Counsel briefs LAFCO on SB 707 Brown Act teleconferencing and social-media changes

Melissa Cushman, counsel to Riverside LAFCO, briefed the commission on changes to the Brown Act enacted through SB 707.

Cushman said core Brown Act requirements remain unchanged—open meetings and agenda posting rules still apply—but noted several new provisions relevant to special districts. Members must be provided a copy of the Brown Act; social-media limitations that bar discussions about agency business among fewer than a quorum are now permanent. Cushman recommended commissioners avoid discussing LAFCO business on social media to prevent inadvertent violations.

She outlined four teleconferencing categories that now exist: (1) disability accommodation teleconferencing (no limit on uses if reasonable accommodation is needed and attendance counts as in-person); (2) state-of-emergency teleconferencing with specific finding requirements (may allow telephonic-only participation with no physical location in some circumstances); (3) just-cause teleconferencing for specified caregiver, illness or military service reasons (limited to two uses per calendar year and generally requires two-way video/audio); and (4) a committee-specific exemption for advisory committees under constrained conditions (two-way video/audio and specified findings required).

Cushman said other changes she and staff see in public discussion—mandatory two-way audiovisual for all meetings or automatic agenda translation—do not yet apply to LAFCO but may be encouraged for voluntary compliance by smaller districts. She encouraged staff and commissioners to consult counsel before relying on any exemption that is new or fact-specific.