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Temecula updates council protocol to implement SB77: remote participation, captioning and disruption rules
Summary
The council approved revisions to Council Policy No. 6 to implement SB77 accessibility and remote-participation requirements, including two-way telephonic/audiovisual participation, captioning and policies for technology disruptions; staff will begin two-way remote participation at the July 14 meeting.
The Temecula City Council on June 9 adopted revisions to its Council Protocol Manual (Policy No. 6) to incorporate requirements of Senate Bill 77, which the staff memo described as aimed at improving accessibility, language access and remote participation in public meetings.
SB77, signed into law in October 2025, phased in new requirements starting January 1, 2026, and imposes additional rules effective July 1, 2026. The city's revised policy addresses language access, captioning, two-way telephonic and audiovisual participation for members and the public, formal procedures for handling technology disruptions and reasonable accommodation for councilmembers participating remotely.
Staff told council that the first meeting to include two-way telephonic and audiovisual public participation will be July 14. During discussion a council member asked how the city will manage queuing and priority between in-person speakers and remote participants. Staff said they are still working through logistics but plan to administer the public-comment process "in a fair and neutral and transparent manner," pulling speaker cards for people in the chamber and alternating with the remote queue while enforcing strict time limits.
The council approved the revised policy and directed staff to finalize operational procedures for the July meeting.
