For City Council Meeting May 26, 2026
TO: Honorable Mayor and City Council
FROM: Tanya Williams, City Manager
AUTHOR: Barbara A. McGee, City Clerk
Tanya Williams, City Manager
Eric Vail, City Attorney
Title
Request City Council to adopt Resolution No. 8518 adopting City Council Meeting Policies Relating to Remote Participation by Members of the Public Pursuant to Senate Bill 707 and Resolution No. 8519 Amending the Rules and Procedures for Conducting City Council Meetings.
(ACTION)
Body
RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends that the City Council adopt a Resolution adopting City Council meeting policies relating to remote participation by members of the public and adopt a Resolution relating to the amendment of the City Council rules.
BACKGROUND
On October 3, 2025, Governor Newsom signed into law Senate Bill 707 (SB 707), which amends the Brown Act with the intent to diversify and increase public engagement during local government meetings of legislative bodies. Among the various new requirements under SB 707, all qualified legislative bodies must now offer hybrid meetings (through a two-way phone or video platform).
SB 707 requires the City to formally adopt a policy, on or before July 1, 2026, that outlines the procedures for recessing and reconvening a meeting in the event of disruption of remote service and the efforts that the City Council and staff shall make to attempt to restore the service.
In addition, the City Council desires to adopt a policy that implements the procedures governing the removal or limitation of a remote participant disrupting a meeting. SB 707 amended the Ralph M. Brown Act (Gov. Code, § 54950 et seq.) to expressly provide that the authority of a presiding member of a legislative body to remove, or cause the removal of, an individual for disrupting a meeting extends to teleconferenced meetings and to members of the public participating in a meeting via a two-way telephonic service or a two-way audiovisual platform
Further, staff is recommending the amendment to several provisions of the existing Rules and procedures adopted by resolution No 6301, specifically relating to 1) The process for placing items on the agenda; 2) The definitions and procedures governing disruptive behavior and decorum and 3) Public Speaking Time Limits during public comment.
Periodically, it is necessary to review these rules and procedures to ensure conformance to current laws and regulations, or to modify the manner of conducting public meetings as the City Council may desire.
ANALYSIS/DISCUSSION
SB 707 - Remote Public Participation
The policy reflects the meeting disruption guidelines that are already outlined in SB 707, which require the legislative body to take a recess and attempt to restore service for at least one hour. If service cannot be restored within one hour, the legislative body must conduct a roll-call vote confirming that good faith efforts were made and that the public interest in continuing the meeting outweighs the need for remote access. (Cal. Gov. Code § 54953.4(b)(1).) Please note that the public would still be able to view the City Council meeting using any of the following resources:
1) The City’s website at www.rialtoca.gov <http://www.rialtoca.gov>
2) Spectrum <https://www.spectrum.com/> on Channel 3
3) U-Verse <https://www.directv.com/att-uverse-tv/> on Channel 99
4) Rialto Network on YouTube
The policy also outlines the procedures if a remote participant disrupts a City Council Meeting
Amendments to City Council Meeting Rules and Procedures
In addition to the SB 707-required policies described above, staff recommends amending several provisions of the existing Rules and Procedures. A summary of proposed changes to each affected section is provided below. A legislative draft showing all proposed changes is included as Attachment 2.
A. Section II(A) - Preparation of the Agenda
The current Rules and Procedures authorize any Councilmember, the City Manager, or the City Attorney to place items on the agenda. The proposed amendment revises this provision so that items of business may be placed on the agenda by:
• The City Manager or City Attorney; or
• Upon the concurrence of any two (2) Councilmembers.
This change is intended to provide greater coordination in agenda-setting and to ensure that items placed on the agenda by individual Councilmembers have the support of the Council. All other procedural requirements for agenda preparation remain unchanged.
B. Section II(D) - Future Agenda Items (New Provision)
The proposed amendment adds a new Section II(D) to expressly authorize Councilmembers to propose that an item of business be placed on a subsequent agenda during a regular meeting. Placement of such a proposed item on a future agenda shall require the concurrence of at least a quorum of the City Council (i.e., three (3) members). This provision formalizes the existing practice of requesting future agenda items and ensures that such requests reflect a consensus of the Council before staff is directed to prepare materials. This can be discussed during City Council reports on the existing agenda.
C. Section IV - Addressing the Council: Disruptive Behavior and Decorum
The existing Rules and Procedures contain provisions addressing decorum and the removal of disruptive attendees that predate recent changes to the Brown Act. The proposed amendments update these provisions to conform to current law, including SB 707. Specifically:
• The term "Disrupting behavior" is defined for the first time in the Rules and Procedures to mean actions that actually disrupt, disturb, impede, or render infeasible the orderly conduct of the meeting. This includes (1) failure to comply with reasonable and lawful regulations adopted by the City Council pursuant to Government Code section 54954.3 or any other law; or (2) engaging in behavior that constitutes use of force or a true threat of force.
• Sections IV(B), IV(D), and IV(E) are updated to use consistent terminology and to align the City's standards with current statutory requirements and case law.
D. Section V(I) - Enforcement of Decorum
The existing enforcement provision is amended to add an explicit procedural safeguard: the Sergeant-at-Arms shall carry out an order to remove a person engaging in disrupting behavior only after the Presiding Officer has (1) warned the individual that their behavior is disrupting the meeting and (2) informed them that failure to cease such behavior may result in their removal from the Council meeting.
This change aligns the in-person removal procedure with the warning-first framework applicable to remote participants under the Remote Participant Disruption Policy (Exhibit B to the SB 707 Resolution), and reflects current constitutional and statutory standards for removal of disruptive individuals from public meetings.
E. Section IX(B) - Public Speaking Time During Public Comment
The current Rules and Procedures allow up to five (5) minutes for members of the public to speak during public comment. Staff recommends reducing this limit to three (3) minutes, consistent with the practice followed by a majority of area cities. The following table illustrates current public speaking time limits at neighboring agencies:
As shown, 10 of the eleven (11) sampled cities allow a maximum of three (3) minutes for public speakers during public comment on regular business items. The proposed three-minute limit is also consistent with the general public comment time limit already in effect under the City's current Rules and Procedures and will help to ensure meetings are conducted in an orderly and efficient manner.
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT
The proposed action does not meet the definition of a project as defined by Section 15378 California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). A “Project” means the whole of an action, which has a potential for resulting in either a direct physical change in the environment, or a reasonably foreseeable indirect physical change in the environment and excludes organizational or administrative activities of governments that will not result in direct or indirect physical changes in the environment.
GENERAL PLAN CONSISTENCY
The request is consistent with Guiding Principle 3A of the Rialto General Plan: Our city government will lead by example, and will operate in an open, transparent, and responsive manner that will meet the needs of the citizens and is a good place to do business.
LEGAL REVIEW
The City Attorney's Office has reviewed the staff report and resolutions
FINANCIAL IMPACTS
Operating Budget Impact
There is no impact on the Operating Budget.
ATTACHMENTS
1. Resolution NO. ___ SB 707 Remote Participation Policies
2. Resolution NO. ___ Amendment to Rules and Procedures for Conduct of City Council Meetings
3. Clean version of Resolution on Council Rules and Procedures