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Bakersfield council discusses SB 707 changes, directs staff to draft remote-participation policy
Summary
Deputy City Attorney Ashley Zbrano briefed council on SB 707 requirements that remote two-way audio participation be added to each public-comment period by July 1; council asked staff to return March 11 with a redline resolution and discussed shifting routine items to the 3:30 meeting and splitting public-comment time between in-person and remote speakers.
Deputy City Attorney Ashley Zbrano told the Bakersfield City Council on Feb. 25 that Senate Bill 707 requires the city to add remote two-way audio participation to every public-comment period and to adopt a written policy addressing service interruptions.
"On or before July 1, we must incorporate remote public participation into each public comment period at city council meetings," Zbrano said, adding that remote participants must receive the same time allotment as in-person speakers and that disruptions could force an hour-long recess in some circumstances.
The briefing focused on operational consequences: chambers and clerk operations must be reconfigured to queue and give real-time speaking access to both in-person and remote participants. Zbrano outlined a three-step approach staff recommends for council direction: move routine items (appointments, consent calendar) to the 3:30 meeting to reduce 5:15 congestion; hear agenda-item public statements together to streamline clerk queuing; and decide whether to adjust total public-comment minutes or split existing totals evenly between remote and in-person speakers.
Council members debated tradeoffs. Some members, including Council Member Smith, warned that moving consent items earlier could reduce accessibility for working residents who attend after 5 p.m. Vice Mayor Core and others said a split of 10 minutes remote / 10 minutes in-person for non-agenda statements and an increase for hearings (10/10 per side with 5/5 rebuttals) would be a reasonable initial approach while staff and clerks learn the new system.
Mayor Karen K. Go and Zbrano said staff will return at the council’s March meeting with an amended council policy (a redline and clean version) and an implementation timeline that makes the remote-participation component effective by July 1. Zbrano suggested the remote functionality be tested in May and June before the statutory deadline.
What happens next: staff will draft the amended resolution and a separate disruption policy to address service loss during meetings. Council directed staff to proceed but stopped short of final votes on agenda order or precise time limits, leaving those details to the March return and public feedback.
