TO: HONORABLE MAYOR AND MEMBERS OF THE CITY COUNCIL
FROM: Cristal McDonald, City Clerk
PREPARED BY: Cristal McDonald, City Clerk
SUBJECT:
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Establishing A Virtual Participation Policy Pursuant to Senate Bill 707
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ABSTRACT
The State of California Legislature enacted Senate Bill 707 (SB 707), Open Meetings: Meetings and Teleconference Requirements, which revises the Ralph M. Brown Act’s open meeting laws to add requirements impacting two major areas: 1) teleconferencing flexibility; and 2) accessibility requirements.
SB 707 requires all local legislative bodies, including the Murrieta City Council, to provide two-way remote public access to meetings and to adopt formal policies addressing disruptions of telephonic or internet services during City Council meetings. These provisions take effect July 1, 2026, and require City Council adoption.
RECOMMENDATION
recommendation
Adopt Resolution No. 26-4951 entitled: A Resolution of the City Council of the City of Murrieta, California, Adopting A Virtual Participation City Council Policy Pursuant to Senate Bill No. 707.
body
PRIOR ACTION/VOTE
None.
STRATEGIC ALIGNMENT
This item aligns with the City Council’s goal of maintaining a high performing organization that values fiscal sustainability, transparency, accountability and organizational efficiency relating to an administrative priority. In 2025, the City Council accepted the City Departments Administrative Priorities, including the City Clerk Department’s procedural legal compliance requirements and engagement and participation.
DISCUSSION
The Ralph M. Brown Act (Brown Act) governs public meetings of legislative bodies and ensures that the public has the right to attend and participate in local government meetings.
On October 3, 2025, Governor Gavin Newsom signed SB 707 into law, which updates the Brown Act by modernizing teleconferencing rules and expanding public access requirements. The law builds on prior legislation that expanded remote meeting options and is intended to make public meetings more accessible while maintaining transparency. SB 707 will take effect on July 1, 2026, and is currently scheduled to remain in effect until January 1, 2030.
Under SB 707, City Council meetings will be required to be conducted in a hybrid format, allowing members of the public to attend in person or remotely via a two-way telephonic or audiovisual platform. This allows residents to watch and participate in meetings online or by phone. The city must also adopt procedures to address technical disruptions to audio, video, or teleconference services, including temporarily recessing a meeting while staff attempts to restore service.
The law also allows City Council Members to participate in meetings remotely in limited circumstances, such as for “just cause,” emergency circumstances, or as a reasonable accommodation for a disability. The reason for remote participation must be publicly disclosed and recorded in the meeting minutes. In addition, before taking final action on compensation for the City Manager, department heads, or other comparable administrative officers, the City Council must first provide a summary of the proposed compensation in open session.
When more than 20% of a city’s population speaks English less than “very well”, SB 707 also introduces language access requirements intended to improve accessibility for those residents. In the same circumstance, meeting agendas and key meeting information must be translated and posted on the city’s website, and the city must also reasonably assist members of the public who wish to provide interpretation or translation during meetings. Each translation must also be accessible through a prominent direct link posted on the city’s website homepage. The source of the data on the population’s fluency must come from the most recent American Community Survey, also known as the Census. Per the website for the Census, less than 20% of the residents of the City of Murrieta (City) reported speaking English less than “very well”. As a result, the translation requirements do not apply.
Finally, SB 707 requires the City Council to formally authorize teleconferencing for advisory bodies-such as commissions, committees, and boards-through a resolution or policy. Advisory bodies that choose to meet remotely must maintain real-time communication during meetings and must reauthorize the use of teleconferencing every six months. Adoption of the City’s Virtual Participation and Policy will help ensure compliance with SB 707 while continuing the City’s commitment to transparent and accessible public meetings.
To ensure compliance with SB 707 and maintain clear, consistent procedures for hybrid meetings, the City Attorney prepared a proposed Virtual Participation Policy (Proposed Policy) for the City Council's consideration.
The Proposed Policy establishes procedures governing remote meeting access, public comment procedures, meeting administration, and technology protocols when remote participation is offered.
Mandatory Hybrid Meetings
The policy allows members of the public to attend meetings:
• In-person at the noticed meeting location
• Remotely through the City’s internet-based meeting platform
• By telephone using the dial-in information provided on the meeting agenda
Public Comment Procedures
Members of the public may address the City Council during public comments for items not on the agenda but within the City Council's jurisdiction, or during consideration of individual agenda items.
In-person speakers will continue to be requested to complete a speaker card prior to addressing the City Council.
Remote speakers will follow teleconference instructions as provided, identifying the specific agenda item or public comments section they wish to address. Participants are encouraged to enter the virtual City Council meeting in advance of the section of the agenda item they wish to address so that staff can prepare the speaker queue.
Speakers on agendized items must identify the specific agenda item number, while speakers wishing to address non-agendized matters will do so during the Public Comments (Non-Agenda) portion of the meeting.
Meeting Administration
The proposed policy designates the City Clerk as responsible for administering the virtual meeting platform used for remote participation. These responsibilities include managing participant access, maintaining the speaker queue, operating meeting technology functions, and assisting the Mayor in facilitating public comment.
Accessibility
When meetings are broadcast or streamed online, the City will make reasonable efforts to use the captioning features available on the meeting platform to assist individuals with hearing impairments.
Technical Disruptions
SB 707 requires legislative bodies to establish procedures addressing potential disruptions to remote participation technology.
The proposed policy includes procedures requiring the meeting to recess if a technological disruption prevents members of the public from observing the meeting or providing remote public comment. The policy provides that the meeting may recess for up to one hour while staff attempts to restore the remote participation service.
If remote access is restored during the recess period, the meeting may reconvene and continue. If the technological disruption cannot be resolved within the recess period, the legislative body may continue the affected agenda item or meeting to a future date in accordance with the Brown Act.
The proposed policy also clarifies that internal technological issues that do not affect the public’s ability to observe the meeting or provide remote public comment do not require the meeting to recess.
Public Meeting Information on the City Website
SB 707 requires agencies to maintain publicly accessible information explaining how members of the public may observe and participate in public meetings. The City Clerk will ensure that instructions for participating in meetings, whether in person or remote, remain available on the City’s website.
If adopted, the proposed policy will become effective July 1, 2026.
PUBLIC NOTICING
The agenda item has been noticed according to the Brown Act (72 hours in advance of the meeting at which the City Council considers the item).
FISCAL IMPACT
At this time, City staff time and current applications used to administer hybrid meetings will be accommodated within existing resources. However, implementing SB 707 will require expenditures for remote meeting software subscriptions, audiovisual technology, website accessibility enhancements, translation services, and related administrative support.
Any future budgetary impacts associated with technology upgrades or expanded services will be incorporated into future budget requests as necessary.
ATTACHMENTS
ATT 1 - Resolution No. 26-4951