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Board votes to support sunset, teleconferencing extension and emergency-waiver bills; details and roll-call results
Summary
The California State Board of Optometry on July 11 voted to support SB 776 (the board's sunset bill), SB 470 (Bagley-Keene teleconferencing extension) and SB 641 (emergency waivers for DCA/boards). The board discussed several other measures and kept others on watch.
At its July 11 meeting the California State Board of Optometry discussed multiple bills in the 2025 legislative session and took formal positions on three measures: the board voted to support SB 776 (Ashby), the board’s sunset and opticianry-related amendments; support SB 641 (Ashby) granting waiver/exemption authority to boards under certain emergencies; and support SB 470 (Laird), which extends the temporary remote-meeting provisions under the Bagley-Keene Open Meeting Act. The board also continued monitoring other bills on its tracking list.
Board staff summarized the bills and recommended positions. Staff noted SB 776 had been amended to incorporate language addressing optical company registration, a topic the board and stakeholders had pursued during sunset review. The board’s support motion for SB 776 passed on a roll-call vote. Staff also described SB 641 as intended to give boards statutory waiver authority in specified emergency circumstances and recommended the board adopt a support position; that motion likewise passed. For SB 470, staff described opposition from a coalition seeking Brown Act–style limits on remote participation; after discussion the board approved a support position to extend the remote-meeting provisions used by state boards.
Votes at a glance
- SB 776 (Ashby) — Optometry sunset (including optical company registration language): Motion to adopt board support passed on roll call (ayes: Amber Clemens, Amber Dawson, Joseph Pruitt, Lillian Wong, Stacy Bragg, Uni Linden, Jeffrey Garcia). Outcome: supported.
- SB 641 (Ashby) — DCA/Real Estate emergency waivers/exemptions: Motion to adopt board support passed on roll call (ayes: Amber Clemens, Amber Dawson, Joseph Pruitt, Lillian Wong, Stacy Bragg, Uni Linden, Jeffrey Garcia). Outcome: supported.
- SB 470 (Laird) — Bagley-Keene teleconferencing sunset extension (remote meeting provisions to 2030): Motion to adopt board support passed on roll call (tally recorded: Amber Clemens voted No; Amber Dawson, Joseph Pruitt, Lillian Wong, Stacy Bragg, Uni Linden, and Jeffrey Garcia voted Aye). Outcome: supported (6–1).
Board members discussed the policy implications for each bill before voting. On SB 470 several members noted the policy tradeoffs between remote access and public meeting transparency; staff said the measure preserved an important remote option and that a coalition of groups (including Common Cause and taxpayer groups) sought different, more restrictive rules. On SB 776 members welcomed inclusion of the optical company registration language after stakeholder negotiations and staff said the measure reflects months of engagement with the author’s office.
Ending: The board asked staff to continue legislative monitoring and to notify members of subsequent developments. Several members thanked staff for legislative outreach and for representing the board at hearings.
