News release\u00a0<\/p>\n
The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors announced that they will debut a new public comment registration system on Tuesday, underscoring an effort to make board meetings more accessible and inclusive for all residents. \u00a0<\/p>\n
Supported by PublicInput, the new system registers residents who wish to speak to the board during public comment \u2013 whether they plan to speak by phone or in person, said a news release from the county. \u00a0<\/p>\n
The new system eliminates the use of an access code or PIN when calling in and will notify registered speakers via real-time text message notifications when it is their turn to speak \u2013 eliminating the use of a \u201craise hand\u201d feature. Additionally, if a caller is disconnected, they will not lose their place in line. The system is compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act, and includes a screen-reader-friendly portal designed to work for everyone who wants to be heard.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is vital that every Los Angeles County resident has a meaningful opportunity to make their voice heard on the issues that affect their lives,\u201d 5th District Supervisor Kathryn Barger, who represents the Santa Clarita Valley, said in the release. \u201cBy modernizing our public comment system, we\u2019re making it easier and more accessible for residents to participate in county government and weigh in on the policies, programs and decisions that impact their communities.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0<\/p>\n
Speakers only need to register once for one item or multiple items, and it can be completed in four steps, according to the release: \u00a0<\/p>\n
\u2022 Register online: Sign up at publiccomment.lacounty.gov and select the item(s) to speak on. \u00a0<\/p>\n
\u2022 Get a reminder: A text message will alert speakers when their item is active \u2013 no need to watch the whole meeting.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u2022\u00a0Call the local line: call 213-444-2600 to connect. No access codes or PINs are needed.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u2022 Speak when prompted: A voice will announce each speaker\u2019s turn by name. \u00a0<\/p>\n
Public comment registration opens 30 minutes prior to each meeting, and residents may register in advance for meeting reminders when the agenda is released.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cPublic participation is the cornerstone of democratic governance, and we have a responsibility to make it as accessible as possible for every resident,\u201d\u00a0Edward Yen, executive officer for the board, said in the release. \u201cThis new system removes the barriers that have historically kept people from making their voices heard \u2014 whether it\u2019s navigating parking downtown or not knowing when your agenda item will come up. Now, anyone with a phone can register, stay informed in real time, and speak their mind.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"News release\u00a0 The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors announced that they will debut a new public comment…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":449198,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[48,52,51,47,50,49],"class_list":["post-449197","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-los-angeles","tag-la","tag-la-headlines","tag-la-news","tag-los-angeles","tag-los-angeles-headlines","tag-los-angeles-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/449197","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=449197"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/449197\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/449198"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=449197"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=449197"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=449197"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}