CC SR 20230117 Q - 20230117 Brown Act Update Reso and Policy
CITY COUNCIL MEETING DATE: 01/17/2023
AGENDA REPORT AGENDA HEADING: Consent Calendar
AGENDA TITLE:
Consideration and possible action to update the language on the City’s agendas to reflect
recent legislative changes and to adopt a City Council Policy related to reasonable
accommodation for Brown Act meetings.
RECOMMENDED COUNCIL ACTION:
(1) Adopt Resolution No. 2023-__ A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE
CITY OF RANCHO PALOS VERDES UPDATING THE LANGUAGE ON THE
CITY’S AGENDAS TO REFLECT THE CHANGES TO THE BROWN ACT
ENACTED BY AB 2449, SB 1100, AND SB 1489; and
(2) Adopt City Council Policy No. 58, the City’s Reasonable Accommodations Policy
for City Brown Act meetings.
FISCAL IMPACT: None
Amount Budgeted: N/A
Additional Appropriation: N/A
Account Number(s): N/A
ORIGINATED BY: Enyssa Momoli, Administrative Analyst
Teresa Takaoka, City Clerk
REVIEWED BY: Karina Bañales, Deputy City Manager
APPROVED BY: Ara Mihranian, AICP, City Manager
ATTACHED SUPPORTING DOCUMENTS:
A. Draft Resolution No. 2023-__(page A-1)
B. Draft City Council Policy No. 58 (page B-1)
C. City Attorney’s summary of legislative changes (page C-1)
BACKGROUND:
On September 13, 2022, Governor Newsom signed a series of bills that went into effect
on January 1, 2023 regarding how public meetings should be conducted. Tonight, the
City Council is being asked to adopt a resolution and a new City Council Policy to bring
the City into compliance with the new provisions related to Brown Act meetings so that
City Council meetings are properly noticed in time for the anticipated end of the statewide
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RANCHO PALOS VERDES
COVID-19 state of emergency anticipated to be on February 28, 2023. It should be noted
that the City’s Planning Commission and advisory boards (Civic Center, Emergency
Preparedness, Infrastructure Management, Traffic Safety, and Finance Advisory) will all
follow these new provisions.
DISCUSSION:
Staff has provided summaries of the changes reflected in bills enacted by state legislators
regarding updates to how public meetings are conducted, along with a proposed new City
Council Policy memorializing changes to reasonable accommodations for conducting
public meetings for the City Council’s consideration.
1. Legislative Updates on Public Meeting
The attached draft resolution (Attachment A) reflects changes enacted by AB 2449, SB
1100, and SB 1489. Summaries for each bill are provided below.
Assembly Bill No. 2449 (AB 2449) modernizes existing teleconferencing requirements
under the Brown Act. This is in addition to the traditional teleconferencing rules that still
apply, and Assembly Bill No. 361 (AB 361) regarding remote participation rules.
Additionally, the Legislature added provisions to allow less than a quorum of the members
of a governing body to attend remotely without having to notice their location and allowing
access to the location by the public, for just cause or in the event of an emergency . It
should be noted that the Governor has indicated that he will likely lift the state of
emergency due to COVID-19 at the end of February 2023, which would mean that
members of governing bodies need to rely on the traditional teleconferencing rules or the
new teleconferencing rules.
AB 2449 also requires that the legislative bodies adopt a reasonable accommodation
policy for individuals with disabilities, consistent with the Americans with Disabilities Act
(ADA). The agenda language should also be amended to reflect the new changes.
Senate Bill No. 1100 (SB 1100) adds provisions to the Brown Act authorizes a new
process in which the presiding member of a legislative body conducting a meeting, or
their designee, may remove an individual for disrupting the meeting.
Senate Bill No. 1489 (SB 1489) amended Government Code Section 36934 to no longer
require reading of ordinances by title only, as follows (new language in bold): “Except
when, after reading the title, further reading is waived by regular motion adopted by
majority vote all ordinances shall be read in full either at the time of introduction or
passage; provided, however, that a reading of the title or ordinance shall not be
required if the title is included on the published agenda and a copy of the full
ordinance is made available to the public online and in print at the meeting prior to
the introduction or passage.”
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2. City Council Policy No. 58 – Reasonable Accommodations
AB 2449 additionally requires that legislative bodies have and implement a reasonable
accommodation policy for individuals with disabilities, consistent with the Americans with
Disabilities Act (ADA). The City therefore needs to update its agenda language to reflect
the new changes. AB 2449 took effect on January 1, 2023.
The attached draft City Council Policy (Attachment B) outlines the accommodations that
the City already has in place and that are readily available upon request, a process to
request additional accommodations, and guidance for staff who receive such a request.
The draft policy defines “readily available accommodations” for persons with hearing loss,
visual or mobility impairments. Additionally, the City Attorney’s Office has provided
recommended edits to the standard agenda language to reflect the changes to the Brown
Act made by these bills.
CONCLUSION:
Staff recommends adopting the attached resolution and new City Council Policy to reflect
the recent legislative changes.
ALTERNATIVES:
In addition to the Staff recommendation, the following alternative actions are available for
the City Council’s consideration:
1. Do not adopt the resolution and policy. Staff does not recommend this action, as
the City would not be in compliance with legislative guidelines.
2. Take other action, as deemed appropriate.
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RESOLUTION NO. 2023-__
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF
RANCHO PALOS VERDES UPDATING THE LANGUAGE
ON THE CITY’S AGENDAS TO REFLECT THE CHANGES
TO THE BROWN ACT ENACTED BY AB 2449, SB 1100,
AND SB 1489
WHEREAS, on September 13, 2022, Governor Newsom signed Assembly Bill
2449 (“AB 2449”) to modernize existing teleconferencing requirements under the Brown
Act by temporarily allowing less than a quorum of a legislative body to attend public
meetings remotely without posting their location and removing the requirement for public
participation in a nonpublic location, provided certain requirements are met;
WHEREAS, AB 2449 also requires that the legislative bodies adopt a reasonable
accommodation policy for an individual with disabilities, consistent with the Americans
with Disabilities Act (“ADA”), and the bill requires that “In each instance in which notice of
the time of the meeting is otherwise given or the agenda for the meeting is otherwise
posted, the legislative body shall also give notice of the procedure for receiving and
resolving requests for accommodation;”
WHEREAS, on August 22, 2022, Governor Newsom signed Senate Bill 1100 (“SB
1100”), amending the Brown Act by adding Section 54957.95 to the Government Code,
which adds provisions that articulate the authority of the presiding member of a legislative
body to have an individual removed for disrupting a meeting of the body, as well as the
process for the presiding member to follow.
WHEREAS, on September 18, 2022, Governor Newsom signed Senate Bill 1489
(“SB 1489”), which amends Government Code Section 36934 to no longer require reading
of ordinances by title only, as follows (new language in italics): “Except when, after
reading the title, further reading is waived by regular motion adopted by majority vote all
ordinances shall be read in full either at the time of introduction or passage; provided,
however, that a reading of the title or ordinance shall not be required if the title is included
on the published agenda and a copy of the full ordinance is made available to the public
online and in print at the meeting prior to the introduction or passage.”
WHEREAS, the City Council of the City of Rancho Palos Verdes wishes to update
the agenda language to reflect the requirements of AB 2449, SB 11000, and SB 1489
which went into effect on January 1, 2023.
NOW, THEREFORE, THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF RANCHO PALOS
VERDES DOES HEREBY RESOLVE, DECLARE, DETERMINE, AND ORDER AS
FOLLOWS:
Section 1. The above recitals are true and correct and are incorporated herein by
A-1
Resolution No. 2023-__
Page 2 of 2
reference.
Section 2. The Brown Act meetings’ agenda language shall be updated in
accordance with AB 2449, SB 1100, and SB 1489. The City Manager is authorized to
ensure that all agendas for Brown Act meetings are updated to reflect these changes.
PASSED, APPROVED, AND ADOPTED this 17th day of January 2023.
Barbara Ferraro, Mayor
Attest:
_______________________________
Teresa Takaoka, City Clerk
STATE OF CALIFORNIA )
COUNTY OF LOS ANGELES ) ss
CITY OF RANCHO PALOS VERDES )
I, Teresa Takaoka, City Clerk of the City of Rancho Palos Verdes, do hereby certify that
the above Resolution No. 2023-__, was duly adopted by the City Council of said City at
a regular meeting thereof held on January 17, 2023.
_______________________________
Teresa Takaoka, City Clerk
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CITY COUNCIL POLICY
NUMBER: 58
DATE ADOPTED/AMENDED: 1/17/2023
SUBJECT: Reasonable Accommodations for Public Meetings
POLICY:
It shall be the policy of the City Council to adopt reasonable accommodations for public
Agency Brown Act meetings to comply with Section 54953(g) of the Government Code.
The following requirements shall apply:
Readily available accommodations
Agendas and staff reports: Agendas or staff reports can be made available in appropriate
alternative formats to persons with a disability, including hyperlinks where appropriate so
that the user can access the linked information.
For individuals with hearing loss: assistive listening devices; assistive listening systems;
and best efforts to ensure closed captioning as provided by teleconferencing platform
used for meetings.
For individuals with visual impairments: audio recordings and large print materials.
For individuals with mobility impairments: Americans with Disabilities Act-accessible
facilities, including ramps and elevators, to access council chambers; closed circuit
broadcast/Zoom/telephone access.
Additional Accommodations (Upon Request)
Individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing, who are blind or have low vision, have mobility
impairments, or have any other disability, may also request accommodations other than
those readily available using the process outlined below. Accommodations shou ld be
requested as early as possible as additional time may be required in order to provide the
requested accommodation. Note that an accommodation will be considered to be
unreasonable and will not be provided if it imposes undue financial or administrati ve
burdens on the City or requires a fundamental alteration in the nature of a program. If a
particular accommodation is deemed unreasonable, the City will endeavor to offer an
alternative accommodation that is reasonable.
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Process to request an additional accommodation:
1. If you would like an additional accommodation that is not identified above, please
request the accommodation as soon as you can, preferably before the meeting
you wish to attend, or at the meeting itself if necessary. The sooner the request is
made, the more likely it is that the City can provide the accommodation or an
alternative. You can make this request yourself, or someone can make it on your
behalf with your permission.
2. Your request can be made orally or in writing, and you should submit it to the City
Clerk’s Department so as to avoid delay in reviewing and processing the request.
Requests can be made at either by telephone at (310) 544-5217 during business
hours, by email at cityclerk@rpvca.gov, or at the following mailing address:
City of Rancho Palos Verdes
City Clerk
30940 Hawthorne Boulevard
Rancho Palos Verdes, CA 90275
3. Your request for an accommodation must provide the following information:
(a) What accommodation? We need to know the type of accommodation you are
seeking, and/or how the accommodation will allow you to access and
participate in the meeting. You are not required to disclose the particular
disability, instead a general statement of explanation will suffice. You may, but
are not required to, submit a letter from a physician to the effect that the
requested accommodation is required for you to access and participate in the
meeting.
(b) Contact information. You must give staff current contact information so they
can respond in a timely manner. This can be a mailing address, an email
address, or telephone number, for example. Note that if only a mailing address
is provided, you need to make the request early enough that a mailed response
can be timely provided.
(c) Which meeting or meetings? Please specify if the accommodation is requested
for a specific meeting, or for all or a series of meetings before a particular body.
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Procedures for City Staff:
A. Any staff member who receives, or believes they may have received, an
accommodation request, will promptly relay the request and the requestor’s contact
information to the City Clerk, City Manager, or City Attorney.
B. The City Attorney may be requested to assist in the review of requests, and to assist
staff in providing a response to the requestor as soon as practicable.
C. All reasonable accommodation request responses shall be provided in writing, when
such written response can be transmitted in a timely manner prior to the start of the
specific meeting. Otherwise, the response will be provided orally. Responses will identify
whether the accommodation is granted or granted in the alternative, and any instructions
necessary to access the accommodation. If the requested accommodation is denied, the
response will identify the grounds for denial. City staff will document requests and
responses provided orally.
D. The law requires that all doubt be resolved in favor of accommodations. Staff will make
reasonable efforts to communicate with requestors to obtain clarifications or to discuss
whether alternative accommodations will be viable.
BACKGROUND:
The City Council adopted this policy to comply with new legislation pursuant to AB 2449
and GC 54953(g) which went into effect on January 1, 2023.
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City Attorney’s Summary of Legislative Changes Related to Brown Act Meetings
AB 2449
A. Amended the Brown Act to add alternative teleconferencing provisions, in addition
to the existing traditional teleconferencing rules (“Traditional Rules”) and the AB 361
teleconferencing rules.
Traditional Rules Gov’t Code § 54953(b)(3): members can participate by teleconference,
provided that: at least a quorum of the members participate in-person from locations
identified on the agenda that are within the local agency’s jurisdictional boundaries; each
teleconference location is accessible to the public; the meeting agenda is posted at each
teleconference location; and any such location is posted on the meeting notices and
agenda. These provisions remain essentially unchanged except for some reorganization.
AB 361 Gov’t Code § 54953(e): these provisions, added to allow remote participation
during a state of emergency, will remain in the Brown Act until January 1, 2024. However,
once the Governor lifts the emergency order, likely February 28, 2023, these rules cannot
be used to hold remote meetings as was done du ring the COVID-19 pandemic.
New teleconferencing rules Gov’t Code § 54953(f): members can teleconference into
meetings without meeting the requirements of the Traditional Rules only for just cause or
due to emergency circumstances. Members cannot use these provisions to attend
remotely for more than three months out of the year, or 20% of the annual meetings.
“Just cause” includes: (i) necessary caregiving to a child, parent, grandparent,
grandchild, sibling, spouse, or domestic partner; (ii) having a contagious illness,
(ii) having a physical or mental disability that is not otherwise accommodated; or
(iv) traveling on official business of the local agency or another state or local
agency. This can only be used twice in one year by each member.
“Emergency circumstances” means a physical or family medical emergency that
prevents a member from attending in person.
The new teleconferencing rules include requirements for how a member can notify
the body that they need to teleconference without complying with the Traditional
Rules, and provides a process for how to address the request if it comes after the
time for publishing the agenda. Under the new teleconference rules, a quorum of
the members must participate from a single physical location that is noticed and
open to the public. These new teleconferencing provisions also have a number of
requirements for remote participation by the public, including the type of platform
that should be used, and providing the public with the ability to comme nt in real
time during the meeting, and including information on the agenda regarding how
the public can participate.
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B. Amended the Brown Act to add a requirement for a reasonable accommodation
policy, Gov’t Code § 54953(g).
• All agencies must have and implement a written policy to swiftly address
reasonable accommodation requests, and either provide it as part of the
agenda, or reference it on the agenda and provide a link. Current agenda
language regarding accessibility should be updated to include reference to
reasonable accommodations.
• This requirement went into effect January 1, 2023, and therefore requires
action by the City Council. The ADA requires reasonable accommodations
irrespective of any language in the Brown Act.
C. Amended Brown Act to add non-discrimination provisions, reflecting current law.
SB 1100
This bill amended the Brown Act by adding provisions that articulate the authority of the
presiding member of a legislative body to have an individual removed for disrupting a
meeting of the body. Before being removed, the person must be warned that that their
behavior is disruptive, and that continued disruption may result in their removal (however,
no prior warning is required if the person is engaging in use of force or threatening to use
force against anyone). Behavior is otherwise “disruptive” if it disrupts or impedes the
orderly conduct of the meeting. This bill added Section 54957.95 to the Government
Code, and reflects current free speech law.
SB 1489
This bill amended Gov’t Code Section 36934 to no longer require reading of ordinances
by title only, as follows (new language in bold): “Except when, after reading the title,
further reading is waived by regular motion adopted by majority vote all ordinances shall
be read in full either at the time of introduction or passage; provided, however, that a
reading of the title or ordinance shall not be required if the title is included on the
published agenda and a copy of the full ordinance is made available to the public
online and in print at the meeting prior to the introduction or passage.”
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