1 David Yakobson
From: Jacob Wasserman <[email protected]>
Sent: Friday, June 19, 2026 7:59 PM
To: Clerk Mailbox; Lana Negrete; Caroline Torosis; Dan Hall; Jesse Zwick; Ellis Raskin; Barry Snell; Natalya Zernitskaya; Denise Anderson-Warren
Cc: councilmtgitems; Council Mailbox
Subject: For Item 11.A and Remote Comment and Meeting Options for Advisory Boards
EXTERNAL
City Council and City Clerk,
I am in support of taking steps to enact the requirements of SB 707 thoroughly and expeditiously, and I thank the Clerk's office for the great to do so.
As a city commissioner (albeit one not eligible for this particular option) and a resident of Santa Monica, writing only for myself, I also wish to bring to your attention that Senate Bill 707 (2025) allows for advisory bodies to meet virtually or in a hybrid fashion. I hope a future discussion item on this matter will touch on this.
Allowing for remote or hybrid advisory board participation can expand the pool of people able to serve and can open meetings up to a wider audience. And while virtual public comment is always an option open to a board, even if the members themselves meet in person, holding virtual or hybrid meetings for the board is also a good occasion to figure out the procedures for and to implement virtual public comment for advisory bodies as well (required for virtual/hybrid meetings).
Even if a board plans to mostly continue to meet in person, having a virtual option provides flexibility. For instance, a board could regularly schedule every other meeting virtual and in person. Or a board could generally meet in person but use the virtual option to hold a meeting that would otherwise be canceled for lack of quorum when certain board members are unavailable to come in person. Or a board could always meet in person—with a social (or bylawsmandated) expectation of in-person board attendance—but allow hybrid participation for members to occasionally participate remotely when they can't make it (without having to worry about the strictures of other, more limited hybrid meetings options under state law).
The rules for this include the following:
City Council must first approve each body's use of these provisions. Then the body itself must approve, in person, before meeting thereafter remotely. City Council must renew each body's use of these provisions every six months. Cameras must remain on if possible at all times.
A physical location must still be selected by vote of the body to be open for public viewing and comment. A staff person must be there.
These are the types of bodies that are eligible:
"For purposes of this section, 'eligible subsidiary body' means a legislative body that meets all of the following:
...Serves exclusively in an advisory capacity.
Is not authorized to take final action on legislation, regulations, contracts, licenses, permits, or any other entitlements, grants, or allocations of funds.
Item 11-A
June 23, 2026
Item 11-A
June 23, 2026
2 Does not have primary subject matter jurisdiction, as defined 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.
An eligible subsidiary body may include members who are elected officials, members who are not elected officials, or any combination thereof."
I believe this applies to the following bodies: Airport; Arts; Sustainability, Environmental Justice, and the Environment; Disabilities; Housing; Human Services; Recreation and Parks; Audit; Transit Security; Urban Forest; Community Gardens; Virginia Avenue Park; Field Sports; Santa Monica Aquatics By my read, the following bodies are not eligible for the following reasons: Architectural Review (quasi-judicial/not purely advisory); Building and Fire-Life Safety (quasi-judicial/not purely advisory); Landmarks (quasi-judicial/not purely advisory); Library (may set policy on book availability and not purely advisory—can accept money); Personnel (quasijudicial/not purely advisory); Planning (quasi-judicial/not purely advisory); Public Safety Reform and Oversight (addresses police oversight among primary subject matter); Clean Beaches and Ocean Parcel Tax Citizens Oversight (addresses taxes as primary subject matter); Housing Authority (not purely advisory); Measure GS Resident Oversight (addresses taxes as primary subject matter); Transient Occupancy Tax (addresses taxes as primary subject matter) Jacob Wasserman
90403
Item 11-A
June 23, 2026
Item 11-A
June 23, 2026