San Jose panel backs reinstating remote public comment in time for June budget hearings; staff to bring memo to council June 2

The San Jose Rules and Open Government Committee voted unanimously to forward a memorandum recommending reinstatement of remote public participation to the full City Council on June 2, with the intent of enabling remote public comment for the June 8 budget hearing. The memorandum, authored by several council members, aims to align the city with state law (SB 707) and restore broader accessibility after remote public comment was curtailed.

Councilmember Candelas opened the discussion and moved the memo forward. City staff told the committee they can bring the updated policy (including amendments to Policy 037, the code-of-conduct policy cited in the hearing) to council on June 2 and enable remote participation for the June 8 budget hearing using the Zoom-based process the city used during the pandemic. Staff also said they are pursuing a new vendor solution to streamline public-comment management but that the vendor implementation will take longer and requires additional approvals.

Multiple community organizations and residents testified in strong support, citing barriers to in-person participation for people with disabilities, caregivers, working families, and low-income residents. "Remote participation in civic meetings matters to me because of transportation needs and the time required to attend long meetings in person," said a parent advocate whose submitted statement was read into the record by a public commenter. Catalyze Silicon Valley, Showing Up for Racial Justice, Working Partnerships, and disability advocacy groups urged immediate reinstatement and asked that remote access be permanent rather than temporary.

Staff outlined operational details and limitations. The clerk's office said the interim approach uses Zoom and tested interpretation via Wordly for on-screen captions; staff noted limits on geolocation (Zoom only reports country-level location) and said moderation would rely on a clerk script and on-the-spot muting and removal to address abusive callers. Staff also noted a typo in the memo about the effective date of SB 707: the law goes into effect July 1, 2026, not the date shown in the draft.

Committee members acknowledged both accessibility gains and risks of online abuse. The chair stressed a need for robust moderation procedures, noting past incidents of hateful comments delivered remotely, and staff said they are drafting scripts and policy language to enforce the code of conduct.

The committee voted 5-0 to send the memo to full council on June 2 for approval and implementation ahead of the June 8 budget hearing.

Next steps: staff will return the memo and Policy 037 updates to council on June 2 and will enable Zoom-based remote public comment for the June 8 budget deliberations while pursuing a longer-term vendor solution and additional procedural safeguards.