AMENDED IN SENATE JUNE 23, 2025

AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 10, 2025

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2025–2026 REGULAR SESSION

97

Introduced by Assembly Member Arambula

February 4, 2025

An act to amend Section 54953.9 of the Government Code, relating to open meetings.

Vote: majority   Appropriation: no   Fiscal committee: no   Local program: no

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

Existing law, the Ralph M. Brown Act, requires, with specified exceptions, that all meetings of a legislative body, as defined, of a local agency be open and public and that all persons be permitted to attend and participate. The act generally requires for teleconferencing that the legislative body of a local agency that elects to use teleconferencing post agendas at all teleconference locations, identify each teleconference location in the notice and agenda of the meeting or proceeding, and have each teleconference location be accessible to the public. Existing law also requires that, during the teleconference, at least a quorum of the members of the legislative body participate from locations within the boundaries of the territory over which the local agency exercises jurisdiction, except as specified.

Existing law, until January 1, 2026, authorizes a California community college student body association and other specified student-run community college organizations to use alternate teleconferencing provisions related to notice, agenda, and public participation, as prescribed, if, among other requirements, the board of trustees of the community college district has adopted an authorizing resolution and ⅔ of an eligible legislative body votes to use the alternate teleconferencing provisions, as specified.

This bill would extend specify that the California community college student body associations and student-run community college organizations described above are those in any community college recognized within the California Community Colleges system and would extend the authorization, as described above, to the Student Senate for California Community Colleges.

The bill would extend the authorization for California community college student body associations and student-run community college organizations to use the above-described alternate teleconferencing provisions through January 1, 2030.

Existing constitutional provisions require that a statute that limits the right of access to the meetings of public bodies or the writings of public officials and agencies be adopted with findings demonstrating the interest protected by the limitation and the need for protecting that interest.

This bill would make legislative findings to that effect.

The California Constitution requires local agencies, for the purpose of ensuring public access to the meetings of public bodies and the writings of public officials and agencies, to comply with a statutory enactment that amends or enacts laws relating to public records or open meetings and contains findings demonstrating that the enactment furthers the constitutional requirements relating to this purpose.

This bill would make legislative findings to that effect.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.

The Legislature finds and declares that local student body associations and other student-run organizations in the California Community Colleges provide important input to community college districts’ boards of trustees. Unlike other legislative bodies that have access to regular meeting locations, these volunteer, uncompensated, elected members have had trouble accessing public meeting locations. This poses a major accessibility concern for students who are disabled, have dependents they need to care for, or are otherwise unable to participate in the meetings in person due to unreliable access to transportation or limited resources, qualifications that many California community college students, who serve as student leaders on their local student body associations or other student-run organizations, meet. While the Legislature recently granted additional teleconferencing flexibility for legislative bodies to use teleconferencing more flexibly, the additional teleconferencing flexibility of this act is necessary to account for the specific needs of student body associations and other student-run organizations in the California Community Colleges.

SEC. 2.

Section 54953.9 of the Government Code is amended to read:

54953.9.

(a) As used in this section, “eligible legislative body” means a student body association organized pursuant to Section 76060 of the Education Code, or any other student-run community college organization that is required to comply with the meeting requirements of this chapter. chapter, that is in any community college recognized within the California Community Colleges system and includes the Student Senate for California Community Colleges.

(b) (1) An eligible legislative body may use teleconferencing without complying with paragraph (3) of subdivision (b) of Section 54953 if the eligible legislative body complies with paragraphs (2) to (4), inclusive.

(2) An eligible legislative body may only use teleconferencing as described in this section after all the following have occurred:

(A) The board of trustees for a community college district considers whether to adopt a resolution to authorize eligible legislative bodies to use teleconferencing as described in paragraph (1) at an open and regular meeting.

(B) If the board of trustees for a community college district adopts a resolution described in subparagraph (A), an eligible legislative body may elect to use teleconferencing pursuant to this section if two-thirds of the eligible legislative body votes to do so. The eligible legislative body shall notify the board of trustees if it elects to use teleconferencing pursuant to this section and its justification for doing so.

(C) Upon receiving notification from a legislative body as described in subparagraph (B), the board of trustees may adopt a resolution to prohibit the eligible legislative body from using teleconferencing pursuant to this section.

(3) After completing the requirements in paragraph (2), an eligible legislative body that holds a meeting pursuant to this subdivision shall do all of the following:

(A) In each instance in which notice of the time of the teleconferenced meeting is otherwise given or the agenda for the meeting is otherwise posted, the eligible legislative body shall also give notice of the means by which members of the public may access the meeting and offer public comment. The agenda shall identify and include an opportunity for all persons to attend via a call-in option or an internet-based service option.

(B) In the event of a disruption that prevents the eligible legislative body from broadcasting the meeting to members of the public using the call-in option or internet-based service option, or in the event of a disruption within the eligible legislative body’s control that prevents members of the public from offering public comments using the call-in option or internet-based service option, the eligible legislative body shall take no further action on items appearing on the meeting agenda until public access to the meeting via the call-in option or internet-based service option is restored. Actions taken on agenda items during a disruption that prevents the eligible legislative body from broadcasting the meeting may be challenged pursuant to Section 54960.1.

(C) The eligible legislative body shall not require public comments to be submitted in advance of the meeting and shall provide an opportunity for the public to address the legislative body and offer comment in real time.

(D) Notwithstanding Section 54953.3, an individual desiring to provide public comment through the use of an internet website, or other online platform, not under the control of the eligible legislative body, that requires registration to log in to a teleconference may be required to register as required by the third-party internet website or online platform to participate.

(E) (i) An eligible legislative body that provides a timed public comment period for each agenda item shall not close the public comment period for the agenda item, or the opportunity to register, pursuant to subparagraph (D), to provide public comment until that timed public comment period has elapsed.

(ii) An eligible legislative body that does not provide a timed public comment period, but takes public comment separately on each agenda item, shall allow a reasonable amount of time per agenda item to allow public members the opportunity to provide public comment, including time for members of the public to register pursuant to subparagraph (D), or otherwise be recognized for the purpose of providing public comment.

(iii) An eligible legislative body that provides a timed general public comment period that does not correspond to a specific agenda item shall not close the public comment period or the opportunity to register, pursuant to subparagraph (D), until the timed general public comment period has elapsed.

(F) (i) At Except as specified in clause (ii), at least a quorum of the members of the eligible legislative body shall participate from a singular physical location that is accessible to the public and is within the community college district in which the eligible legislative body is established.

(iii) Notwithstanding the requirements of clause (i), a person may count toward the establishment of a quorum pursuant to clause (i) regardless of whether the person is participating at the in-person location of the meeting or remotely if the person meets any of the following criteria:

(I) The person has a disability that requires accommodation pursuant to the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. Sec. 12132).

(II) The person is under 18 years of age.

(III) The person is incarcerated.

(IV) The person is unable to disclose the location that they are participating from because of either of the following circumstances:

(ia) The person has been issued a protective court order, including, but not limited to, a domestic violence restraining order.

(ib) The person is participating in a program that has to remain confidential, including, but not limited to, an independent living program.

(V) The person provides childcare or caregiving to a child, parent, grandparent, grandchild, sibling, spouse, or domestic partner that requires them to participate remotely. For purposes of this subclause, “child,” “parent,” “grandparent,” “grandchild,” and “sibling” have the same meaning as those terms are defined in Section 12945.2.

(4) An eligible legislative body that holds a meeting pursuant to this subdivision shall do the following, as applicable:

(A) If (i) Except as specified in subparagraph (B), if the meeting is during regular business hours of the offices of the board of trustees of the community college district, the eligible legislative body shall provide a publicly accessible physical location from which the public may attend or comment, which shall be the offices of the board of trustees of the community college district, unless the eligible legislative body identifies an alternative location.

(ii) Except as specified in subparagraph (B), if the meeting is outside regular business hours, the eligible legislative body shall make reasonable efforts to accommodate any member of the public that requests an accommodation to participate in the meeting. For the purposes of this subparagraph, “accommodation” means providing a publicly accessible physical location for the member of the public to participate from, providing access to technology necessary to participate in the meeting, or identifying locations or resources available that could provide the member of the public with an opportunity to participate in the meeting.

(c) The legislative body shall comply with all other requirements of Section 54953.

(d) This section shall remain in effect only until January 1, 2030, and as of that date is repealed.

SEC. 3.

The Legislature finds and declares that Section 2 of this act, which amends Section 54953.9 of the Government Code, imposes a limitation on the public’s right of access to the meetings of public bodies or the writings of public officials and agencies within the meaning of Section 3 of Article I of the California Constitution. Pursuant to that constitutional provision, the Legislature makes the following findings to demonstrate the interest protected by this limitation and the need for protecting that interest:

(a) Increasing flexibility for California community college student body associations and other student-run community college organizations to conduct public meetings via teleconferencing in lieu of physical location meetings will allow for increased public participation by all members of the public regardless of their location and ability to travel to physical meeting locations and an increased pool of people who are able to serve on these bodies by addressing the specific accessibility needs of California community college students.

SEC. 4.

The Legislature finds and declares that Section 2 of this act, which amends Section 54953.9 of the Government Code, furthers, within the meaning of paragraph (7) of subdivision (b) of Section 3 of Article I of the California Constitution, the purposes of that constitutional section as it relates to the right of public access to the meetings of local public bodies or the writings of local public officials and local agencies. Pursuant to paragraph (7) of subdivision (b) of Section 3 of Article I of the California Constitution, the Legislature makes the following findings:

(a) Increasing flexibility for California community college student body associations and other student-run community college organizations to conduct public meetings via teleconferencing in lieu of physical location meetings will allow for increased public participation by all members of the public regardless of their location and ability to travel to physical meeting locations and an increased pool of people who are able to serve on these bodies by addressing the specific accessibility needs of California community college students.