Legislation Could Allow City Government Meetings to Continue Remotely During State Emergency

An executive order by Gov. Gavin Newsom could restore the state’s open meeting law and force cities to transition back to full compliance with the state’s open meeting law on Oct. 1 unless pending legislation is amended and passed before then.

Assembly Bill 391 would allow public agencies to meet remotely, as they do now under the governor’s executive orders related to COVID-19.

The bill would allow elected agencies like the Pasadena City Council to continue to meet remotely as long as the state’s emergency order continues.

Currently, the legislation would take effect on Jan. 1, which means for four months city officials would be forced to hold meetings in front of capacity crowds even if the spread of the virus continues to worsen.

A city spokesperson said that the legislation could change before then.

“The gap between the EO (executive order) expiring and AB 361 becoming law has left local governments wondering what to do this fall if COVID-19 cases continue to rise,” said city spokesperson Lisa Derderian. “We understand that Assemblymember Rivas will be amending his bill on the Senate Floor (where it currently is) to add an urgency clause — meaning that the bill will go into effect as soon as it is signed — that should allow for a seamless transition from the EO to the new statute.”

Pasadena City Council members have been meeting in council chambers since July.

Currently, unvaccinated council members must wear a mask if they attend a meeting in person. Vaccinated council members have the option of wearing a mask for extra protection.

At this time, only City Council members and city staff are being allowed into the council chambers during meetings.

The last time council members were allowed into the chambers was on March 15, 2020. At that meeting, only two council members appeared in the council chambers. Members of the public were allowed inside the council chambers which had an ample supply of hand sanitizer and chairs placed six feet apart.

The sergeant at arms wore a face mask during that 2 p.m. meeting.

Several days later, the city went into lockdown under city and state emergency orders modifying the Brown Act, the state’s open meeting law.

Although council meetings continued via Zoom, committee and commission meetings were shuttered for several months.