, or cause the removal of, an individual for disrupting the meeting. Existing law de fi nes “disrupting” for these purposes to mean engaging in behavior during a meeting of a legislative body that actually disrupts, disturbs, impedes, or renders infeasible the orderly conduct of the meeting, as specifi ed.

This bill would specify that a meeting for purposes of that provision includes any teleconferenced meeting. The bill would specify that the existing authority of a legislative body or its presiding offi cer to remove or limit participation by persons who engage in behavior that actually disrupts, disturbs, impedes, or renders infeasible the orderly conduct of the meeting, as specifi ed, applies to members of the public participating in a meeting via a 2-way telephonic service or a 2-way audiovisual platform, as those terms are defi ned.
(11) The bill would make other updates to references in the act. 91 — 6 — Ch. 327

(12) Existing constitutional provisions require that a statute that limits the right of access to the meetings of public bodies or the writings of public offi cials and agencies be adopted with fi ndings demonstrating the interest protected by the limitation and the need for protecting that interest.

This bill would make legislative fi ndings to that effect. (13) The California Constitution requires local agencies, for the purpose of ensuring public access to the meetings of public bodies and the writings of public offi cials and agencies, to comply with a statutory enactment that amends or enacts laws relating to public records or open meetings and contains findings demonstrating that the enactment furthers the constitutional requirements relating to this purpose.

This bill would make legislative fi ndings to that effect. (14) The bill would include fi ndings that changes proposed by this bill address a matter of statewide concern rather than a municipal affair and, therefore, apply to all cities, including charter cities. (15) The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.

This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specifi ed reason.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1. Section 54952.2 of the Government Code, as amended by Section 1 of Chapter 89 of the Statutes of 2020, is amended to read:
54952.2. (a) As used in this chapter, “meeting” means any congregation of a majority of the members of a legislative body at the same time and location, including teleconference location as permitted by Section 54953, to hear, discuss, deliberate, or take action on any item that is within the subject matter jurisdiction of the legislative body.
(b) (1) A majority of the members of a legislative body shall not, outside a meeting authorized by this chapter, use a series of communications of any kind, directly or through intermediaries, to discuss, deliberate, or take action on any item of business that is within the subject matter jurisdiction of the legislative body.
(2) Paragraph (1) shall not be construed as preventing an employee or offi cial of a local agency, from engaging in separate conversations or communications outside of a meeting authorized by this chapter with members of a legislative body in order to answer questions or provide information regarding a matter that is within the subject matter jurisdiction of the local agency, if that person does not communicate to members of the legislative body the comments or position of any other member or members of the legislative body.
(3) (A) Paragraph (1) shall not be construed as preventing a member of the legislative body from engaging in separate conversations or communications on an internet-based social media platform to answer 91 Ch. 327— 7 —

questions, provide information to the public, or to solicit information from the public regarding a matter that is within the subject matter jurisdiction of the legislative body provided that a majority of the members of the legislative body do not use the internet-based social media platform to discuss among themselves business of a speci fi c nature that is within the subject matter jurisdiction of the legislative body. A member of the legislative body shall not respond directly to any communication on an internet-based social media platform regarding a matter that is within the subject matter jurisdiction of the legislative body that is made, posted, or shared by any other member of the legislative body.
(B) For purposes of this paragraph, all of the following defi nitions shall apply:
(i) “Discuss among themselves” means communications made, posted, or shared on an internet-based social media platform between members of a legislative body, including comments or use of digital icons that express reactions to communications made by other members of the legislative body. (ii) “Internet-based social media platform” means an online service that is open and accessible to the public.
(iii) “Open and accessible to the public” means that members of the general public have the ability to access and participate, free of charge, in the social media platform without the approval by the social media platform or a person or entity other than the social media platform, including any forum and chatroom, and cannot be blocked from doing so, except when the internet-based social media platform determines that an individual violated its protocols or rules.
(c) Nothing in this section shall impose the requirements of this chapter upon any of the following:
(1) Individual contacts or conversations between a member of a legislative body and any other person that do not violate subdivision (b). (2) The attendance of a majority of the members of a legislative body at a conference or similar gathering open to the public that involves a discussion of issues of general interest to the public or to public agencies of the type represented by the legislative body, provided that a majority of the members do not discuss among themselves, other than as part of the scheduled program, business of a speci fi ed nature that is within the subject matter jurisdiction of the local agency. Nothing in this paragraph is intended to allow members of the public free admission to a conference or similar gathering at which the organizers have required other participants or registrants to pay fees or charges as a condition of attendance. (3) The attendance of a majority of the members of a legislative body at an open and publicized meeting organized to address a topic of local community concern by a person or organization other than the local agency, provided that a majority of the members do not discuss among themselves, other than as part of the scheduled program, business of a speci fi c nature that is within the subject matter jurisdiction of the legislative body of the local agency.
91 — 8 — Ch. 327

(4) The attendance of a majority of the members of a legislative body at an open and noticed meeting of another body of the local agency, or at an open and noticed meeting of a legislative body of another local agency, provided that a majority of the members do not discuss among themselves, other than as part of the scheduled meeting, business of a speci fi c nature that is within the subject matter jurisdiction of the legislative body of the local agency.
(5) The attendance of a majority of the members of a legislative body at a purely social or ceremonial occasion, provided that a majority of the members do not discuss among themselves business of a speci fi c nature that is within the subject matter jurisdiction of the legislative body of the local agency.
(6) The attendance of a majority of the members of a legislative body at an open and noticed meeting of a standing committee of that body, provided that the members of the legislative body who are not members of the standing committee attend only as observers.

SEC. 2. Section 54952.2 of the Government Code, as added by Section 2 of Chapter 89 of the Statutes of 2020, is repealed.

SEC. 3. Section 54952.7 of the Government Code is amended to read:
54952.7. A local agency shall provide a copy of this chapter to any person elected or appointed to serve as a member of a legislative body of the local agency.

SEC. 4. Section 54953 of the Government Code, as amended by Section 2 of Chapter 534 of the Statutes of 2023, is amended to read:
54953. (a) All meetings of the legislative body of a local agency shall be open and public, and all persons shall be permitted to attend any meeting of the legislative body of a local agency, except as otherwise provided in this chapter.
(b) (1) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the legislative body of a local agency may use teleconferencing for the benefi t of the public and the legislative body of a local agency in connection with any meeting or proceeding authorized by law. The teleconferenced meeting or proceeding shall comply with all otherwise applicable requirements of this chapter and all otherwise applicable provisions of law relating to a speci fi c type of meeting or proceeding.
(2) Teleconferencing, as authorized by this section, may be used for all purposes in connection with any meeting within the subject matter jurisdiction of the legislative body. If the legislative body of a local agency elects to use teleconferencing, the legislative body of a local agency shall comply with all of the following:
(A) All votes taken during a teleconferenced meeting shall be by rollcall. (B) The teleconferenced meetings shall be conducted in a manner that protects the statutory and constitutional rights of the parties or the public appearing before the legislative body of a local agency. (C) The legislative body shall give notice of the meeting and post agendas as otherwise required by this chapter.
91 Ch. 327— 9 —

(D) The legislative body shall allow members of the public to access the meeting and the agenda shall provide an opportunity for members of the public to address the legislative body directly pursuant to Section 54954.3. (3) If the legislative body of a local agency elects to use teleconferencing, it shall post agendas at all teleconference locations. Each teleconference location shall be identi fi ed in the notice and agenda of the meeting or proceeding, and each teleconference location shall be accessible to the public. During the teleconference, at least a quorum of the members of the legislative body shall participate from locations within the boundaries of the territory over which the local agency exercises jurisdiction, except as expressly provided in this chapter.
(4) The teleconferencing requirements of this subdivision shall not apply to remote participation described in subdivision (c).
(c) (1) Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to prohibit a member of a legislative body with a disability from participating in any meeting of the legislative body by remote participation as a reasonable accommodation pursuant to any applicable law.
(2) A member of a legislative body participating in a meeting by remote participation pursuant to this subdivision shall do both of the following:
(A) The member shall participate through both audio and visual technology, except that any member with a disability, as defi ned in Section 12102 of Title 42 of the United States Code, may participate only through audio technology if a physical condition related to their disability results in a need to participate off camera.
(B) The member shall disclose at the meeting before any action is taken, whether any other individuals 18 years of age or older are present in the room at the remote location with the member, and the general nature of the member’s relationship with any of those individuals.
(3) Remote participation under this subdivision shall be treated as in-person attendance at the physical meeting location for all purposes, including any requirement that a quorum of the legislative body participate from any particular location. The provisions of subdivision (b) and Sections 54953.8 to 54953.8.7, inclusive, shall not apply to remote participation under this subdivision.
(d) (1) No legislative body shall take action by secret ballot, whether preliminary or fi nal.
(2) The legislative body of a local agency shall publicly report any action taken and the vote or abstention on that action of each member present for the action.
(3) (A) Prior to taking final action, the legislative body shall orally report a summary of a recommendation for a fi nal action on the salaries, salary schedules, or compensation paid in the form of fringe bene fi ts of either of the following during the open meeting in which the fi nal action is to be taken:
(i) A local agency executive, as de fi ned in subdivision (d) of Section 3511.1.
91 — 10 — Ch. 327

(ii) A department head or other similar administrative offi cer of the local agency.
(B) This paragraph shall not affect the public’s right under the California Public Records Act (Division 10 (commencing with Section 7920.000) of Title 1) to inspect or copy records created or received in the process of developing the recommendation.
(e) For purposes of this section, both of the following defi nitions apply:
(1) “Disability” means a physical disability or a mental disability as those terms are de fi ned in Section 12926 and used in Section 12926.1, or a disability as defi ned in Section 12102 of Title 42 of the United States Code. (2) (A) “Teleconference” means a meeting of a legislative body, the members of which are in different locations, connected by electronic means, through either audio or video, or both.
(B) Notwithstanding subparagraph (A), “teleconference” does not include one or more members watching or listening to a meeting via webcasting or any other similar electronic medium that does not permit members to interactively speak, discuss, or deliberate on matters. (3) “Remote participation” means participation in a meeting by teleconference at a location other than any physical meeting location designated in the notice of the meeting.

SEC. 5. Section 54953.4 is added to the Government Code, to read:
54953.4. (a) The Legislature fi nds and declares that public access, including through translation of agendas as required by this section, is necessary for an informed populace. The Legislature encourages local agencies to adopt public access requirements that exceed the requirements of this chapter by translating additional languages, employing human translators, and conducting additional outreach.
(b) (1) In addition to any other applicable requirements of this chapter, a meeting held by a eligible legislative body pursuant to this chapter shall comply with both of the following requirements:
(A) (i) (I) (ia) All open and public meetings shall include an opportunity for members of the public to attend via a two-way telephonic service or a two-way audiovisual platform, except if adequate telephonic or internet service is not operational at the meeting location. If adequate telephonic or internet service is operational at the meeting location during only a portion of the meeting, the legislative body shall include an opportunity for members of the public to attend via a two-way telephonic service or a two-way audiovisual platform during that portion of the meeting. (ib) (Ia) On or before July 1, 2026, an eligible legislative body shall approve at a noticed public meeting in open session, not on the consent calendar, a policy regarding disruption of telephonic or internet service occurring during meetings subject to this sub-subclause. The policy shall address the procedures for recessing and reconvening a meeting in the event of disruption and the efforts that the eligible legislative body shall make to attempt to restore the service.
(Ib) If a disruption of telephonic or internet service that prevents members of the public from attending or observing the meeting via the two-way 91 Ch. 327— 11 —

telephonic service or two-way audiovisual platform occurs during the meeting, the eligible legislative body shall recess the open session of the meeting for at least one hour and make a good faith attempt to restore the service. The eligible legislative body may meet in closed session during this period. The eligible legislative body shall not reconvene the open session of the meeting until at least one hour following the disruption, or until telephonic or internet service is restored, whichever is earlier. (Ic) Upon reconvening the open session, if telephonic or internet service has not been restored, the eligible legislative body shall adopt a fi nding by rollcall vote that good faith efforts to restore the telephonic or internet service have been made in accordance with the policy adopted pursuant to sub-sub-subclause (Ia) and that the public interest in continuing the meeting outweighs the public interest in remote public access.
(II) Subclause (I) does not apply to a meeting that is held to do any of the following:
(ia) Attend a judicial or administrative proceeding to which the local agency is a party.
(ib) Inspect real or personal property provided that the topic of the meeting is limited to items directly related to the real or personal property. (ic) Meet with elected or appointed offi cials of the United States or the State of California, solely to discuss a legislative or regulatory issue affecting the local agency and over which the federal or state of fi cials have jurisdiction.
(id) Meet in or nearby a facility owned by the agency, provided that the topic of the meeting is limited to items directly related to the facility. (ie) Meet in an emergency situation pursuant to Section 54956.5. (ii) If an eligible legislative body elects to provide a two-way audiovisual platform, the eligible legislative body shall publicly post and provide a call-in option, and activate any automatic captioning function during the meeting if an automatic captioning function is included with the two-way audiovisual platform. If an eligible legislative body does not elect to provide a two-way audiovisual platform, the eligible legislative body shall provide a two-way telephonic service for the public to participate in the meeting, pursuant to subclause (I).
(B) (i) All open and public meetings for which attendance via a two-way telephonic service or a two-way audiovisual platform is provided in accordance with paragraph (1) shall provide the public with an opportunity to provide public comment in accordance with Section 54954.3 via the two-way telephonic or two-way audiovisual platform, and ensure the opportunity for the members of the public participating via a two-way telephonic or two-way audiovisual platform to provide public comment with the same time allotment as a person attending a meeting in person. (2) (A) An eligible legislative body shall reasonably assist members of the public who wish to translate a public meeting into any language or wish to receive interpretation provided by another member of the public, so long as the interpretation is not disrupting to the meeting, as de fi ned in Section 54957.95. The eligible legislative body shall publicize instructions on how 91 — 12 — Ch. 327

to request assistance under this subdivision. Assistance may include any of the following, as determined by the eligible legislative body:
(i) Arranging space for one or more interpreters at the meeting location. (ii) Allowing extra time during the meeting for interpretation to occur. (iii) Ensuring participants may utilize their personal equipment or reasonably access facilities for participants to access commercially available interpretation services.
(B) This section does not require an eligible legislative body to provide interpretation of any public meeting, however, an eligible legislative body may elect to provide interpretation of any public meeting. (C) The eligible legislative body is not responsible for the content or accuracy of any interpretation facilitated, assisted with, or provided under this subdivision. An action shall not be commenced or maintained against the eligible legislative body arising from the content or accuracy of any interpretation facilitated, assisted with, or provided under this subdivision. (3) An eligible legislative body shall take the following actions to encourage residents, including those in underrepresented communities and non-English-speaking communities, to participate in public meetings:
(A) Have in place a system for electronically accepting and ful fi lling requests for meeting agendas and documents pursuant to Section 54954.1 through email or through an integrated agenda management platform.

Information about how to make a request using this system shall be accessible through a prominent direct link posted on the primary internet website home page of the eligible legislative body.
(B) (i) Create and maintain an accessible internet webpage dedicated to public meetings that includes, or provides a link to, all of the following information:
(I) A general explanation of the public meeting process for the eligible legislative body.
(II) An explanation of the procedures for a member of the public to provide in-person or remote oral public comment during a public meeting or to submit written public comment.
(III) A calendar of all public meeting dates with calendar listings that include the date, time, and location of each public meeting. (IV) The agenda posted online pursuant to paragraph (2) of subdivision (a) of Section 54954.2.
(ii) The eligible legislative body shall include a link to the webpage required by subparagraph (A) on the home page of the eligible legislative body’s internet website.
(C) (i) Make reasonable efforts, as determined by the legislative body, to invite groups that do not traditionally participate in public meetings to attend those meetings, which may include, but are not limited to, all the following:
(I) Media organizations that provide news coverage in the jurisdiction of the eligible legislative body, including media organizations that serve non-English-speaking communities.
91 Ch. 327— 13 —

(II) Good government, civil rights, civic engagement, neighborhood, and community group organizations, or similar organizations that are active in the jurisdiction of the eligible legislative body, including organizations active in non-English-speaking communities.
(ii) Legislative bodies shall have broad discretion in the choice of reasonable efforts they make under this subparagraph. No action shall be commenced or maintained against an eligible legislative body arising from failing to provide public meeting information to any specifi c group pursuant to this subparagraph.
(c) (1) (A) The agenda for each meeting of an eligible legislative body shall be translated into all applicable languages, and each translation shall be posted in accordance with Section 54954.2. Each translation shall include instructions in the applicable language describing how to join the meeting by the telephonic or internet-based service option, including any requirements for registration for public comment.
(B) The accessible internet webpage provided under subparagraph (B) of paragraph (3) of subdivision (b) shall be translated into all applicable languages, and each translation shall be accessible through a prominent direct link posted on the primary internet website home page of the eligible legislative body.
(2) A translation made using a digital translation service shall satisfy the requirements of paragraph (1).
(3) The eligible legislative body shall make available a physical location that is freely accessible to the public in reasonable proximity to the physical location in which the agenda and translations are posted as described in paragraph (1), and shall allow members of the public to post additional translations of the agenda in that location.
(4) The eligible legislative body is not responsible for the content or accuracy of any translation provided pursuant to this subdivision. No action shall be commenced or maintained against an eligible legislative body arising from the content, accuracy, posting, or removal of any translation provided by the eligible legislative body or posted by any person pursuant to this subdivision.
(5) For the purposes of this section, the agenda does not include the entire agenda packet.
(d) This section shall not be construed to affect or supersede any other applicable civil rights, nondiscrimination, or public access laws. (e) For purposes of this section, all of the following defi nitions apply:
(1) (A) “Applicable languages” means languages, according to data from the most recent American Community Survey, spoken jointly by 20 percent or more of the applicable population, provided that 20 percent or more of the population that speaks that language in that city or county speaks English less than “very well.”
(B) For the purposes of subparagraph (A), the applicable population shall be determined as follows:
91 — 14 — Ch. 327

(i) For an eligible legislative body that is a city council or county board of supervisors, the applicable population shall be the population of the city or county.
(ii) For an eligible legislative body of a special district, the applicable population shall be either of the following, at the discretion of the board of directors of the special district:
(I) The population of the county with the greatest population within the boundaries of the special district.
(II) The population of the service area of the special district, if the special district has the data to determine what languages spoken by the population within its service area meet the requirements of paragraph (A). (C) If more than three languages meet the criteria set forth in subparagraph (A), “applicable languages” shall mean the three languages described in subparagraph (A) that are spoken by the largest percentage of the population.
(D) An eligible legislative body may elect to determine the applicable languages based upon a source other than the most recent American Community Survey if it makes a fi nding, based upon substantial evidence, that the other source provides equally or more reliable data for the territory over which the eligible legislative body exercises jurisdiction. (2) “Eligible legislative body” means any of the following:
(A) A city council of a city with a population of 30,000 or more. (B) A county board of supervisors of a county, or city and county, with a population of 30,000 or more.
(C) A city council of a city located in a county with a population of 600,000 or more.
(D) The board of directors of a special district that has an internet website and meets any of the following conditions:
(i) The boundaries of the special district include the entirety of a county with a population of 600,000 or more, and the special district has over 200 full-time equivalent employees.
(ii) The special district has over 1,000 full-time equivalent employees. (iii) The special district has annual revenues, based on the most recent Financial Transaction Report data published by the California State Controller, that exceed four hundred million dollars ($400,000,000), adjusted annually for in fl ation commencing January 1, 2027, as measured by the percentage change in the California Consumer Price Index from January 1 of the prior year to January 1 of the current year, and the special district employs over 200 full-time equivalent employees.
(3) “Two-way audiovisual platform” means an online platform that provides participants with the ability to participate in a meeting via both an interactive video conference and a two-way telephonic service. (4) “Two-way telephonic service” means a telephone service that does not require internet access and allows participants to dial a telephone number to listen and verbally participate.
(f) This section shall become operative on July 1, 2026. 91 Ch. 327— 15 —

(g) This section shall remain in effect only until January 1, 2030, and as of that date is repealed.

SEC. 6. Section 54953.5 of the Government Code is amended to read:
54953.5. (a) Any person attending an open and public meeting of a legislative body of a local agency shall have the right to record the proceedings in the absence of a reasonable fi nding by the legislative body of the local agency that the recording cannot continue without noise, illumination, or obstruction of view that constitutes, or would constitute, a persistent disruption of the proceedings.
(b) Any recording of an open and public meeting made for whatever purpose by or at the direction of the local agency shall be subject to inspection pursuant to the California Public Records Act (Division 10 (commencing with Section 7920.000) of Title 1), but, notwithstanding Section 34090, may be erased or destroyed 30 days after the recording. Any inspection of an audio or video recording shall be provided without charge on equipment made available by the local agency.

SEC. 7. Section 54953.7 of the Government Code is amended to read:
54953.7. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, legislative bodies of local agencies may impose requirements upon themselves which allow greater access to their meetings than prescribed by the minimal standards set forth in this chapter. In addition thereto, an elected legislative body of a local agency may impose those requirements on appointed legislative bodies of the local agency.

SEC. 8. Section 54953.8 is added to the Government Code, to read:
54953.8. (a) The legislative body of a local agency may use teleconferencing as authorized by subdivision (b) of Section 54953 without complying with the requirements of paragraph (3) of subdivision (b) of Section 54953 in any of the circumstances described in Sections 54953.8.1 to 54953.8.7, inclusive.
(b) A legislative body that holds a teleconference meeting pursuant to this section shall, in addition to any other applicable requirements of this chapter, comply with all of the following:
(1) The legislative body shall provide at least one of the following as a means by which the public may remotely hear and visually observe the meeting, and remotely address the legislative body:
(A) A two-way audiovisual platform.
(B) A two-way telephonic service and a live webcasting of the meeting. (2) In each instance in which notice of the time of the teleconference meeting held pursuant to this section is otherwise given or the agenda for the meeting is otherwise posted, the legislative body shall also give notice of the means by which members of the public may access the meeting and offer public comment. The agenda shall identify and include an opportunity for all persons to attend via a call-in option or an internet-based service option.
(3) In the event of a disruption that prevents the legislative body from broadcasting the meeting to members of the public using the call-in option or internet-based service option, or in the event of a disruption within the 91 — 16 — Ch. 327

local agency’s control that prevents members of the public from offering public comments using the call-in option or internet-based service option, the legislative body shall take no further action on items appearing on the meeting agenda until public access to the meeting via the call-in option or internet-based service option is restored. Actions taken on agenda items during a disruption that prevents the legislative body from broadcasting the meeting may be challenged pursuant to Section 54960.1.
(4) The legislative body shall not require public comments to be submitted in advance of the meeting and must provide an opportunity for the public to address the legislative body and offer comment in real time. (5) Notwithstanding Section 54953.3, an individual desiring to provide public comment through the use of an internet website, or other online platform, not under the control of the local legislative body, that requires registration to log in to a teleconference may be required to register as required by the third-party internet website or online platform to participate. (6) (A) A legislative body that provides a timed public comment period for each agenda item shall not close the public comment period for the agenda item, or the opportunity to register, pursuant to paragraph (5), to provide public comment until that timed public comment period has elapsed. (B) A legislative body that does not provide a timed public comment period, but takes public comment separately on each agenda item, shall allow a reasonable amount of time per agenda item to allow public members the opportunity to provide public comment, including time for members of the public to register pursuant to paragraph (5), or otherwise be recognized for the purpose of providing public comment.
(C) A legislative body that provides a timed general public comment period that does not correspond to a specifi c agenda item shall not close the public comment period or the opportunity to register, pursuant to paragraph (5), until the timed general public comment period has elapsed. (7) Any member of the legislative body who participates in a teleconference meeting from a remote location pursuant to this section and the specifi c provision of law that the member relied upon to permit their participation by teleconferencing shall be listed in the minutes of the meeting. (8) The legislative body shall have and implement a procedure for receiving and swiftly resolving requests for reasonable accommodation for individuals with disabilities, consistent with the federal Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. Sec. 12132), and resolving any doubt in favor of accessibility. In each instance in which notice of the time of the meeting is otherwise given or the agenda for the meeting is otherwise posted, the legislative body shall also give notice of the procedure for receiving and resolving requests for accommodation.
(9) The legislative body shall conduct meetings subject to this chapter consistent with applicable civil rights and nondiscrimination laws. (c) A local agency shall identify and make available to legislative bodies a list of one or more meeting locations that may be available for use by the legislative bodies to conduct their meetings.
91 Ch. 327— 17 —

(d) (1) Nothing in this section shall prohibit a legislative body from providing the public with additional teleconference locations. (2) Nothing in this section shall prohibit a legislative body from providing the public with additional physical locations in which the public may observe and address the legislative body by electronic means.
(e) A member of a legislative body who participates in a teleconference meeting from a remote location pursuant to this section shall publicly disclose at the meeting before any action is taken whether any other individuals 18 years of age or older are present in the room at the remote location with the member, and the general nature of the member’s relationship with those individuals.
(f) The teleconferencing provisions described in Section 54953 and Sections 54953.8.1 to 54953.8.7, inclusive, are cumulative. A legislative body may elect to use any teleconferencing provisions that are applicable to a meeting, regardless of whether any other teleconferencing provisions would also be applicable to that meeting.
(g) For purposes of this section, the following defi nitions apply:
(1) “Remote location” means a location from which a member of a legislative body participates in a meeting pursuant to paragraph (7) of subdivision (b), other than any physical meeting location designated in the notice of the meeting. Remote locations need not be accessible to the public. (2) “Teleconference” means a meeting of a legislative body, the members of which are in different locations, connected by electronic means, through either audio or video, or both.
(3) “Two-way audiovisual platform” means an online platform that provides participants with the ability to participate in a meeting via both an interactive video conference and a two-way telephonic service. A two-way audiovisual platform may be structured to disable the use of video for the public participants.
(4) “Two-way telephonic service” means a telephone service that does not require internet access and allows participants to dial a telephone number to listen and verbally participate.
(5) “Webcasting” means a streaming video broadcast online or on television, using streaming media technology to distribute a single content source to many simultaneous listeners and viewers.

SEC. 9. Section 54953.8.1 is added to the Government Code, to read:
54953.8.1. (a) A health authority may conduct a teleconference meeting pursuant to Section 54953.8, provided that it complies with the requirements of that section.
(b) Nothing in this section or Section 54953.8 shall be construed as discouraging health authority members from regularly meeting at a common physical site within the jurisdiction of the authority or from using teleconference locations within or near the jurisdiction of the authority. (c) For purposes of this section, a health authority means any entity created pursuant to Sections 14018.7, 14087.31, 14087.35, 14087.36, 14087.38, and 14087.9605 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, any joint powers authority created pursuant to Article 1 (commencing with Section 91 — 18 — Ch. 327

6500) of Chapter 5 of Division 7 for the purpose of contracting pursuant to Section 14087.3 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, and any advisory committee to a county-sponsored health plan licensed pursuant to Chapter

2.2 (commencing with Section 1340) of Division 2 of the Health and Safety Code if the advisory committee has 12 or more members.

SEC. 10. Section 54953.8.2 is added to the Government Code, to read:
54953.8.2. (a) A legislative body of a local agency may conduct a teleconference meeting pursuant to Section 54953.8 during a proclaimed state of emergency or local emergency, provided that it complies with the requirements of that section and the teleconferencing is used in either of the following circumstances:
(1) 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.
(2) After a determination described in paragraph (1) is made that, as a result of the emergency, meeting in person would present imminent risks to the health or safety of attendees.
(b) If the state of emergency or local emergency remains active, in order to continue to teleconference pursuant to this section, the legislative body shall, no later than 45 days after teleconferencing for the fi rst time pursuant to this section, and every 45 days thereafter, make the following fi ndings by majority vote:
(1) The legislative body has reconsidered the circumstances of the state of emergency or local emergency.
(2) The state of emergency or local emergency continues to directly impact the ability of the members to meet safely in person. (c) This section shall not be construed to require the legislative body to provide a physical location from which the public may attend or comment. (d) Notwithstanding paragraph (1) of subdivision (b) of Section 54953.8, a legislative body conducting a teleconference meeting pursuant to this section may elect to use a two-way telephonic service without a live webcasting of the meeting.
(e) For purposes of this section, the following defi nitions apply:
(1) “Local emergency” means a condition of extreme peril to persons or property proclaimed by the governing body of the local agency affected, in accordance with Section 8630 of the California Emergency Services Act (Chapter 7 (commencing with Section 8550) of Division 1 of Title 2), as defi ned in Section 8680.9, or a local health emergency declared pursuant to Section 101080 of the Health and Safety Code. Local emergency, as used in this section, refers only to local emergencies in the boundaries of the territory over which the local agency exercises jurisdiction. (2) “State of emergency” means state of emergency proclaimed pursuant to Section 8625 of the California Emergency Services Act (Chapter 7 (commencing with Section 8550) of Division 1 of Title 2).

SEC. 11. Section 54953.8.3 is added to the Government Code, to read:
54953.8.3. (a) A legislative body of a local agency may conduct a teleconference meeting pursuant to Section 54953.8 if, during the 91 Ch. 327— 19 —

teleconference meeting, at least a quorum of the members of the legislative body participates in person from a singular physical location clearly identifi ed on the agenda, which location shall be open to the public and situated within the boundaries of the territory over which the local agency exercises jurisdiction, provided that the legislative body complies with the requirements of Section 54953.8 and all of the following additional requirements:
(1) A member of the legislative body notifi es the legislative body at the earliest opportunity possible, including at the start of a regular meeting, of their need to participate remotely for just cause, including a general description of the circumstances relating to their need to appear remotely at the given meeting.
(2) The member shall participate through both audio and visual technology.
(3) (A) The provisions of this subdivision shall not serve as a means for any member of a legislative body to participate in meetings of the legislative body solely by teleconference from a remote location for just cause for more than the following number of meetings, as applicable:
(i) Two meetings per year, if the legislative body regularly meets once per month or less.
(ii) Five meetings per year, if the legislative body regularly meets twice per month.
(iii) Seven meetings per year, if the legislative body regularly meets three or more times per month.
(B) For the purpose of counting meetings attended by teleconference under this paragraph, a “meeting” shall be defined as any number of meetings of the legislative body of a local agency that begin on the same calendar day.
(b) The minutes for the meeting shall identify the speci fi c provision in subdivision (c) that each member relied upon to participate remotely. This subdivision shall not be construed to require the member to disclose any medical diagnosis or disability, or any personal medical information that is otherwise exempt under existing law, including, but not limited to, the Confi dentiality of Medical Information Act (Chapter 1 (commencing with Section 56) of Part 2.6 of Division 1 of the Civil Code). (c) For purposes of this section, “just cause” means any of the following:
(1) Childcare or caregiving need of a child, parent, grandparent, grandchild, sibling, spouse, or domestic partner that requires them to participate remotely. “Child,” “parent,” “grandparent,” “grandchild,” and “sibling” have the same meaning as those terms do in Section 12945.2. (2) A contagious illness that prevents a member from attending in person. (3) A need related to a physical or mental condition that is not subject to subdivision (c) of Section 54953.
(4) Travel while on of fi cial business of the legislative body or another state or local agency.
91 — 20 — Ch. 327

(5) An immunocompromised child, parent, grandparent, grandchild, sibling, spouse, or domestic partner of the member that requires the member to participate remotely.
(6) A physical or family medical emergency that prevents a member from attending in person.
(7) Military service obligations that result in a member being unable to attend in person because they are serving under of fi cial written orders for active duty, drill, annual training, or any other duty required as a member of the California National Guard or a United States Military Reserve organization that requires the member to be at least 50 miles outside the boundaries of the local agency.
(d) This section shall remain in effect only until January 1, 2030, and as of that date is repealed.

SEC. 12. Section 54953.8.4 is added to the Government Code, to read:
54953.8.4. (a) An eligible neighborhood council may conduct a teleconference meeting pursuant to Section 54953.8, provided that it complies with the requirements of that section and all of the following have occurred:
(1) (A) The city council for a city described in paragraph (2) of subdivision (b) considers whether to adopt a resolution to authorize eligible neighborhood councils to use teleconferencing as described in this section at an open and regular meeting.
(B) If the city council adopts a resolution described in subparagraph (A), an eligible neighborhood council may elect to use teleconferencing pursuant to this section if a majority of the eligible neighborhood council votes to do so. The eligible neighborhood council shall notify the city council if it elects to use teleconferencing pursuant to this section and its justification for doing so.
(C) Upon receiving notifi cation from an eligible neighborhood council described in subparagraph (B), the city council may adopt a resolution to prohibit the eligible neighborhood council from using teleconferencing pursuant to this section.
(2) After completing the requirements of subparagraph (A) of paragraph (1), an eligible neighborhood council that holds a meeting pursuant to this subdivision shall do all of the following:
(A) At least a quorum of the members of the eligible neighborhood council shall participate from locations within the boundaries of the city in which the eligible neighborhood council is established. (B) At least once per year, at least a quorum of the members of the eligible neighborhood council shall participate in person from a singular physical location that is open to the public and within the boundaries of the eligible neighborhood council.
(3) If the meeting is during regular business hours of the of fi ces of the city council member that represents the area that includes the eligible neighborhood council, the eligible neighborhood council shall provide a publicly accessible physical location from which the public may attend or comment, which shall be the of fi ces of the city council member who 91 Ch. 327— 21 —

represents the area where the eligible neighborhood council is located, unless the eligible neighborhood council identifi es an alternative location. (4) If the meeting is outside regular business hours, the eligible neighborhood council shall make reasonable efforts to accommodate any member of the public that requests an accommodation to participate in the meeting.
(b) For purposes of this section, the following defi nitions apply:
(1) “Accommodation” means providing a publicly accessible physical location for the member of the public to participate from, providing access to technology necessary to participate in the meeting, or identifying locations or resources available that could provide the member of the public with an opportunity to participate in the meeting.
(2) “Eligible neighborhood council” means a neighborhood council that is an advisory body with the purpose to promote more citizen participation in government and make government more responsive to local needs that is established pursuant to the charter of a city with a population of more than 3,000,000 people that is subject to this chapter.
(c) This section shall remain in effect only until January 1, 2030, and as of that date is repealed.

SEC. 13. Section 54953.8.5 is added to the Government Code, to read:
54953.8.5. (a) An eligible community college student organization may conduct a teleconference meeting pursuant to Section 54953.8, provided that it complies with the requirements of that section and all of the following additional requirements:
(1) An eligible community college student organization may only use teleconferencing as described in Section 54953.8 after all the following have occurred:
(A) The board of trustees for a community college district considers whether to adopt a resolution to authorize eligible community college student organizations to use teleconferencing as described in this section at an open and regular meeting.
(B) If the board of trustees for a community college district adopts a resolution described in subparagraph (A), an eligible community college student organization may elect to use teleconferencing pursuant to this section if a majority of the eligible community college student organization votes to do so. The eligible community college student organization shall notify the board of trustees if it elects to use teleconferencing pursuant to this section and its justifi cation for doing so.
(C) Upon receiving noti fi cation from an eligible community college student organization as described in subparagraph (B), the board of trustees may adopt a resolution to prohibit the eligible community college student organization from using teleconferencing pursuant to this section. (D) (i) Except as specified in clause (ii), at least a quorum of the members of the eligible community college student organization shall participate from a singular physical location that is accessible to the public and is within the community college district in which the eligible community college student organization is established.
91 — 22 — Ch. 327

(ii) The requirements described in clause (i) shall not apply to the California Online Community College.
(iii) Notwithstanding the requirements of clause (i), a person may count toward the establishment of a quorum pursuant to clause (i) regardless of whether the person is participating at the in-person location of the meeting or remotely if the person meets any of the following criteria:
(I) The person is under 18 years of age.
(II) The person is incarcerated.
(III) The person is unable to disclose the location that they are participating from because of either of the following circumstances:
(ia) The person has been issued a protective court order, including, but not limited to, a domestic violence restraining order.
(ib) The person is participating in a program that has to remain confi dential, including, but not limited to, an independent living program. (IV) The person provides childcare or caregiving to a child, parent, grandparent, grandchild, sibling, spouse, or domestic partner that requires them to participate remotely. For purposes of this subclause, “child,” “parent,” “grandparent,” “grandchild,” and “sibling” have the same meaning as those terms are defi ned in Section 12945.2.
(2) An eligible community college student organization that holds a meeting by teleconference as described in Section 54953.8 shall do the following, as applicable:
(A) (i) Except as specifi ed in subparagraph (B), if the meeting is during regular business hours of the of fi ces of the board of trustees of the community college district, the eligible community college student organization shall provide a publicly accessible physical location from which the public may attend or comment, which shall be the of fi ces of the board of trustees of the community college district, unless the eligible community college student organization identifi es an alternative location. (ii) Except as speci fi ed in subparagraph (B), if the meeting is outside regular business hours, the eligible community college student organization shall make reasonable efforts to accommodate any member of the public that requests an accommodation to participate in the meeting. For the purposes of this subparagraph, “accommodation” means providing a publicly accessible physical location for the member of the public to participate from, providing access to technology necessary to participate in the meeting, or identifying locations or resources available that could provide the member of the public with an opportunity to participate in the meeting. (B) The requirements described in subparagraph (A) shall not apply to the California Online Community College.
(b) For purposes of this section, “eligible community college student organization” means a student body association organized pursuant to Section 76060 of the Education Code, or any other student-run community college organization that is required to comply with the meeting requirements of this chapter, that is in any community college recognized within the California Community Colleges system and includes the Student Senate for California Community Colleges.
91 Ch. 327— 23 —

(c) This section shall remain in effect only until January 1, 2030, and as of that date is repealed.

SEC. 14. Section 54953.8.6 is added to the Government Code, to read:
54953.8.6. (a) An eligible subsidiary body may conduct a teleconference meeting pursuant to Section 54953.8, provided that it complies with the requirements of that section and all of the following additional requirements:
(1) The eligible subsidiary body shall designate one physical meeting location within the boundaries of the legislative body that created the eligible subsidiary body where members of the subsidiary body who are not participating remotely shall be present and members of the public may physically attend, observe, hear, and participate in the meeting. At least one staff member of the eligible subsidiary body or the legislative body that created the eligible subsidiary body shall be present at the physical meeting location during the meeting. The eligible subsidiary body shall post the agenda at the physical meeting location, but need not post the agenda at a remote location.
(2) (A) A member of the eligible subsidiary body shall visibly appear on camera during the open portion of a meeting that is publicly accessible via the internet or other online platform, except if the member has a physical or mental condition not subject to subdivision (c) of Section 54953 that results in a need to participate off camera.
(B) The visual appearance of a member of the eligible subsidiary body on camera may cease only when the appearance would be technologically infeasible, including, but not limited to, when the member experiences a lack of reliable broadband or internet connectivity that would be remedied by joining without video.
(C) If a member of the eligible subsidiary body does not appear on camera due to challenges with internet connectivity, the member shall announce the reason for their nonappearance prior to turning off their camera. (3) An elected official serving as a member of an eligible subsidiary body in their of fi cial capacity shall not participate in a meeting of the eligible subsidiary body by teleconferencing pursuant to this section unless the use of teleconferencing complies with the requirements of paragraph (3) of subdivision (b) of Section 54953.
(4) (A) In order to use teleconferencing pursuant to this section, the legislative body that established the eligible subsidiary body by charter, ordinance, resolution, or other formal action shall make the following fi ndings by majority vote before the eligible subsidiary body uses teleconferencing pursuant to this section for the fi rst time, and every six months thereafter:
(i) The legislative body has considered the circumstances of the eligible subsidiary body.
(ii) Teleconference meetings of the eligible subsidiary body would enhance public access to meetings of the eligible subsidiary body, and the public has been made aware of the type of remote participation, including audio-visual or telephonic, that will be made available at a regularly scheduled meeting and has been provided the opportunity to comment at 91 — 24 — Ch. 327

an in-person meeting of the legislative body authorizing the subsidiary body to meet entirely remotely.
(iii) Teleconference meetings of the eligible subsidiary body would promote the attraction, retention, and diversity of eligible subsidiary body members.
(B) (i) An eligible subsidiary body authorized to use teleconferencing pursuant to this section may request to present any recommendations it develops to the legislative body that created it.
(ii) Upon receiving a request described in clause (i), the legislative body that created the subsidiary body shall hold a discussion at a regular meeting held within 60 days after the legislative body receives the request, or if the legislative body does not have another regular meeting scheduled within 60 days after the legislative body receives the request, at the next regular meeting after the request is received.
(iii) The discussion required by clause (ii) shall not be placed on a consent calendar, but may be combined with the legislative body’s subsequent consideration of the findings described in subparagraph (A) for the following 12 months.
(iv) The legislative body shall not take any action on any recommendations included in the report of a subsidiary body until the next regular meeting of the legislative body following the discussion described in clause (ii).
(C) After the legislative body makes the fi ndings described in subparagraph (A), the eligible subsidiary body shall approve the use of teleconferencing by majority vote before using teleconference pursuant to this section.
(D) The legislative body that created the eligible subsidiary body may elect to prohibit the eligible subsidiary body from using teleconferencing pursuant to this section at any time.
(b) (1) For purposes of this section, “eligible subsidiary body” means a legislative body that meets all of the following:
(A) Is described in subdivision (b) of Section 54952.
(B) Serves exclusively in an advisory capacity.
(C) Is not authorized to take fi nal action on legislation, regulations, contracts, licenses, permits, or any other entitlements, grants, or allocations of funds.
(D) Does not have primary subject matter jurisdiction, as defi ned by the charter, an ordinance, a resolution, or any formal action of the legislative body that created the subsidiary body, that focuses on elections, budgets, police oversight, privacy, removing from, or restricting access to, materials available in public libraries, or taxes or related spending proposals. (2) An eligible subsidiary body may include members who are elected officials, members who are not elected officials, or any combination thereof. (c) This section shall remain in effect only until January 1, 2030, and as of that date is repealed.

SEC. 15. Section 54953.8.7 is added to the Government Code, to read:
91 Ch. 327— 25 —

54953.8.7. (a) An eligible multijurisdictional body may conduct a teleconference meeting pursuant to Section 54953.8, provided that it complies with the requirements of that section and all of the following additional requirements:
(1) The eligible multijurisdictional body has adopted a resolution that authorizes the eligible multijurisdictional body to use teleconferencing pursuant to this section at a regular meeting in open session. (2) At least a quorum of the members of the eligible multijurisdictional body shall participate from one or more physical locations that are open to the public and within the boundaries of the territory over which the local agency exercises jurisdiction.
(3) A member of the eligible multijurisdictional body who receives compensation for their service on the eligible multijurisdictional body shall participate from a physical location that is open to the public. For purposes of this paragraph, “compensation” does not include reimbursement for actual and necessary expenses.
(4) A member of the eligible multijurisdictional body may participate from a remote location provided that:
(A) The eligible multijurisdictional body identifi es each member of the eligible multijurisdictional body who plans to participate remotely in the agenda.
(B) The member shall participate through both audio and visual technology.
(5) A member of the eligible multijurisdictional body shall not participate in a meeting remotely pursuant to this section, unless the location from which the member participates is more than 20 miles each way from any physical location of the meeting described in paragraph (2). (6) The provisions of this section shall not serve as a means for any member of a legislative body to participate in meetings of the legislative body solely by teleconference from a remote location for more than the following number of meetings, as applicable:
(A) Two meetings per year, if the legislative body regularly meets once per month or less.
(B) Five meetings per year, if the legislative body regularly meets twice per month.
(C) Seven meetings per year, if the legislative body regularly meets three or more times per month.
(D) For the purpose of counting meetings attended by teleconference under this paragraph, a “meeting” shall be defined as any number of meetings of the legislative body of a local agency that begin on the same calendar day.
(b) For the purposes of this section, both of the following de fi nitions apply:
(1) “Eligible multijurisdictional body” means a multijurisdictional board, commission, or advisory body of a multijurisdictional, cross-county agency, the membership of which board, commission, or advisory body is appointed, 91 — 26 — Ch. 327

and the board, commission, or advisory body is otherwise subject to this chapter.
(2) “Multijurisdictional” means either of the following:
(A) A legislative body that includes representatives from more than one county, city, city and county, or special district.
(B) A legislative body of a joint powers entity formed pursuant to an agreement entered into in accordance with Article 1 (commencing with Section 6500) of Chapter 5 of Division 7 of Title 1.
(c) This section shall remain in effect only until January 1, 2030, and as of that date is repealed.

SEC. 16. Section 54954.2 of the Government Code, as amended by Section 92 of Chapter 131 of the Statutes of 2023, is amended to read:
54954.2. (a) (1) At least 72 hours before a regular meeting, the legislative body of the local agency, or its designee, shall post an agenda that meets all of the following requirements:
(A) The agenda shall contain a brief general description of each item of business to be transacted or discussed at the meeting, including items to be discussed in closed session. A brief general description of an item generally need not exceed 20 words.
(B) The agenda shall specify the time and location of the regular meeting and shall be posted in a location that is freely accessible to members of the public and on the local agency’s internet website, if the local agency has one.
(C) (i) If requested, the agenda shall be made available in appropriate alternative formats to persons with a disability, as required by Section 202 of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. Sec. 12132), and the federal rules and regulations adopted in implementation thereof. (ii) The agenda shall include information regarding how, to whom, and when a request for disability-related modi fi cation or accommodation, including auxiliary aids or services, may be made by a person with a disability who requires a modi fi cation or accommodation in order to participate in the public meeting.
(2) For a meeting occurring on and after January 1, 2019, of a legislative body of a city, county, city and county, special district, school district, or political subdivision established by the state that has an internet website, the following provisions shall apply:
(A) An online posting of an agenda shall be posted on the primary internet website home page of a city, county, city and county, special district, school district, or political subdivision established by the state that is accessible through a prominent, direct link to the current agenda. The direct link to the agenda shall not be in a contextual menu; however, a link in addition to the direct link to the agenda may be accessible through a contextual menu. (B) An online posting of an agenda, including, but not limited to, an agenda posted in an integrated agenda management platform, shall be posted in an open format that meets all of the following requirements:
(i) Retrievable, downloadable, indexable, and electronically searchable by commonly used internet search applications.
91 Ch. 327— 27 —

(ii) Platform independent and machine readable.
(iii) Available to the public free of charge and without any restriction that would impede the reuse or redistribution of the agenda. (C) A legislative body of a city, county, city and county, special district, school district, or political subdivision established by the state that has an internet website and an integrated agenda management platform shall not be required to comply with subparagraph (A) if all of the following are met:
(i) A direct link to the integrated agenda management platform shall be posted on the primary internet website home page of a city, county, city and county, special district, school district, or political subdivision established by the state. The direct link to the integrated agenda management platform shall not be in a contextual menu. When a person clicks on the direct link to the integrated agenda management platform, the direct link shall take the person directly to an internet website with the agendas of the legislative body of a city, county, city and county, special district, school district, or political subdivision established by the state.
(ii) The integrated agenda management platform may contain the prior agendas of a legislative body of a city, county, city and county, special district, school district, or political subdivision established by the state for all meetings occurring on or after January 1, 2019.
(iii) The current agenda of the legislative body of a city, county, city and county, special district, school district, or political subdivision established by the state shall be the fi rst agenda available at the top of the integrated agenda management platform.
(iv) All agendas posted in the integrated agenda management platform shall comply with the requirements in clauses (i), (ii), and (iii) of subparagraph (B).
(D) The provisions of this paragraph shall not apply to a political subdivision of a local agency that was established by the legislative body of the city, county, city and county, special district, school district, or political subdivision established by the state.
(E) For purposes of this paragraph, both of the following de fi nitions apply:
(1) “Integrated agenda management platform” means an internet website of a city, county, city and county, special district, school district, or political subdivision established by the state dedicated to providing the entirety of the agenda information for the legislative body of the city, county, city and county, special district, school district, or political subdivision established by the state to the public.
(2) “Legislative body” means a legislative body that meets the defi nition of subdivision (a) of Section 54952.
(3) No action or discussion shall be undertaken on any item not appearing on the posted agenda, except that members of a legislative body or its staff may brie fl y respond to statements made or questions posed by persons exercising their public testimony rights under Section 54954.3. In addition, on their own initiative or in response to questions posed by the public, a member of a legislative body or its staff may ask a question for clarifi cation, 91 — 28 — Ch. 327

make a brief announcement, or make a brief report on their own activities.

Furthermore, a member of a legislative body, or the body itself, subject to rules or procedures of the legislative body, may provide a reference to staff or other resources for factual information, request staff to report back to the body at a subsequent meeting concerning any matter, or take action to direct staff to place a matter of business on a future agenda. (b) Notwithstanding subdivision (a), the legislative body may take action on items of business not appearing on the posted agenda under any of the conditions stated below. Prior to discussing any item pursuant to this subdivision, the legislative body shall publicly identify the item. (1) Upon a determination by a majority vote of the legislative body that an emergency situation exists, as defi ned in Section 54956.5. (2) Upon a determination by a two-thirds vote of the members of the legislative body present at the meeting, or, if less than two-thirds of the members are present, a unanimous vote of those members present, that there is a need to take immediate action and that the need for action came to the attention of the local agency subsequent to the agenda being posted as specifi ed in subdivision (a).
(3) The item was posted pursuant to subdivision (a) for a prior meeting of the legislative body occurring not more than fi ve calendar days prior to the date action is taken on the item, and at the prior meeting the item was continued to the meeting at which action is being taken. (c) This section is necessary to implement and reasonably within the scope of paragraph (1) of subdivision (b) of Section 3 of Article I of the California Constitution.
(d) For purposes of subdivision (a), the requirement that the agenda be posted on the local agency’s internet website, if the local agency has one, shall only apply to a legislative body that meets either of the following standards:
(1) A legislative body as that term is defined by subdivision (a) of Section 54952.
(2) A legislative body as that term is defined by subdivision (b) of Section 54952, if the members of the legislative body are compensated for their appearance, and if one or more of the members of the legislative body are also members of a legislative body as that term is de fi ned by subdivision (a) of Section 54952.

SEC. 17. Section 54954.3 of the Government Code is amended to read:
54954.3. (a) (1) Every agenda for regular meetings shall provide an opportunity for members of the public to directly address the legislative body on any item of interest to the public, before or during the legislative body’s consideration of the item, that is within the subject matter jurisdiction of the legislative body, provided that no action shall be taken on any item not appearing on the agenda unless the action is otherwise authorized by subdivision (b) of Section 54954.2.
(2) (A) Notwithstanding paragraph (1), the agenda need not provide an opportunity for members of the public to address the legislative body on any item that has already been considered by a committee, composed 91 Ch. 327— 29 —

exclusively of members of the legislative body, at a public meeting wherein all interested members of the public were afforded the opportunity to address the committee on the item, before or during the committee’s consideration of the item.
(B) Subparagraph (A) shall not apply if any of the following conditions are met:
(i) The item has been substantially changed since the committee heard the item, as determined by the legislative body.
(ii) When considering the item, a quorum of the committee members did not participate from a singular physical location, that was clearly identifi ed on the agenda, open to the public, and situated within the boundaries of the territory over which the local agency exercises jurisdiction. (iii) The committee has primary subject matter jurisdiction, as de fi ned by the charter, an ordinance, a resolution, or any formal action of the legislative body that created the subsidiary body, that focuses on elections, budgets, police oversight, privacy, removing from, or restricting access to, materials available in public libraries, or taxes or related spending proposals.

This clause shall not apply to an item if the local agency has adopted a law applicable to the meeting of the committee at which the item that was considered prohibits the committee from placing a limit on the total amount of time for public comment on the item.
(3) Every notice for a special meeting shall provide an opportunity for members of the public to directly address the legislative body concerning any item that has been described in the notice for the meeting before or during consideration of that item.
(b) (1) The legislative body of a local agency may adopt reasonable regulations to ensure that the intent of subdivision (a) is carried out, including, but not limited to, regulations limiting the total amount of time allocated for public testimony on particular issues and for each individual speaker.
(2) Notwithstanding paragraph (1), when the legislative body of a local agency limits time for public comment, the legislative body of a local agency shall provide at least twice the allotted time to a member of the public who utilizes a translator to ensure that non-English speakers receive the same opportunity to directly address the legislative body of a local agency. (3) Paragraph (2) shall not apply if the legislative body of a local agency utilizes simultaneous translation equipment in a manner that allows the legislative body of a local agency to hear the translated public testimony simultaneously.
(c) The legislative body of a local agency shall not prohibit public criticism of the policies, procedures, programs, or services of the agency, or of the acts or omissions of the legislative body. Nothing in this subdivision shall confer any privilege or protection for expression beyond that otherwise provided by law.

SEC. 18. Section 54956 of the Government Code is amended to read:
54956. (a) (1) A special meeting may be called at any time by the presiding offi cer of the legislative body of a local agency, or by a majority 91 — 30 — Ch. 327

of the members of the legislative body, by delivering written notice to each member of the legislative body and to each local newspaper of general circulation and radio or television station requesting notice in writing and posting a notice on the local agency’s internet website, if the local agency has one. The notice shall be delivered personally or by any other means and shall be received at least 24 hours before the time of the meeting as specifi ed in the notice. The call and notice shall specify the time and place of the special meeting and the business to be transacted or discussed. No other business shall be considered at these meetings by the legislative body. The written notice may be dispensed with as to any member who at or prior to the time the meeting convenes fi les with the clerk or secretary of the legislative body a written waiver of notice. The waiver may be given by telephone or electronic mail. The written notice may also be dispensed with as to any member who is actually present at the meeting at the time it convenes.
(2) The call and notice shall be posted at least 24 hours prior to the special meeting in a location that is freely accessible to members of the public. (b) Notwithstanding any other law, a legislative body shall not call a special meeting regarding the salaries, salary schedules, or compensation paid in the form of fringe benefits, of the legislative body or of a local agency executive, as defi ned in subdivision (d) of Section 3511.1. However, this subdivision does not apply to a local agency calling a special meeting to discuss the local agency’s budget.

SEC. 19. Section 54956.5 of the Government Code is amended to read:
54956.5. (a) For purposes of this section, “emergency situation” means both of the following:
(1) An emergency, which shall be defi ned as a work stoppage, crippling activity, or other activity that severely impairs public health, safety, or both, as determined by a majority of the members of the legislative body. (2) A dire emergency, which shall be de fi ned as a crippling disaster, mass destruction, terrorist act, or threatened terrorist activity that poses peril so immediate and signi fi cant that requiring a legislative body to provide one-hour notice before holding an emergency meeting under this section may endanger the public health, safety, or both, as determined by a majority of the members of the legislative body.
(b) (1) Subject to paragraph (2), in the case of an emergency situation involving matters upon which prompt action is necessary due to the disruption or threatened disruption of public facilities, a legislative body may hold an emergency meeting without complying with either the 24-hour notice requirement or the 24-hour posting requirement of Section 54956 or both of the notice and posting requirements.
(2) Each local newspaper of general circulation and radio or television station that has requested notice of special meetings pursuant to Section 54956 shall be noti fi ed by the presiding of fi cer of the legislative body, or designee thereof, one hour prior to the emergency meeting, or, in the case of a dire emergency, at or near the time that the presiding offi cer or designee notifi es the members of the legislative body of the emergency meeting. 91 Ch. 327— 31 —

(A) Except as provided in subparagraph (B), the notice required by this paragraph shall be given by telephone and all telephone numbers provided in the most recent request of a newspaper or station for notification of special meetings shall be exhausted. In the event that telephone services are not functioning, the notice requirements of this paragraph shall be deemed waived, and the legislative body, or designee of the legislative body, shall notify those newspapers, radio stations, or television stations of the fact of the holding of the emergency meeting, the purpose of the meeting, and any action taken at the meeting as soon after the meeting as possible. (B) For an emergency meeting held pursuant to this section, the presiding officer of the legislative body, or designee thereof, may send the notifications required by this paragraph by email instead of by telephone, as provided in subparagraph (A), to all local newspapers of general circulation, and radio or television stations, that have requested those notifi cations by email, and all email addresses provided by representatives of those newspapers or stations shall be exhausted. In the event that internet services and telephone services are not functioning, the notice requirements of this paragraph shall be deemed waived, and the legislative body, or designee of the legislative body, shall notify those newspapers, radio stations, or television stations of the fact of the holding of the emergency meeting, the purpose of the meeting, and any action taken at the meeting as soon after the meeting as possible. (c) During a meeting held pursuant to this section, the legislative body may meet in closed session pursuant to Section 54957 if agreed to by a two-thirds vote of the members of the legislative body present, or, if less than two-thirds of the members are present, by a unanimous vote of the members present.
(d) All special meeting requirements, as prescribed in Section 54956 shall be applicable to a meeting called pursuant to this section, with the exception of the 24-hour notice requirement.
(e) The minutes of a meeting called pursuant to this section, a list of persons who the presiding offi cer of the legislative body, or designee of the legislative body, notifi ed or attempted to notify, a copy of the rollcall vote, and any actions taken at the meeting shall be posted for a minimum of 10 days in a public place as soon after the meeting as possible.

SEC. 20. Section 54957.6 of the Government Code is amended to read:
54957.6. (a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a legislative body of a local agency may hold closed sessions with the local agency’s designated representatives regarding the salaries, salary schedules, or compensation paid in the form of fringe bene fi ts of its represented and unrepresented employees, and, for represented employees, any other matter within the statutorily provided scope of representation, subject to all of the following conditions:
(1) Prior to the closed session, the legislative body of the local agency shall hold an open and public session in which it identi fi es its designated representatives.
(2) The closed session shall be for the purpose of reviewing its position and instructing the local agency’s designated representatives. 91 — 32 — Ch. 327

(3) The closed session may take place prior to and during consultations and discussions with representatives of employee organizations and unrepresented employees.
(4) Any closed session with the local agency’s designated representative regarding the salaries, salary schedules, or compensation paid in the form of fringe bene fi ts may include discussion of an agency’s available funds and funding priorities, but only insofar as these discussions relate to providing instructions to the local agency’s designated representative. (5) The closed session shall not include fi nal action on the proposed compensation of one or more unrepresented employees.
(6) For the purposes enumerated in this section, a legislative body of a local agency may also meet with a state conciliator who has intervened in the proceedings.
(b) For the purposes of this section, the term “employee” shall include an offi cer or an independent contractor who functions as an of fi cer or an employee, but shall not include any elected offi cial, member of a legislative body, or other independent contractors.

SEC. 21. Section 54957.9 of the Government Code is amended to read:
54957.9. In the event that any meeting is willfully interrupted by a group or groups of persons so as to render the orderly conduct of the meeting unfeasible and order cannot be restored by the removal of individuals who are willfully interrupting the meeting, the members of the legislative body conducting the meeting may order the meeting room cleared and continue in session. Only matters appearing on the agenda may be considered in such a session. Representatives of the press or other news media, except those participating in the disturbance, shall be allowed to attend any session held pursuant to this section. Nothing in this section shall prohibit the legislative body from establishing a procedure for readmitting an individual or individuals not responsible for willfully disturbing the orderly conduct of the meeting.

SEC. 22. Section 54957.95 of the Government Code is amended to read:
54957.95. (a) (1) In addition to authority exercised pursuant to Sections 54954.3 and 54957.9, the presiding member of the legislative body conducting a meeting or their designee may remove, or cause the removal of, an individual for disrupting the meeting, including any teleconferenced meeting.
(2) Prior to removing an individual, the presiding member or their designee shall warn the individual that their behavior is disrupting the meeting and that their failure to cease their behavior may result in their removal. The presiding member or their designee may then remove the individual if they do not promptly cease their disruptive behavior. This paragraph does not apply to any behavior described in subparagraph (B) of paragraph (1) of subdivision (b).
(b) As used in this section:
(1) “Disrupting” means engaging in behavior during a meeting of a legislative body that actually disrupts, disturbs, impedes, or renders infeasible 91 Ch. 327— 33 —

the orderly conduct of the meeting and includes, but is not limited to, one of the following:
(A) A failure to comply with reasonable and lawful regulations adopted by a legislative body pursuant to Section 54954.3 or any other law. (B) Engaging in behavior that constitutes use of force or a true threat of force.
(2) “True threat of force” means a threat that has suf fi cient indicia of intent and seriousness, that a reasonable observer would perceive it to be an actual threat to use force by the person making the threat.

SEC. 23. Section 54957.96 is added to the Government Code, to read:
54957.96. (a) The existing authority of a legislative body or its presiding offi cer to remove or limit participation by persons who engage in behavior that actually disrupts, disturbs, impedes, or renders infeasible the orderly conduct of the meeting, including existing limitations upon that authority, shall apply to members of the public participating in a meeting via a two-way telephonic service or a two-way audiovisual platform.
(b) For purposes of this section, the following defi nitions apply:
(1) “Two-way audiovisual platform” means an online platform that provides participants with the ability to participate in a meeting via both an interactive video conference and a two-way telephonic service. A two-way audiovisual platform may be structured to disable the use of video for the public participants.
(2) “Two-way telephonic service” means a telephone service that does not require internet access and allows participants to dial a telephone number to listen and verbally participate.

SEC. 24. The Legislature fi nds and declares that Section 4 of this act, which amends Section 54953 of, Section 5 of this act, which adds Section 54953.4 to, Sections 8 to 15, inclusive, of this act, which add Sections 54953.8 to 54953.8.7, respectively, to, Section 19 of this act, which amends Section 54956.5 of, Section 22 of this act, which amends Section 54957.95 of, and Section 23 of this act, which adds Section 54957.96 to, the Government Code, impose a limitation on the public’s right of access to the meetings of public bodies or the writings of public of fi cials and agencies within the meaning of Section 3 of Article I of the California Constitution.

Pursuant to that constitutional provision, the Legislature makes the following fi ndings to demonstrate the interest protected by this limitation and the need for protecting that interest:
(a) This act is necessary to provide opportunities for public participation in meetings of specifi ed public agencies and to promote the recruitment and retention of members of those agencies.
(b) This act is necessary to ensure minimum standards for public participation and notice requirements allowing for greater public participation in meetings.
(c) This act is necessary to modernize the Ralph M. Brown Act to refl ect recent technological changes that can promote greater public access to local offi cials.
91 — 34 — Ch. 327

(d) The exclusively virtual nature of the California Online Community College presents unique barriers to the requirements for an in-person quorum, a physical location for public participation, and certain accommodations.

Participating students of the online community college come from all across the state and necessitating travel for these requirements would pose a signifi cant and exclusionary barrier.

SEC. 25. The Legislature fi nds and declares that Sections 1 and 2 of this act, which amend and repeal Section 54952.2, respectively, of, Section 3 of this act, which amends Section 54952.7 of, Section 4 of this act, which amends Section 54953 of, Section 5 of this act, which adds Section 54953.4 to, Section 6 of this act, which amends Section 54953.5 of, Section 7 of this act, which amends Section 54953.7 of, Sections 8 to 15, inclusive, of this act, which add Sections 54953.8 to 54953.8.7, respectively, to, Section 16 of this act, which amends Section 54954.2 of, Section 17 of this act, which amends Section 54954.3 of, Section 18 of this act, which amends Section 54956 of, Section 19 of this act, which amends Section 54956.5 of, Section 20 of this act, which amends Section 54957.6 of, Section 21 of this act, which amends Section 54957.9 of, Section 22 of this act, which amends Section 54957.95 of, and Section 23 of this act, which adds Section 54957.96 to, the Government Code, further, within the meaning of paragraph (7) of subdivision (b) of Section 3 of Article I of the California Constitution, the purposes of that constitutional section as it relates to the right of public access to the meetings of local public bodies or the writings of local public offi cials and local agencies. Pursuant to paragraph (7) of subdivision (b) of Section 3 of Article I of the California Constitution, the Legislature makes the following fi ndings:
(a) This act is necessary to provide opportunities for public participation in meetings of specifi ed public agencies and to promote the recruitment and retention of members of those agencies.
(b) This act is necessary to ensure minimum standards for public participation and notice requirements allowing for greater public participation in meetings.
(c) This act is necessary to modernize the Ralph M. Brown Act to refl ect recent technological changes that can promote greater public access to local offi cials.
(d) The exclusively virtual nature of the California Online Community College presents unique barriers to the requirements for an in-person quorum, a physical location for public participation, and certain accommodations.

Participating students of the online community college come from all across the state and necessitating travel for these requirements would pose a signifi cant and exclusionary barrier.

SEC. 26. The Legislature fi nds and declares that adequate public access to meetings is a matter of statewide concern and is not a municipal affair as that term is used in Section 5 of Article XI of the California Constitution.

Therefore, this bill would apply to all cities, including charter cities.

SEC. 27. No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution because the only costs 91 Ch. 327— 35 —

that may be incurred by a local agency or school district under this act would result from a legislative mandate that is within the scope of paragraph (7) of subdivision (b) of Section 3 of Article I of the California Constitution.

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91 — 36 — Ch. 327