Gov. Gavin Newsom last week signed legislation that could allow state and local legislative bodies to hold public meetings electronically during a state of emergency until Jan. 1, 2024, as long as certain conditions are met.
Most local government councils, boards, commissions, and committees have been meeting in person since June, when pandemic conditions improved. Many have now adopted a hybrid, in which legislative bodies meet in person with members of the public present, but still allow members of the public to access the meeting in progress online or via telephone.
The bill will allow local legislative bodies to continue virtual meetings as long as the state has issued a state of emergency.
According to AB 361, introduced in February by District 30 Assembly Member Robert Rivas, of Hollister, for a legislative body to hold a meeting remotely, it must still give notice of the meeting and post agendas as otherwise required by the Brown Act, provide a legally acceptable means by which members of the public can access the meeting and address the body in real time during the meeting, conduct the meeting in a manner that protects the legal rights of those accessing the meeting, not take action on open or unheard agenda items if there is a disruption in the broadcast of the meeting or in the public’s ability to provide comments until the issue is resolved, and not require that public comments be submitted in advance of a meeting.
AB 361 extends the flexibilities provided in Newsom’s prior executive order to local and state bodies to hold public meetings electronically beyond the order’s Sept. 30 expiration date. ■