That means city council members must give the public the opportunity to directly address them during public meetings, either over the phone or through another method like Zoom.<\/p>\n
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Making noise where it matters.<\/p>\n
You’ve read article. Keep cranking up the volume on what’s happening behind the scenes in Orange County with the Morning Report newsletter.<\/p>\n
It was once a pandemic-era experiment that many public agencies adopted after COVID-19 prevented groups from gathering for meetings.<\/p>\n
While many cities have done away with remote public speakers at this point, the state legislature is forcing hundreds of California cities to bring it back to increase transparency and allow residents to have an easier time engaging with local city officials.<\/p>\n
SB 707 only applies to city councils in cities with greater than 30,000 people or cities located in counties with more than 600,000 people.\u00a0<\/p>\n All Orange County cities meet these parameters. The requirements sunset on Jan. 1, 2030.<\/p>\n [Read: OC Cities Continue Grappling With Call-in Public Comment<\/a>]<\/p>\n While most cities implemented some kind of remote meeting policy during the height of the pandemic, some cities never ditched remote public comments through Zoom. Others are scrambling to bring it back before the deadline.<\/p>\n Some Orange County cities \u2014 Costa Mesa, Fountain Valley, Fullerton, Irvine, Santa Ana and Villa Park \u2014 never got rid of the practice and have allowed residents to give public comments via Zoom since the pandemic.\u00a0<\/p>\n Those cities already have a two-way communication platform for city council meetings that complies with SB 707.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen this legislation was being considered, we were surprised by how many cities had discontinued remote participation after the pandemic,\u201d Costa Mesa City Clerk Brenda Green said during a council meeting in May.<\/p>\n \u201cIn contrast, we not only maintain Zoom access for city council meetings, but also continue to offer it for commission meetings, demonstrating that we have been ahead of the curve in this area.\u201d<\/p>\n Fullerton\u2019s city clerk, Lucinda Williams, made a similar point when that city discussed SB 707 earlier this month.<\/p>\n \u201cWe did not go away from our two-way participation for council since COVID,\u201d Williams said. \u201cUnlike some of these other agencies that never went there or have to go back \u2014\u00a0and have found out about it in the middle of a budget year with six months to implement \u2014\u00a0we are not in the boat.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n In Irvine, residents can make public comments via Zoom for city council meetings and all city commission and committee meetings, according to a city spokesperson.<\/p>\n Fountain Valley City Clerk Rick Miller said in a phone interview that the city has offered Zoom comments since 2020, and it\u2019s been a smooth process with no major issues.<\/p>\n Villa Park, the smallest Orange County city by population with just about 6,000 residents, has permitted speakers to give comments via Zoom since the pandemic on a by-request basis, City Manager\/City Clerk Steve Franks said during a phone interview.\u00a0<\/p>\n While the city has offered the service for years, it will now be more formalized with instructions included with each agenda so that residents don\u2019t need to request the service when they want to speak from home, Franks said.<\/p>\n Leaders Tasked By Sacramento To Add Remote Public Comments<\/p>\n Other cities were tasked with figuring out how they\u2019re going to permit remote public comments, which will be required starting July 1.<\/p>\n In Anaheim, residents will be able to make comments using Zoom, but they must register online before 5 p.m., according to City Clerk Theresa Bass.<\/p>\n Did you catch that? <\/p>\n From local politics to the people and policies shaping our daily lives\u2014it\u2019s all in The Morning Report. Don\u2019t miss out on this free daily email.<\/p>\n Despite being Orange County\u2019s biggest city, Anaheim has never allowed for call-in public comment \u2014 even when a previous city council was finalizing the controversial Angel Stadium land sale during the pandemic, which fell apart after an FBI probe surfaced<\/a> four years ago.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n [Read: FBI Corruption Probe Into Anaheim Mayor Sidhu Stalls the Angel Stadium Sale<\/a>]<\/p>\n Most cities will be using Zoom to allow residents to watch live from home and chime in during public comments, when residents who attend meetings in person usually have up to three minutes to speak directly to the council members on an issue.<\/p>\n SB 707 requires that remote speakers get the same amount of time to make their comments as speakers who attend in person.<\/p>\n Councilmembers across the county have praised the change, saying it promotes local engagement with government officials.<\/p>\n \u201cI do think that having access remotely to council meetings is a benefit for those who are unable to make it,\u201d Anaheim City Councilmember Natalie Rubalcava said at the council\u2019s May meeting.<\/p>\n In Aliso Viejo, city leaders also praised the change, authored by State Senator Mar\u00eda Elena Durazo and signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom in October 2025.<\/p>\n \u201cThis pleases me to no end,\u201d Councilmember Tiffany Ackley said at the council\u2019s June 6 meeting. \u201cI always have an issue when working parents or single parents can\u2019t come to our meetings, or when anybody can\u2019t come to our meetings, because of the timing. I\u2019m very happy that we\u2019re adopting this hopefully.\u201d<\/p>\n Aliso Viejo Mayor Max Duncan said getting more input from more residents is a good thing.<\/p>\n \u201cThe more people we have paying attention to what\u2019s going on down here in this room, the more informed our residents are,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Other leaders are criticizing the state mandate that could make council meetings longer.<\/p>\n SB 707 also requires city councils to pass a disruption policy if the two-way broadcast fails.<\/p>\n If city council broadcasts face technical difficulties that affect the public\u2019s ability to participate, then council members must recess for at least one hour to try and restore the broadcast.<\/p>\n If leaders are unable to fix the issue after an hour, then officials must decide whether to adjourn the meeting or continue without the broadcast, which would require a vote from the council.<\/p>\n Leaders in Orange passed their technology disruption policy on June 9, but some officials were unhappy with the costs associated with the change, especially as the city grapples with budget deficits.<\/p>\n \u201cSo it\u2019s an unfunded mandate by the state, and then they wonder why cities are going bankrupt,\u201d Councilmember Kathy Tavoularis said at the meeting.<\/p>\n There aren\u2019t any major costs associated with SB 707, but cities will be required to pay for the software and IT upgrades required to broadcast meetings and take remote speakers.\u00a0<\/p>\n In Garden Grove, officials voted to allocate $75,500 from the general fund to upgrade technology and equipment in the council chambers to comply with SB 707.<\/p>\n During a meeting in May, Tustin City Council member John Nielsen said the state is giving more mandates to cities instead of focusing on issues that matter.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s really interesting that the state legislature puts more and more onus on local government and don\u2019t do things like solving issues such as poverty, homelessness, gas prices, etcetera,\u201d Nielsen said about the bill. \u201cThey\u2019d rather spend their time trying to regulate local government. This is another example.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ll go along with it, but I\u2019m not overly happy with this.\u201d<\/p>\n OC Leaders Grapple With \u2018Zoom Bombing\u2019<\/p>\n Many officials expressed concern about people giving inappropriate comments during their remote speaking time, also known as \u201cZoom bombing.\u201d<\/p>\n It became an issue for some cities during the pandemic when people would join council meetings online and purposely give inflammatory or off-topic comments to prank or prompt a reaction from city leaders.<\/p>\n It\u2019s especially difficult to monitor since online speakers don\u2019t need to show their faces and can operate with a greater level of anonymity than speakers who attend in person.<\/p>\n Several city attorneys across the county made it clear that leaders are able to give online speakers a warning and eventually mute their microphones if they refuse to follow city council decorum policies during their public comment.<\/p>\n \u201cDisruptions would be handled just like if they were to occur in the city council chambers,\u201d La Habra City Attorney Keith Collins told the council during their meeting on June 1.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIf the conduct is substantially disruptive to the conduct of the meeting, they can receive one warning and be kicked out of the meeting \u2014 same as anybody that was here in person causing a disruption.\u201d<\/p>\n Leaders in Laguna Woods had a robust discussion last month about how they\u2019re going to implement remote public speakers in a city that has 83% residents aged 65 and older<\/a>.<\/p>\n Laguna Woods leaders created a \u201cGuide to Public Participation\u201d<\/a> that will be included with all city council agendas moving forward, which describes in-depth how to make a public comment in person, in writing or remotely through Zoom.<\/p>\n All OC Cities Offer Video For City Council Meeting Livestreams<\/p>\n For the first time ever, every single city in Orange County will offer a video livestream for city council meetings.<\/p>\n It comes after two cities have been holding out for years.<\/p>\n Rancho Santa Margarita<\/a> and La Palma<\/a> previously only offered an audio livestream for city council meetings, making it difficult for residents to follow along from home and causing confusion about who\u2019s speaking.<\/p>\n Although SB 707 does not require a video livestream for city council meetings, officials in both cities voted to add that option for the first time in anticipation that it will be required in the future.<\/p>\n Angelina Hicks is the Voice of OC Collegiate News Service Editor. Contact her at ahicks@voiceofoc.org or on Twitter @angelinahicks13.<\/p>\n This is what accountability looks like. <\/p>\n For 16 years, Voice of OC has been Orange County\u2019s trusted source for fearless, non-partisan coverage. <\/p>\n We\u2019ve tracked the big shakeups, the quiet deals, and the decisions that hit you where it counts\u2014 your wallet, your home, your community.<\/p>\n From corruption investigations to housing shortages, from environmental challenges to the local economy, we follow the facts so you can follow what\u2019s really happening in your backyard.<\/p>\n No ads. No paywalls. No spin. Just the truth.<\/p>\n And none of it happens without you. <\/p>\n If you believe Orange County deserves this kind of coverage, join us by making a tax-deductible contribution today.<\/p>\n \n\tRelated<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"All Orange County residents will be able to speak to their city council members from home during public…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":371699,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[163,165,164,150613,37902,94922,150614],"class_list":["post-371698","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-anaheim","tag-anaheim","tag-anaheim-headlines","tag-anaheim-news","tag-anaheim-public-comment","tag-public-comment","tag-public-comments","tag-sb707"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/371698","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=371698"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/371698\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/371699"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=371698"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=371698"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=371698"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/1782235166_258_You-Found-Us-Facebook.png\")
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People stand in line to express their thoughts at the City Council meeting in Costa Mesa, Calif.,on July 15, 2025. Credit: JOSIAH MENDOZA, Voice of OC<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/1782235167_258_Computer-megaphone.png\")
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\u201cYou are depending on people not paying attention,\u201d said Kenneth Batiste during Anaheim public comment on Aug. 15, 2023, after an FBI probe into the Anaheim City Mayor, Harry Sidhu. Credit: JULIE LEOPO, Voice of OC<\/p>\n