By: Victoria Hester, Partner, and Anne Branham, Associate, Best Best & Krieger LLP
On October 8, 2023, Assembly Bill 557 (“AB 557”), sponsored by California Special Districts Association (CSDA) and introduced by Assembly Member Gregg Hart, was signed into law. This bill updates and amends the procedures agencies have grown accustomed to under the COVID-era rules adopted as AB 361 (R. Rivas) in 2021 and otherwise set to expire December 31, 2023.
In general, the Brown Act permits local agencies to use teleconferencing for the benefit of the public and the legislative body, as long as all procedural requirements are met and the statutory and constitutional rights of the public are protected. The stated purpose of AB 557 is to retain some of the meeting options first made available under AB 361, while ensuring that principles of transparency and accountability continue to be safeguarded by public agencies. This is especially important as agencies continue to face threats from emergencies ranging from wildfires to contagious illnesses.
AB 361 allowed a local agency, during a Governor-proclaimed state of emergency, to meet under revised teleconference rules after making a determination that meeting in person presents imminent risks to health or safety. Unlike traditional teleconference meetings under the Brown Act, these emergency remote meetings do not require posting agendas at all teleconference locations, identifying each teleconference location on the agenda, or ensuring a quorum of the legislative body participates from within the agency’s jurisdiction.
Many local agencies relied on the provisions of AB 361 during the now-expired COVID-19 state of emergency. It was also employed during the severe 2022-23 winter storms.
AB 557, which will take effect January 1, 2024, incorporates two main updates to the revised teleconference meeting rules established by AB 361:
- The agency’s governing body may now renew its findings in support of continued teleconference meetings under the revised requirements every 45 days (AB 361 required the findings to be remade every 30 days). This is intended to provide some relief for agencies that may hold regular meetings on a monthly-basis that happen to occasionally fall just more than 30 days apart due to the nature of the calendar.
- The original December 2023 sunset is eliminated from the remote meeting procedures established by AB 361, meaning that those meeting procedures now remain available to local agencies indefinitely beyond 2023.
Thus, agencies can still apply the relaxed teleconferencing rules during a Governor-declared state of emergency (although the existence of state or local social distancing measures is no longer a factor in determining whether remote meetings may be held). In addition, agencies continue to have the option to rely on traditional teleconferencing requirements under Government Code section 54953(b), or to allow remote attendance on a case-by-case basis using the emergency and just cause provisions found in section 54953(f) (otherwise known as the “AB 2449 rules”).
Communication is provided for general information only and is not offered or intended as legal advice. Readers should seek the advice of an attorney when confronted with legal issues and attorneys should perform an independent evaluation of the issues raised in these communications.
Take a look back at previous parts of the 2024 New Laws Series in CSDA eNews for more in-depth overviews of new laws affecting special districts:
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