Existing law, the Ralph M. Brown Act, requires, with specified exceptions, each legislative body of a local agency to provide notice of the time and place for its regular meetings and an agenda containing a brief general description of each item of business to be transacted. The act also requires that all meetings of a legislative body be open and public, and that all persons be permitted to attend unless a closed session is authorized. The act generally requires for teleconferencing that the legislative body of a local agency that elects to use teleconferencing 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.

Existing law authorizes the legislative body of a local agency to use alternate teleconferencing provisions during a proclaimed state of emergency (emergency provisions) and, until January 1, 2026, in certain circumstances related to the particular member if at least a quorum of its members participate from a singular physical location that is open to the public and situated within the agency’s jurisdiction and other requirements are met (nonemergency provisions). Existing law imposes different requirements for notice, agenda, and public participation, as prescribed, when a legislative body is using alternate teleconferencing provisions. The nonemergency provisions impose restrictions on remote participation by a member of the legislative body and require the legislative body to provide specific means by which the public may remotely hear and visually observe the meeting.

This bill, until January 1, 2026, would authorize a subsidiary body, as defined, to use similar alternative teleconferencing provisions and would impose requirements for notice, agenda, and public participation, as prescribed. The bill would require at least one staff member of the local agency to be present at a designated primary physical meeting location during the meeting. The bill would require the local agency to post the agenda at the primary physical meeting location. The bill would require the members of the subsidiary body to visibly appear on camera during the open portion of a meeting that is publicly accessible via the internet or other online platform, as specified. The bill would also require the subsidiary body to list a member of the subsidiary body who participates in a teleconference meeting from a remote location in the minutes of the meeting. In order to use teleconferencing pursuant to this act, the bill would require the legislative body that established the subsidiary body by charter, ordinance, resolution, or other formal action to make specified findings by majority vote, before the subsidiary body uses teleconferencing for the first time and every 12 months thereafter.

Existing constitutional provisions require that a statute that limits the right of access to the meetings of public bodies or the writings of public officials and agencies be adopted with findings demonstrating the interest protected by the limitation and the need for protecting that interest.

This bill would make legislative findings to that effect.

The California Constitution requires local agencies, for the purpose of ensuring public access to the meetings of public bodies and the writings of public officials 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 findings to that effect.