HomeMy WebLinkAboutVeto Letter - SB 707 (Durazo) - 09.16.2025
September 16, 2025
The Honorable Gavin Newsom
Governor, State of California
1021 O Street, Suite 9000
Sacramento, CA 95814
RE: Request for Veto, SB 707 (Durazo) Open meetings: meeting and teleconference
requirements.
Dear Governor Newsom,
On behalf of the City of Cupertino, I am writing to respectfully request you to veto Senate Bill
(SB) 707 by Senator Durazo. While our City strongly supports public transparency and
accessibility, SB 707, as currently drafted, would impose costly and inequitable new mandates
on cities like ours without providing the resources or flexibility needed for implementation.
SB 707 would create significant fiscal and operational challenges for our city, including:
• Providing two-way telephonic or audiovisual access for all meetings, halting
proceedings during any service disruption.
• Translating agendas into all “applicable languages” spoken by 20% or more of residents
with limited English proficiency.
• Designating a public space for community-submitted translations, even if inaccurate or
misleading.
• Creating and maintaining multi-language webpages for agendas, instructions, and
meeting procedures.
• Expanding outreach efforts and electronic systems for agenda access.
Additionally, the bill applies unevenly across California, treating cities of similar size differently
based solely on county population, while the state itself is exempt from these rules. Although
the recent amendment moved the implementation deadline to July 1, 2026, this deadline still
does not provide sufficient time for cities to fully budget, procure, and train for compliance.
Additional time is necessary to ensure responsible and effective implementation.
For these reasons, the City of Cupertino requests you to veto SB 707 unless revised to address
our concerns.
Sincerely,
Liang Chao
Mayor
City of Cupertino
cc. The Honorable Josh Becker
The Honorable Patrick Ahrens