City Attorney Colin details Brown Act changes, remote‑comment and translation rules for Norco

City Attorney Colin delivered a legislative update summarizing 2026 state laws the council should expect to implement, highlighting changes he said will affect how Norco runs public meetings.

"This is, starting on 07/01/2026. We have to have either 2 way telephonic or a 2 way audio visual system for people to make remote public comments," Colin said, describing a new requirement to provide remote comment access and a written policy for handling service interruptions. He added that the city must also offer reasonable translation assistance and provide physical space where members of the public can post their own translated agendas.

Colin told the council that about 2,300 bills were introduced this session and roughly 900 went to the governor. He said the state reduced its homelessness assistance line from about $1,000,000,000 to approximately $500,000,000 this year and discussed a package of sober‑living bills that partly passed. He described SB707 as "the biggest bill of the year" for open‑meeting changes, and said some provisions apply selectively to a new category called "eligible legislative bodies," which includes Norco as part of Riverside County.

Why it matters: the Brown Act changes will require new staff time and budget for translation and remote‑access infrastructure, and will prompt new local policies. Colin said staff will return with a policy proposal for the council to adopt in a future meeting. "We'll be bringing a policy at a later meeting," he said.

The presentation also touched on other statutory changes — for example, new open‑meeting rules require that compensation increases for department heads be handled in open session — and on wildfire‑related insurance and zoning actions under consideration at the state level.