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CC - 2022-03 - Re-ratifying the Proclamation of a State of Emergency by Governor Newsom on March 4, 2020 & Re-authorizing Remote Teleconference Meetings of Legislative Bodies for 30-Day Period of January 11-February 10, 2022 Pursuant to Brown Act & AB 361RESOLUTION 2022-03 A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF ROSEMEAD, CALIFORNIA, RE -RATIFYING THE PROCLAMATION OF A STATE OF EMERGENCY BY GOVERNOR NEWSOM ON MARCH 4, 2020, AND RE -AUTHORIZING REMOTE TELECONFERENCE MEETINGS OF THE LEGISLATIVE BODIES OF THE CITY OF ROSEMEAD FOR THE 30 -DAY PERIOD BEGINNING JANUARY 11, 2022 THROUGH FEBRUARY 10, 2022 PURSUANT TO THE RALPH M. BROWN ACT AND ASSEMBLY BILL 361 WHEREAS, the City Council of the City of Rosemead ("City") is committed to preserving and nurturing public access and participation in meetings of the legislative bodies; and WHEREAS, all meetings of the legislative bodies of City are open and public, as required by the Ralph M. Brown Act (Gov. Code §§ 54950 — 54963), so that any member of the public may attend, participate, and watch the legislative bodies conduct their business; and WHEREAS, the Brown Act, Government Code § 54953(e), makes provision for remote teleconferencing participation in meetings by members of a legislative body, without compliance with the requirements of Government Code § 54953(b)(3), subject to the existence of certain conditions; and WHEREAS, a required condition is that a state of emergency is declared by the Governor pursuant to Government Code § 8625, proclaiming the existence of conditions of disaster or of extreme peril to the safety of persons and property within the state caused by conditions as described in Government Code § 8558; and WHEREAS, a proclamation is made when there is an actual incident, threat of disaster, or extreme peril to the safety of persons and property within the jurisdictions that are within the City's boundaries, caused by natural, technological or human -caused disasters; and WHEREAS, it is further required that state or local officials have imposed or recommended measures to promote social distancing, or, the legislative body meeting in person would present imminent risks to the health and safety of attendees; and WHEREAS, starting in March 2020, in response to the spread of COVID-19 in the State of California, the Governor Proclaimed a State of Emergency and issued a number of executive orders aimed at containing the COVID-19 virus; and WHEREAS, as a condition of extending the use of the provisions found in section 54953(e), the City Council must reconsider the circumstances of the state of emergency that exists in the City, and City Council has done so; and WHEREAS, emergency conditions persist in the City, specifically, a state of emergency has been proclaimed related to COVID-19, community transmission of COVID-19 in Los Angeles County has rapidly increased from low to high due to the highly contagious Omicron variant of COVID- 19 which has emerged, Los Angeles County officials are imposing and recommending measures to promote social distancing, requires masking by all, regardless of vaccination status, in an effort to slow the continuously high trends in and level of transmission of COVID-19 throughout the State and Los Angeles County; and WHEREAS; the City Council does hereby find and determine that that the presence of COVID- 19 and the increase of cases due to the Omicron variant will continue to cause, conditions of peril to the safety of persons within the City that are likely to be beyond the control of services, personnel, equipment, and facilities of the City, and desires to affirm a local emergency exists and re -ratify the proclamation of state of emergency by the Governor of the State of California; and WHEREAS, as a consequence of the local emergency persisting, the City Council does hereby find and determine that the legislative bodies of the City shall continue to conduct their meetings without compliance with paragraph (3) of subdivision (b) of Government Code § 54953, as authorized by subdivision (e) of section 54953, and that such legislative bodies shall continue to comply with the requirements to provide the public with access to the meetings as prescribed in paragraph (2) of subdivision (e) of section 54953; and NOW, THEREFORE, THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF ROSEMEAD DOES HEREBY FIND, DETERMINE AND ORDER A FOLLOWS: Section 1. Recitals. The Recitals set forth above are true and correct and are incorporated into this Resolution by this reference. Section 2. Affirmation that Local Emergency Persists. The City Council hereby considers the existing conditions of the state of emergency in the City and proclaims that a local emergency persists throughout the City, and consistent with the provisions of Government Code § 54953(e), the legislative body finds and determines that (1) a state of emergency related to COVID-19 is currently in effect; and (2) local officials in Los Angeles County, including the Department of Public Health, have imposed or recommended measures to promote social distancing in connection with COVID-19, which meeting in person would present imminent risks to the health and safety of attendees. Based on such facts, findings and determinations, the City Council authorizes staff to conduct remote teleconference meetings of the City Council and City Commissions under the provisions of Government Code Section 54953(e). Section 3. Re -ratification of Governor's Proclamation of a State of Emergency. The City Council hereby ratifies the Governor of the State of California's Proclamation of State of Emergency, effective as of its issuance date of March 4, 2020. Section 4. Remote Teleconference Meetings. The staff and legislative bodies of the City are hereby authorized and directed to take all actions necessary to carry out the intent and purpose of this Resolution including, continuing to conduct open and public meetings in accordance with Government Code § 54953(e) and other applicable provisions of the Brown Act. Section 5. Effective Date of Resolution. This Resolution shall take effect immediately upon its adoption and shall be effective until the earlier of (i) February 10, 2022, or such time as the City Council adopts a subsequent resolution in accordance with Government Code § 54953(e)(3) to extend the time during which the legislative bodies of the City may continue to teleconference without compliance with paragraph (3) of subdivision (b) of section 54953. PASSED, APPROVED AND ADOPTED this 11th day of January, 2022. APPROVED AS FORM: &che Richman, rty Attorney Polly Lo , Mayor ATTEST: Ericka Hernandez, City Clerk 1 STATE OF CALIFORNIA ) COUNTY OF LOS ANGELES ) § CITY OF ROSEMEAD ) I, Ericka Hernandez, City Clerk of the City Council of the City of Rosemead, California, do hereby certify that the foregoing City Council Resolution No. 2022-03 was duly adopted by the City Council of the City of Rosemead, California, at a regular meeting thereof held on the 11th day of January 2022, by the following vote, to wit: AYES: ARMENTA, CLARK, DANG, LOW, TANG NOES: NONE ABSENT: NONE ABSTAIN: NONE Ericka Hernandez, City Clerk