REQUEST FOR CITY COUNCIL ACTION
SUBMITTED TO: Honorable Mayor and City Council Members
SUBMITTED BY: Travis Hopkins, City Manager
PREPARED BY: Shannon Levin, Council Policy Analyst
Subject:
title
Consider position on legislation pending before the State Legislature
body
Statement of Issue:
Senate Bill 707 (Arreguín) would expand transparency and encourage public participation in local government, however, there will be unintended operational challenges and unfunded mandates.
Financial Impact:
Not applicable
Recommended Action:
recommendation
Oppose Senate Bill 707: open meetings: meeting and teleconference requirements and issue a letter of opposition.
end
Alternative Action(s):
Do not approve recommended action and direct staff accordingly.
Analysis:
SB 707 makes several updates to the Ralph M. Brown Act, which sets rules for open meetings of local government bodies. These updates include new ways for the public to access and participate in meetings and other related changes.
SB 707 creates a new category of legislative body, “eligible legislative body”, which includes a city council of a city with a population of 30,000 or more. This would qualify the City as an eligible legislative body and would require all open and public meetings to allow public participation attendance via a two-way telephonic service or a two-way audiovisual platform.
On December 20, 2022, the City Council did not reaffirm Assembly Bill 361 via Resolution No. 2021-62, which outlined provisions for remote meetings due to the Covid-19 state of emergency. Instead, the City Council voted to conduct meetings of the City Council and all City boards, commissions, and committees in person.
SB 707 requires meeting agendas to be translated into all “applicable languages,” meaning any language spoken by 20% or more of the local population with limited English proficiency. This could force the translation of materials that may never be requested or used, creating administrative burdens, and pulling resources away from other essential services.
SB 707 would represent the most extensive changes to the Brown Act in several years creating concerns new mandated costs, technical implementation challenges, and ambiguity regarding several new provisions. SB 707 is scheduled to take effect on January 1, 2026, providing the City with only a few months to implement significant operational changes.
Environmental Status:
This action is not subject to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) pursuant to Sections 15060(c)(2) (the activity will not result in a direct or reasonably foreseeable indirect physical change in the environment) and 15060(c)(3) (the activity is not a project as defined in Section 15378) of the CEQA Guidelines, California Code of Regulations, Title 14, Chapter 3, because it has no potential for resulting in physical change to the environment, directly or indirectly.
Strategic Plan Goal:
Non Applicable - Administrative Item
For details, visit www.huntingtonbeachca.gov/strategicplan.
Attachment(s):
1. Draft Letter of Opposition to SB 707