The Board of Equalization spent a sizable portion of its meeting reviewing its governance policy and debating whether to change how members communicate and how the public may participate. Member Mike Schaeffer proposed staggering board terms to preserve institutional knowledge and asked the board to explicitly allow limited one‑on‑one, one‑way communications among members when prospective candidates introduce themselves.

Julia Hemovitz of the legal department told the board that Bagley‑Keene permits one‑way communications and that changing that standard would require legislative action. Hemovitz suggested the board could instead add clarifying language to its governance policy to emphasize that one‑way communications are allowed without changing state law.

Members also questioned the routine telephonic check for public callers during meetings. Schaeffer said staff frequently queried the AT&T moderator with no callers present and proposed that staff notify members only when a caller is waiting. Vice Chair Lieber argued that phone and remote access are essential for working families and people with disabilities, calling in‑person-only limits an important pathway to participation.

Executive Director Yvette Stowers said the board has chosen to allow in‑person, written and telephone comment to make meetings more accessible, and that the board may change the policy if it so decides. Members agreed not to vote on major governance changes at the meeting; instead the governance item was treated as a report and members were invited to return with suggested edits for future consideration.

The board did not adopt any immediate policy changes; counsel will return with clarifying language or options if members request them in a future meeting.