City of Simi Valley
Staff Report
J
une 22, 2026
To: Cit
y Council
Fr
om: Office of the City Manager
Lucy Blanco, City Clerk
Subj
ect: Adoption of a resolution adopting a policy for "Disruption of Remote Participation During a Council Meeting," as required by Senate Bill 707 Sta
ff Recommendation
I
t is recommended that the City Council adopt Resolution No. 2026-33 (Attachment A) adopting a Policy for Disruption of Remote Services, to incorporate new Brown Act amendments regarding Council meeting disruption procedures for two- way remote access pursuant to Senate Bill 707.
Ba
ckground
O
n October 3, 2025, Governor Newsom signed Senate Bill 707 (SB 707), which amends the Brown Act to expand public access and participation during meetings. Among other provisions, SB 707 requires qualifying legislative bodies to provide hybrid meeting access through a two-way audio or video platform that allows members of the public to participate remotely. Within the City of Simi Valley, the requirements of SB 707 apply only to the City Council.
I
n addition, SB 707 requires the City to formally adopt a policy, on or before July 1, 2026, that outlines the procedures for recessing and reconvening a meeting in the event of disruption of telephonic or internet services occurring during the meeting, and the efforts that the City Council and staff shall make to attempt to restore the service.
D
iscussion
T
he attached "Disruption of Remote Participation During a Council Meeting" Policy satisfies this new State requirement. The Policy mirrors the meeting disruption guidelines outlined in SB 707, which require the legislative body to take a recess and attempt to restore service for at least one hour. If service cannot be restored within one hour, the legislative body must conduct a roll-call vote confirming that good faith efforts were made and that the public interest in continuing the meeting outweighs the need for remote access. (Cal. Gov. Code § 54953.4(b)(1).)
Agenda Item No.
Consent (11)
In the event of a disruption, the public would continue to have access to view the City Council meeting using any of the following resources:
1) The City’s website: www.simivalley.org/citycouncilmeetings 2) YouTube: www.youtube.com/CityofSimiValley
3) Spectrum Channel 10
4) AT&T U-Verse Channel 99
5) The meeting location.
The attached Policy establishes the procedures that would be followed in the event of a disruption to remote participation services during a City Council meeting. I f adopted, the Policy would take effect immediately. Implementation may result in temporary recesses, delays, or extensions of City Council meetings while City staff undertake good-faith efforts to restore disrupted telephonic or internet services as required by State law.
Adoption of this Policy represents one component of the City's overall compliance efforts related to SB 707. Additional operational, procedural, and technology requirements for hybrid meetings and remote participation are being implemented separately as part of the City's broader SB 707 implementation efforts.
The full text of SB 707 can be found online at:
https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202520260SB707
Financial Impact
There is no direct fiscal impact associated with adopting this policy. Separate implementation costs associated with compliance with other provisions of SB 707 are being evaluated and will be addressed through future operational and budget processes as necessary.
City Council Priority
This item supports the Excellent City Government Pillar of Excellence.
Suggested Motion
I move to adopt Resolution No. 2026-33 (Attachment A) adopting a Policy for Disruption of Remote Services, to incorporate new Brown Act requirements regarding Council meeting disruption procedures for two-way remote access pursuant to Senate Bill 707.
Summary
On October 3, 2025, Governor Newsom signed Senate Bill 707 (SB 707), amending the Brown Act to increase public engagement and access during legislative body meetings .
Among the various new requirements under SB 707, all qualified legislative bodies must offer hybrid meetings (through a two- way phone or video platform). It is recommended 2 that the City Council adopt Resolution No. 2026-33 (Attachment A) adopting a Policy for Disruption of Remote Services to comply with Senate Bill 707 and to incorporate new Brown Act requirements regarding disruption procedures for two- way remote access during public meetings.
Prepared by: Lucy Blanco, City Clerk
Attachments
Attachment A - Resolution No. 2026-33
3 RESOLUTION NO. 2026-33
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SIMI
VALLEY, CALIFORNIA, ADOPTING A DISRUPTION OF TELEPHONIC
OR INTERNET SERVICE POLICY PURSUANT TO GOVERNMENT
CODE SECTION 54953.4
WHEREAS, pursuant to Senate Bill 707, Government Code section 54953.4 requires that, beginning July 1, 2026, eligible legislative bodies provide members of the public an opportunity to attend open and public meetings through a two- way telephonic service or a two- way audiovisual platform, subject to the exceptions stated in that section;
WHEREAS, Government Code section 54953.4, subdivision (b)(1)(A)(i)(I)(ib), requires an eligible legislative body, on or before July 1, 2026, to approve at a noticed public meeting in open session a policy addressing disruption of telephonic or internet service occurring during meetings where remote access is required;
WHEREAS, Government Code section 54953.4, subdivision (b)(1)(A)(i)(I)(ib) – (Ic), establishes requirements for recessing and reconvening a meeting and for making good faith efforts to restore service if a disruption prevents members of the public from attending or observing the meeting remotely;
WHEREAS, the City Council is the City’s only “eligible legislative body” for purposes of Government Code section 54953.4; and
WHEREAS, the City Council desires to adopt a policy that implements, and does not expand upon, the requirements of Government Code section 54953.4.
THE CITY COUNCIL RESOLVES AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. The recitals above are true and correct and incorporated into the body of this Resolution by reference.
SECTION 2. The City Council adopts the Disruption of Telephonic or Internet Service Policy attached hereto as Exhibit “A.”
SECTION 3. This resolution implements Government Code section 54953.4.
It does not create rights beyond those required by state law and does not expand the obligations imposed by that section.
SECTION 4. This resolution takes effect immediately upon adoption.
SECTION 5. The City Clerk shall certify to the adoption of this resolution and shall cause a certified resolution to be filed in the Office of the City Clerk.
4 PASSED, APPROVED, AND ADOPTED this 22ND day of June 2026.
Attest:
_________________________________
_________________________________
Lucy Blanco, City Clerk Dee Dee Cavanaugh, Mayor of the City of Simi Valley, California
Approved as to Form: Approved as to Content:
_________________________________
_________________________________
Algeria R. Ford, City Attorney Samantha C. Argabrite, City Manager
5 Res. No. 2026-33
Exhibit A
DISRUPTION OF TELEPHONIC OR INTERNET SERVICE POLICY
A. This policy implements Government Code section 54953.4, subdivision (b)(1)(A)(i)(I)(Ib)–(Ic), for meetings of the City Council.
B. If telephonic or internet service is disrupted during a meeting so that the public cannot attend or observe through the two- way telephonic service or two- way audiovisual platform, the City Council recesses open session for at least one hour and makes a good faith effort to restore the service. During the recess, the City Council may meet in closed session as permitted by Government Code section 54953.4.
C. The City Council does not reconvene open session until at least one hour has passed since the disruption or telephonic or internet service is restored, whichever occurs first.
D. If telephonic or internet service has not been restored when open session reconvenes, the City Council adopts, by roll -call vote, a finding that it made good faith efforts to restore the service and that the public interest in continuing the meeting outweighs the public interest in remote public access. 6 Res. No. 2026-33