OC cities race to meet state remote comment deadline

Orange County's 34 cities are moving to comply with a July 1 state deadline that requires local governments to give residents remote access to city council meetings by phone or video.

Senate Bill 707, signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom on Oct. 3, 2025, amends at least 13 sections of the Government Code governing California's open-meetings law, requiring local governments to provide two-way remote access and translated agendas — changes that expand options for residents who face language or transportation barriers to in-person attendance.

Under the new law, cities must offer a two-way telephone or videoconference platform — such as Zoom — so residents can both speak and listen during open meetings, Voice of OC reported. If an online service fails during a session, the meeting must pause for at least one hour. Officials may then choose to proceed without remote access or cancel the session entirely.

Most cities moved quickly after the law took effect. Huntington Beach, Santa Ana, Fullerton and La Habra each approved the required policy changes with little or no council debate, according to Voice of OC's review of meeting records across the county.

La Habra has been conducting test runs ahead of the deadline. City Clerk Rhonda Barone told council members at the June 1 meeting that staff had already upgraded equipment. "We have updated and improved some of the technical equipment in an effort to stay ahead of that and avoid some of those technical issues," Barone said, according to Voice of OC.

The law also mandates translated agendas. Barone said La Habra has been using technology to meet that requirement. "With computer technology and AI, there's been more availability of various language translations for documents," she said. "We've provided translators in the past, and the public have also brought in their own translators as well." Some cities are weighing on-site interpreters in addition to document translation.

La Palma and Rancho Santa Margarita remain the only two of Orange County's 34 cities without any live video streaming of council meetings. The Rancho Santa Margarita City Council approved $41,000 for audio-visual equipment to meet the new requirements. Councilmember Bradley McGirr acknowledged the statute's complexity at the city's April 22 meeting. "SB 707 basically rewrites at least 13 sections of the government code," McGirr said. "This is not an easy statute to read. In fact, it's been open for interpretation for the last seven months," he told the council, Voice of OC reported.

La Palma projects its new video streaming hardware will not be operational until August 2026 — more than a month past the July 1 deadline — making it and Rancho Santa Margarita the county's last two cities to complete the transition to full remote public access for council meetings.