DATE: April 7, 2026
TO: Board of Supervisors
SUBMITTED BY: Paul Nerland, County Administrative Officer
SUBJECT: Revision to Administrative Policy No. 29 - Board of Supervisors Meetings
RECOMMENDED ACTION(S):
TITLE
Approve revised Administrative Policy No. 29 for Board of Supervisors Meetings (AP 29), incorporating updates to public participation procedures, provisions for remote public participation, including a policy addressing disruptions to telephonic or internet service during Board meetings, and revisions to management responsibilities, in accordance with Government Code Section 54953.4.
REPORT
Approval of the recommended action will revise AP 29 to update language in current sections and add a policy addressing disruptions to telephonic or internet service that prevent remote public participation. The policy establishes procedures for recessing and reconvening open session while good faith efforts are made to restore service, in compliance with Government Code Section 54953.4 of the Ralph M. Brown Act (Brown Act). This item is countywide.
ALTERNATIVE ACTION(S):
Your Board may choose to revise the proposed amendments to AP 29; however, your Board must approve a policy before July 1, 2026, as mandated by Senate Bill (SB) 707.
FISCAL IMPACT:
There is no Net County Cost associated with the recommended action. Approval of the recommended action will adopt revisions to AP 29.
DISCUSSION:
The Brown Act was enacted in 1953, providing guidelines for how local agencies must hold public meetings. SB 707, authored by State Senator Maria Elena Durazo, amended the Brown Act to expand public access to meetings. The bill was passed by the Legislature on September 13, 2025, and approved by Governor Gavin Newsom on October 3, 2025.
Prior law did not require local agencies to provide an opportunity for remote public participation. With the passing of SB 707, Government Code Section 54953.4 requires all open and public meetings of an eligible legislative body to include an opportunity for the public to participate via a two-way telephonic service or audiovisual platform. As the Board of Supervisors of a county with a population of more than 30,000, your Board qualifies as an eligible body per Government Code Section 54953.4(e)(2)(B).
Government Code Section 54953.4 also addresses disruptions to remote public participation services. Before July 1, 2026, in open session at a regular meeting, your Board must adopt a policy regarding disruptions to the telephonic or internet-based service during meetings. The policy must include:
• The procedures for recessing and reconvening a meeting in the event of a disruption, including a recess of at least one hour or until service is restored, whichever occurs first;
• The efforts that shall be made to restore the service; and
• If service is not restored after one hour, authorization for the Board to reconvene open session upon a rollcall vote finding that (1) good faith efforts to restore the service have been made and (2) the public interest in continuing the meeting outweighs the public interest in remote access.
In addition to the changes required for compliance with Government Code Section 54953.4, revisions to AP 29 clarify and standardize procedures related to public participation. These updates include modifications to speaker time limits, clarification that speakers may not yield time, and affirmation of your Board’s discretion to adjust time limits as appropriate to facilitate orderly meetings.
The policy also clarifies that the disruption provisions apply to system-wide failures of the telephonic or internet-based service and do not apply to technical issues experienced by individual members of the public.
Further, the revised policy delineates responsibilities among County departments to ensure an effective response to service disruptions. The Clerk of the Board is responsible for managing remote participation and speaker coordination, while the Information Technology Services Department and General Services Department are responsible for addressing system-related and facility-related disruptions, respectively.
Additional revisions include minor clarifying and organizational updates to improve consistency and readability throughout the policy.
Approval of the recommended action will enable the County to comply with SB 707 and the Brown Act by adopting the required disruption policy prior to July 1, 2026, and will allow staff sufficient time to develop internal procedures and provide public guidance regarding implementation of the remote participation system.
ATTACHMENTS INCLUDED AND/OR ON FILE:
AP 29 (Redline)
AP 29 (Clean)
CAO ANALYST:
Amy Ryals