Title
Clerk of the Agricultural Commission recommending the Agricultural Commission, as a result of ongoing concerns related to COVID-19, approve findings pursuant to Government Code subsection 54953(e)(3) in order to allow for the continued use of virtual or hybrid Agricultural Commission meetings as authorized under Assembly Bill 361. (Cont. 2/9/2022, 3/9/2022, 6/8/2022, 7/13/2022, 8/10/2022, 9/14/2022, 9/29/2022, 10/12/2022, 11/9/2022, 1/11/23, 1/27/2023 Item 2)
Body
DISCUSSION / BACKGROUND
Assembly Bill No. 361
CHAPTER 165
An act to add and repeal Section 89305.6 of the Education Code, and to amend, repeal, and add Section 54953 of, and to add and repeal Section 11133 of, the Government Code, relating to open meetings, and declaring the urgency thereof, to take effect immediately.
PUBLIC HEALTH OFFICER’S RECOMMENDATIONS FOR SAFE BOARD AND COMMISSION MEETINGS DURING COVID-19 PANDEMIC
Executive Order N-08-21 issued by Governor Newsom allows legislative bodies to hold meetings via teleconference and make meetings accessible electronically through September 30, 2021 without violating the Brown Act. Effective October 1, 2021, AB 361 will allow local legislative bodies to continue to allow remote meetings during a proclaimed state of emergency, if “state or local officials have imposed or recommended measures to promote social distancing.”
The degree of safety from potential transmission of COVID-19 or other respiratory illnesses at in-person meetings is affected by a number of factors, including
? rates of disease in the community and possibility that people will attend while infectious
? transmissibility of the virus variants in circulation
? proportion of attendees who are vaccinated
? proportion of attendees with vulnerability to severe illness (e.g., older adults)
? proportion of attendees able and willing to adhere to masking or distancing guidelines
? quality of ventilation and adequacy of space within the meeting facility
The Centers for D...
Click here for full text