Residents can now speak online during Bakersfield city council meetings

BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KBAK/KBFX) — Bakersfield residents will be able to participate remotely in City Council meetings starting today, a change that follows the passage of Senate Bill 707, which modernizes public participation for local governments across California.

Under the new system, members of the public can sign up in advance to speak either in person or online. Pre-registration will begin 30 minutes before the first meeting of the day.

For City Council meetings, pre-registration is not required, though speakers will be taken in the order they are received.

Each public speaker will have two minutes. Remote public comment will be capped at 10 minutes total for all remote speakers, with an additional 10 minutes allotted to all in-person speakers.

To pre-register, CLICK HERE. Future meetings and agendas can be seen HERE.