City Council Agenda Report
TO: Mayor McCord and Members of the City Council
FROM: Ken Irwin, City Manager
BY: Nubia Goldstein, City Attorney
MEETING DATE: February 1, 2022
ITEM NO: 5.3
SUBJECT: Adopt Resolution 2022-04, Authorizing the City to Implement Teleconferenced Public Meetings Pursuant to Assembly Bill 361 Allowing the City to Continue a Hybrid Virtual Meeting Environment.
RECOMMENDATION
Motion to Adopt Resolution 2022-04, Authorizing the City to Implement Teleconferenced Public Meetings Pursuant to Assembly Bill 361 Allowing the City to Continue a Hybrid Virtual Meeting Environment.
BACKGROUND
On September 16, 2021, Governor Newsom signed Assembly Bill (“AB”) 361 which allows cities to continue to meet remotely during proclaimed states of emergency under modified Ralph M. Brown Act requirements that are similar but not identical to the rules and procedures established by the previous Executive Orders temporarily suspending provisions of the Brown Act. On September 20, 2021, Governor Newsom signed Executive Order N-15-21 to suspend AB 361 until October 1, 2021. Over the past year, meetings of the City’s legislative bodies have been held with virtual teleconference components.
AB 361, until January 1, 2024, would authorize a local agency to use teleconferencing without complying with the teleconferencing requirements imposed by the Brown Act when a local legislative body holds a meeting during a declared state of emergency by the governor and when state or local health officials have imposed or recommended measures to promote social distancing.
REASONS FOR RECOMMENDATION
On June 11, 2021, Governor Newsom issued Executive Order N-08-21, which among other things rescinded his prior Executive Order N-29-20 and set a date of October 1, 2021, for public agencies to transition back to public meetings held in full compliance with the Brown Act.
As the Delta variant has surged in California, the Legislature has taken action to extend the COVID-19 exceptions to the Brown Act’s teleconference requirements, subject to some additional safeguards. AB 361 allows a local agency to use teleconferencing without complying with the Brown Act provisions in any of the following circumstances:
• The local legislative body holds a meeting during a proclaimed state of emergency by the governor, and state or local officials have imposed or recommended measures to promote social distancing.
• The local legislative body holds a meeting during a proclaimed state of emergency by the governor for the purpose of determining, by majority vote, whether as a result of the emergency, meeting in person would present imminent risks to the health or safety of attendees.
• The local legislative body holds a meeting during a proclaimed state of emergency by the governor and has determined, by majority vote that, as a result of the emergency, meeting in person would present imminent risks to the health or safety of attendees.
A local agency that holds a meeting under these circumstances would be required by AB 361 to do all of the following, in addition to giving notice of the meeting and posting agendas as required under the Brown act. These additional requirements are intended to protect the public’s right to participate in the meetings of local agency legislative bodies.
Pursuant to AB 361 local agencies are required to do all of the following in addition to meeting notice requirements under the Brown Act:
• Allow the public to access the meeting and require that the agenda provide an opportunity for the public to directly address the legislative body pursuant to the Brown Act’s other teleconferencing provisions.
• In each instance when the local agency provides notice of the teleconferenced meeting or posts its agenda, give notice for how the public can access the meeting and provide public comment.
• Identify and include in the agenda an opportunity for all persons to attend via a call-in or an internet-based service option; the legislative body need not provide a physical location for the public to attend or provide comments.
• Conduct teleconference meetings in a manner that protects the statutory and constitutional rights of the public.
• Stop the meeting until public access is restored in the event of a service disruption that either prevents the local agency from broadcasting the meeting to the public using the call-in or internet-based service option or is within the local agency’s control and prevents the public from submitting public comments (any actions taken during such a service disruption can be challenged under the Brown Act’s existing challenge provisions).
• Not require comments be submitted in advance (though the legislative body may provide that as an option) and provide the opportunity to comment in real time. • Provide adequate time for public comment, either by establishing a timed public comment period or by allowing a reasonable amount of time to comment. • If the legislative body uses a third-party website or platform to host the teleconference, and the third-party service requires users to register to participate, the legislative body must provide adequate time during the comment period for users to register and may not close the registration comment period until the comment period has elapsed.
AB 361 also provides that if a local agency conducts teleconference meetings in reliance on AB 361, the local agency must make the following findings by majority vote every 30 days to continue using the bill’s exemption to the Brown Act teleconferencing rules:
•The legislative body has reconsidered the circumstances of the emergency; and • Either of the following circumstances exists: The state of emergency continues to directly impact the ability of members to meet safely in person, or State or local officials continue to impose or recommend social distancing measures.
The goal of AB 361 is “to improve and enhance public access to local agency meetings during the COVID-19 pandemic and future applicable emergencies, by allowing broader access through teleconferencing options” consistent with Executive Order N-29-20. AB 361 contains an urgency clause which became effective upon signing with a sunset of January 1, 2024. However, shortly after signing AB 361, Governor Newsom signed Executive Order N-15-21 to suspend AB 361 until October 1, 2021.
FISCAL IMPACTS
There is no fiscal impact.
ENVIRONMENTAL:
Authorizing Teleconference Public Meetings is not a “project” under the California Environmental Quality Control Act. (Pub. Resources Code, § 21065.)
ALTERNATIVE ACTIONS
1. Adopt Resolution No. 2022-04;
2. Continue the item for later consideration of the City Council with direction to staff for additional analysis; or
3. Reject Resolution No. 2022-04