6 Things You Should Be Doing Now to Prepare for SB 707 Compliance
A Compliance Checklist for California Clerks ahead of the July 1, 2026 deadline.
July sounds far away. For California Agencies, it isn’t.
If you’re running public meetings in California, SB 707 is already on your to-do list—even if it doesn’t feel urgent yet. The law introduces new expectations around hybrid meetings, language access, accessibility, and technical reliability. And while the compliance deadline is more than a year out, the planning work can’t wait until spring.
The good news: SB 707 compliance isn’t about reinventing your meetings overnight. It’s about making deliberate decisions now—so you’re not scrambling later.
Here are six things you should be doing right now to stay ahead of the mandate.
1. Confirm Whether SB 707 Applies to Your Agency
This is your starting point and it matters more than anything else. SB 707 applies to “eligible legislative bodies,” which include:
- City councils and county boards meeting certain population thresholds
- Cities located within California’s largest counties
- Some special districts, based on revenue, staffing, or population served
If you haven’t already confirmed whether your agency qualifies, do that first. The criteria can be nuanced, especially for special districts.
Want a quick way to confirm eligibility? Our SB 707 overview breaks down which agencies are covered and why—so you can move forward with clarity and confidence once you know the law applies to you.
2. Audit Your Language Access Requirements
Language access is one of the most concrete—and time-sensitive—requirements in SB 707. If 20% or more of your population speaks a language other than English and reports speaking English less than “very well,” you will be required by July 2026 to:
- Translate meeting agendas into those languages
- Translate your public meetings webpage and participation instructions
Start now by reviewing the most recent American Community Survey (ACS) data for your jurisdiction. This gives you:
- A clear picture of which languages may trigger requirements
- Time to plan workflows for translation and publishing
For many agencies, this step highlights gaps in how meeting information and translated agendas are currently presented on their public-facing website.
3. Draft (or Revisit) Your Meeting Disruption Policy
SB 707 requires agencies to formally plan for technical disruptions. If a failure prevents the public from attending or observing a meeting, the legislative body must recess for one hour and make a good-faith effort to restore access before proceeding.
That means:
- You need a written disruption policy
- Staff need to know exactly what to do when something goes wrong
- The policy must be approved at a noticed public meeting in open session (not on consent) by July 1, 2026.
Clerks should work with legal counsel and IT now to:
- Document procedures
- Define roles
- Align policy language with real-world capabilities
Many agencies are also reassessing their technology stack at this stage. Platforms like PublicInput with built-in redundancy (phone and video operating in parallel) significantly reduce the risk of triggering a mandated recess.
4. Upgrade Hybrid Technology for True “Two-Way” Parity
SB 707 doesn’t just require livestreaming—it requires remote participation. If your agency currently relies on a view-only YouTube stream, that alone will not meet the standard.
Agencies must:
- Offer two-way telephonic participation or a two-way audiovisual participation that includes both video and telephonic participation
- Ensure remote speakers can provide public comment in real time
- Maintain comment parity between in-person and remote participants
Now is the time to test:
- Whether remote speakers can join easily
- Whether time limits are identical for everyone
- Whether staff can manage speakers without juggling multiple systems
San Diego County faced this exact challenge—and solved it by unifying in-person and remote speakers into a single, manageable workflow. Their experience shows how early investment prevents operational chaos later.
5. Make a Plan for Captioning and Accessibility
Captioning is not optional under SB 707 when audiovisual platforms are used.
Clerks should confirm:
- How captions will be generated
- Whether they are automatic and reliable
- How they integrate with existing meeting workflows
This is also the moment to step back and assess broader accessibility:
- Are meeting materials machine-readable (not scanned PDFs, but text-based files or pages that screen readers can interpret)?
- Are agendas searchable and downloadable (so residents can easily find and save items)?
- Are alternative formats available upon request (such as large print or accessible digital formats)?
Addressing accessibility holistically now helps ensure compliance while strengthening public trust. PublicInput includes native multilingual live captioning, allowing agencies to meet SB 707 requirements without layering additional accessibility vendors onto their meeting workflow.
6. Launch (or Refine) a Dedicated Public Meetings Webpage
SB 707 explicitly requires agencies to:
Create and maintain an accessible internet webpage dedicated to public meetings… [including] explanation of process; procedures; calendar; [and] agenda online.”
For Clerks, this page becomes the anchor for compliance. Your public meetings webpage should clearly include:
- A meeting calendar
- Participation instructions (in person, phone, and online)
- How to request translation or interpretation services
- Translated agendas, when required
San Diego County’s centralized public meetings hub is a strong example of how bringing everything into one accessible location simplifies compliance—for both staff and the public.
SB 707 Frequently Asked Questions
Have questions about how SB 707 applies to your agency? These are the most common ones we hear from agencies like yours.
What qualifies as an “eligible legislative body” under SB 707?
Under the modernized Brown Act, an eligible legislative body generally includes:
Any city council or county board of supervisors serving a population of 30,000 or more
Any city council located within a county with a population exceeding 600,000, regardless of the city’s own population
For special districts, SB 707 applies to boards of directors that meet one or more of the following criteria:
The district’s boundaries include a population of 200,000 or more and the district maintains an internet website
The district employs more than 1,000 full-time equivalent (FTE) employees
The district has annual revenues exceeding $400 million and at least 200 FTE employees
Because eligibility can vary by agency type, Clerks should confirm applicability early to avoid last-minute compliance risk.
How do we determine “applicable languages” and whether we meet the language requirement?
“Applicable languages” are defined as languages spoken by 20% or more of the population within the agency’s jurisdiction who speak English less than “very well.”
To determine this, agencies must rely on the most recent American Community Survey (ACS) data, though other data sources may be used if supported by substantial evidence.
If more than three languages meet the 20% threshold, the agency is only required to provide translations for the top three applicable languages.
Can we use machine translation for agendas and captions?
Yes. SB 707 explicitly allows the use of digital (machine) translation services to satisfy agenda translation requirements. In addition:
If an agency provides a two-way audiovisual platform, it must activate any automatic captioning function included with that platform.
Machine translation and AI-powered captions are widely recognized as the most fiscally sustainable way to meet SB 707 requirements, particularly for agencies hosting frequent or lengthy meetings.
Do we have to provide a speaker registration option?
SB 707 does not require agencies to offer online speaker registration. However, the law acknowledges that third-party platforms may require registration for participation.
If an agency uses a registration-based system:
The opportunity to register and provide public comment cannot be closed until the timed comment period for that agenda item has elapsed.
Agencies may not require public comments to be submitted in advance.
Members of the public must be allowed to provide real-time oral comment during the meeting.
What must be included on the public meetings webpage—and where must it be linked?
Agencies must create and maintain an accessible internet webpage dedicated to public meetings that includes:
A general explanation of the meeting process
Clear procedures for providing in-person and remote oral or written public comment
A calendar of all meeting dates, including time and location
The online agenda for each meeting
A prominent, direct link to this dedicated public meetings page must be posted on the agency’s primary website home page.
Additionally, the public meetings webpage itself must be translated into all applicable languages, consistent with SB 707’s language access requirements
A Final Thought: Simplify Compliance With a Turnkey Approach
SB 707 compliance isn’t just about meeting a mandate—it’s about managing complexity. Clerks are often the ones coordinating legal requirements, technology, public access, and staff workflows, all at once.
The agencies that are best positioned for July 2026 are the ones planning now, documenting decisions, and choosing tools that reduce—not add to—staff workload.
PublicInput was built to take the stress out of this planning process by centralizing agendas, translation, hybrid access, captioning, and speaker management into one defensible system.
For a clearer, side-by-side view of what SB 707 requires and how those requirements can be addressed using PublicInput, explore the checklist below.
Or if you’re looking for a clearer path forward, we’re here to help you prepare—well before the deadline.
