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By: @Marcus Detwiler

Senate Bill 1187 (Durazo), a bill that has nearly reached the Governor’s desk, would make major revisions to the obligations placed on “eligible legislative bodies” that were enacted as part of last year’s Senate Bill 707 by the same author. Specifically, for those special districts whose boards met statutory criteria designating them as eligible legislative bodies – a fraction of the special districts in California – the obligations connected to translating materials or facilitating translations as a part of the Brown Act would cease to exist. Because SB 1187 contains an urgency clause, the elimination of these translation obligations would take effect immediately upon Governor Newsom signing the bill into law (rather than taking effect January 1 of next year, as with most legislation). Other provisions of SB 707 are, and would remain, in effect. Although this anticipated change to law will provide immediate changes for eligible legislative bodies, that relief may be transitory should future legislation seek impose new or different translation requirements on those or other bodies.

SB 707 effectuated the largest changes to the Brown Act in years. SB 707 created categories of cities, counties, and special districts known as “eligible legislative bodies.” Special districts that maintained a website and matched any of the following criteria were automatically designated as an “eligible legislative body,” and had to comply with new, additional requirements under the Brown Act:

• the boundaries of the special district include the entirety of a county with a population of 600,000 or more, and the special district has over 200 full-time equivalent employees;
• the special district has over 1,000 full-time equivalent employees; or
• the special district has annual revenues, based on the most recent Financial Transaction Report data published by the California State Controller, that exceed four hundred million dollars ($400,000,000), adjusted annually for inflation commencing January 1, 2027, as measured by the percentage change in the California Consumer Price Index from January 1 of the prior year to January 1 of the current year, and the special district employs over 200 full-time equivalent employees.

Special districts that qualify as an eligible legislative body based on the criteria outlined above were obligated, beginning July 1 of this year, to provide certain translated materials and various forms of translation-related assistance. Specifically, those bodies came under an obligation to reasonably assist members of the public who wish to translate a public meeting into any language or wish to receive interpretation provided by another member of the public and must publicize instructions on how to request such assistance. These bodies are currently obligated to translate the agenda for each meeting into applicable languages related to their jurisdiction and post these translated agendas consistent with the same provisions that apply to typical meeting agendas. Each translation must contain instructions for joining the meeting by a telephonic or an internet-based service option, including any requirements for registration for public comment. These bodies also had to create an accessible webpage that had to be translated into applicable languages, with each translation accessible through a prominent direct link posted on the primary internet website home page of the eligible legislative body. An eligible legislative body currently must make available a physical location that is freely accessible to the public in reasonable proximity to the physical location in which the agenda and translations are posted and allow members of the public to post additional translations of the agenda in that location. 

These bodies also had to have in place a system for electronically accepting and fulfilling requests for meeting agendas and documents to be regularly provided in advance of meetings to interested parties through email or through an integrated agenda management platform; information about how to make a request using this system had to be made accessible through a prominent direct link posted on the primary internet website home page of the eligible legislative body. The accessible internet webpage these bodies had to create, translate and maintain dedicated to public meetings also had to include, or provide a link to, all of the following information:

• a general explanation of the public meeting process for the eligible legislative body;
• an explanation of the procedures for a member of the public to provide in-person or remote oral public comment during a public meeting or to submit written public comment;
• a calendar of all public meeting dates with calendar listings that include the date, time, and location of each public meeting;
• and the agenda posted online.

Given that SB 1187 only applies to eligible legislative bodies (and that only eligible legislative bodies were obligated under SB 707 to provide translated materials and enhanced translation-related assistance), the changes it would effectuate would only apply to a discrete universe of special districts — however, for those select special districts, these changes will be significant and immediate.