BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET) — Members of the public may be able to start participating in Bakersfield City Council meetings remotely by July, according to the City Council meeting agenda for Wednesday.
The city has to make “major operational changes” to comply with Senate Bill 707, which was signed into law in October of 2025 and made several changes to the Ralph M. Brown Act.
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The Brown Act is a California law that requires all local legislative bodies in the state to guarantee the public’s right to attend and participate in their meetings.
Following those changes, the city has to allow the public to participate and provide comments remotely via a two-way audio or audiovisual platform at City Council meetings by July 1, 2026.
The proposed amendment to the City Council meeting policies would move the “Appointments” segment to the 3:30 p.m. meeting from the 5:15 p.m. meeting. It would also add remote public statements to be held at both meetings, according to the agenda.
The total time limits for community members to speak for “Non-agenda” and “Agenda” items would remain the same — two minutes per speaker, 20 minutes total for non-agenda items and 20 minutes per agenda item — with the 20 minutes for each segment being equally split between remote and in-person speakers, city officials said.
However, the total time limits for public hearings would be increased from 15 minutes to 20 minutes per side for argument, and increased from 5 minutes to 10 minutes per side for rebuttal.
The time for both sides — arguments and rebuttals — would be divided in half between remote and in-person participants, the agenda said.
These changes would only immediately affect City Council meetings and not other city committee meetings, although they are expected to change in the future, Deputy City Attorney Ashley Zambrano said at the Feb. 25 meeting.
If approved, the proposed resolution amendment would take effect April 1. Remote participation would go into effect once the required technology is implemented, the deadline for this being July 1.
The City Council is slated to consider adopting this amendment during its 5:15 p.m. meeting March 11 at City Hall at 1501 Truxtun Ave.
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