Rules Committee adopts teleconference findings under AB 361 to continue remote meetings

The Rules Committee of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors voted on Oct. 4, 2021, to adopt findings required by Assembly Bill 361 and Government Code §54953(e) that allow policy bodies to meet remotely while the state of emergency continues.

Chair Supervisor Aaron Peskin explained the criteria for the finding and moved that the committee adopt them, saying, “I would like to, make those findings and make a motion that we adopt them.” The committee then took public comment on the motion; an unidentified caller argued the committee's action was either out of order or unnecessary and said the full Board should take the matter up. Peskin replied that city legal counsel's advice differed and then called a roll-call vote. The motion passed without objection.

Why it matters: AB 361 altered local open-meeting rules during the COVID-19 emergency by providing a statutory path for remote meetings when a legislative body finds that the emergency continues to directly affect members' ability to meet safely in person. The committee's adoption of the findings keeps committee business moving under the revised state standard.

The action taken on Oct. 4 was procedural: the committee recorded a unanimous vote to adopt the teleconference findings and did not take separate policy or substantive action under those findings. The chair and clerk recorded the vote during the meeting, and the committee proceeded to its next agenda items under the continuing remote format.

Next steps: The full Board may take related actions on teleconferencing rules at a subsequent meeting; the committee's vote allows this committee to continue meeting remotely pending any further Board-level decisions.