California Governor Gavin Newsom signed SB 707 on October 3, 2025, enacting a bill that updates the Brown Act to include expanded requirements around remote participation, agenda translation and public outreach. The new set of mandates, most of which go into effect Jan. 1, 2026, represent a significant modernization in how local legislative bodies conduct open meetings.
At a glance, significant requirements of SB 707 include the following:
Two‐way remote participation
Under SB 707, eligible legislative bodies must ensure that all open meetings allow for two‑way interaction via telephonic or audiovisual platforms.
Agenda translation requirements
From July 1, 2026 until July 1, 2030, agencies must translate meeting agendas into “applicable languages” — defined as those languages spoken by at least 20 % of residents (who also speak English “less than very well”) per most recent American Community Survey (ACS) data.
Disruption policy and resilience
Before July 1, 2026, each body must adopt a public policy addressing potential disruptions of telephonic or internet service during a meeting. For certain disruptions, the policy includes recessing the open session for at least one hour and making good‑faith efforts to restore connectivity.
Stricter notice, notice posting and open meetings transparency
SB 707 imposes uniform rules on teleconferencing, including labeling remote participation in minutes, providing public access links, identifying teleconference locations (if in‑person nodes are used) and expanding internal document access and reporting rules (e.g. compensation, remote participation justification).
Public participation updates and requirements
The bill tweaks when public comment must be allowed—even for items that have passed through committee—particularly for sensitive domains like budgets, privacy, policing, library access and taxation. The bill also requires certain actions to encourage residents, including those in underrepresented communities and non-English-speaking communities, to participate in public meetings.
Emergency and alternative teleconferencing
SB 707 recasts how legislative bodies may invoke alternative teleconferencing (e.g. during emergencies or “just cause,” broadening what qualifies), and it extends alternative teleconference provisions for neighborhood councils, student bodies and subsidiary or multijurisdictional entities through 2030.
Given the clear impacts that SB 707 will have on jurisdictions’ public access and engagement strategies, there are several steps that your organization can take now to prepare:
Evaluate meeting platforms
Can your meeting platform(s) support two-way participation? Conduct an inventory of your technology systems and research and invest in new platforms as needed.
Assess your data on demographics and spoken languages
In your jurisdiction, is there a language spoken by at least 20 % of residents (who also speak English “less than very well”)? Review the most recent ACS data and, if applicable, work on lining up translation resources early.
Establish communications contacts and plans
The bill requires jurisdictions to make reasonable efforts to invite groups that do not traditionally participate in public meetings to attend those meetings. (Such groups may include media organizations, including media organizations that serve non-English-speaking communities; good government, civil rights, civic engagement, neighborhood and community group organizations, including organizations active in non-English-speaking communities.) Does your jurisdiction have existing relationships and contact information for such groups? Start working on your communications plan now to ensure you have points of contact and a strategy to conduct the necessary outreach.
Team Tripepi Smith is available to support your jurisdiction as you prepare to implement the new outreach and engagement requirements of SB 707. For more information, visit our website.