Portantino Bill Ensuring Neighborhood Councils Can Meet Online Passes Assembly Local Government Committee
For Immediate Release: July 12, 2023
Contact: Lerna Shirinian, (818) 409-0400
Portantino Bill Ensuring Neighborhood Councils Can Meet Online Passes Assembly Local Government Committee
Sacramento, California – Senate Bill 411, authored by Senator Anthony J. Portantino (D – Burbank), passed the Assembly Local Government Committee. The bill ensures that neighborhood councils in the City of Los Angeles can continue serving their constituents by meeting online.
“Public participation is vital to vibrant discourse and is best served when more people participate in the process. Virtual meetings during the pandemic increased public participation in Neighborhood Council meetings and improved the democratic process,” stated Senator Portantino. “It has also made it easier for folks with travel and daycare difficulties to participate and councils to more easily have quorums. That’s why I’m determined to help them continue to meet in accordance with modern needs and technology.”
During the pandemic, virtual public meetings via teleconference were allowed by Executive Order of the Governor to help neighborhood councils remain operational. While it was clear that online meetings attracted more public participation, it is also clear that ending them will have drastic negative consequences for public discourse. Considering that California is the tech leader in the nation and the world, it is appropriate to have laws in place that encourage governments to modernize and serve more people.
“Neighborhood Councils are a distinctive feature of civic life in Los Angeles, allowing robust participation in local government,” said Los Angeles City Council President Paul Krekorian. "SB 411 will ensure that Los Angeles’ 99 Neighborhood Councils will have the option to continue meeting virtually and provide our constituents with the greatest possible opportunity for public participation.”
“SB 411 will make the neighborhood council system in Los Angeles more accessible and enhance local democracy. We are thrilled to see this common sense bill continue to advance,” said Michael Schneider, CEO of Streets For All.
SB 411 will allow neighborhood councils in the City of Los Angeles to use teleconferencing as an alternative for in person meetings and require that one in person meeting be held per year. The measure requires that the City Council approve the virtual meeting option before neighborhood councils can move forward and requires a two-thirds vote from each neighborhood council in order to make the meeting remote. SB 411 has a sunset date of 2026.
“I want to thank Senator Portantino for his quick response in helping the neighborhood councils in trying to return to virtual meetings,” said Lydia Grant, President of the Sunland-Tujunga Neighborhood Council. “Many community members are unable to attend in-person meetings, including some disabled and people with young children. This will offer better community participation.”
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