(SACRAMENTO) – Today, the California Legislature cast its final vote in favor of expanding access to local, multijurisdictional public meetings by approving SB 537, which continues the ability of some local, cross-county agencies that are governed by appointees the ability to teleconference.
"In Senate District 13, there are many local agencies that span over one hundred miles across several counties, making it costly and prohibitive for many people to attend monthly meetings in person,” said Senator Josh Becker (D-San Mateo). “SB 537 is a common sense solution that expands access to public meetings for individuals who face challenges to participating in person—either because of difficulty traveling long distances or for health reasons.”
During the COVID-19 Pandemic, public meetings became virtual, and public attendance at these meetings increased significantly. Now that in-person meetings have resumed, there has been a significant drop in participation in these public meetings. Access to these meetings is further diminished with the large distances people need to travel to physically attend. SB 537 increases access to these meetings by allowing virtual teleconferencing for certain public meetings with agencies that represent multi-jurisdictional, cross-county jurisdictions. The bill now heads to the Governor for his signature.
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Senator Becker represents the 13th Senate District covering portions of Santa Clara and San Mateo counties and includes the cities of Atherton, Belmont, Brisbane, Burlingame, East Palo Alto, Foster City, Half Moon Bay, Hillsborough, Los Altos, Los Altos Hills, Menlo Park, Millbrae, Mountain View, Pacifica, Palo Alto, Redwood City, San Bruno, San Carlos, San Mateo, South San Francisco, and Woodside.