The Brown Act Open Meetings For Local Legislative Bodies Adopted in 1953

A Parable Imagine that the City of Los Angeles just invalidated all zoning laws. This means your neighbors can now turn their property into anything they want: a mini circus, a shooting range, a pygmy goat farm, a commune, a nightclub, a ninja training facility, whatever. “How could this happen?” you might ask. Your friend says “They had a closed door meeting of the city council and they passed a measure. They didn’t put it on any agenda. There was no chance for us to stop it.”

A Parable – Part 2 But this can’t happen because the Brown Act prevents them from having this type of closed meeting and requires them to post and stick to an agenda. The same law applies to this Governing Council, so the council can’t suddenly vote to turn RDCS into a school for basket weaving and advanced horseback riding without input from the school community.

Key Points All Govering Council meetings must be held in a public forum and provide an opportunity for public comment. Any time that more than half of the council meets to discuss an issue or approve an action under the council’s jurisdiction is considered a meeting. This applies to the RDCS Governing Council as well as all standing committees that have been formed by the legislative act of the Governing Council. It does not apply to ad hoc committees created for a short term purpose. The purpose of the act is to ensure that the public has the ability to oversee the legislators they have elected to act on their behalf.

Agenda and Notification Requirements REGULAR MEETINGS: Agenda containing brief general description (approximately twenty words in length) of each matter to be considered or discussed must be posted at least 72 hours prior to meeting. We post it on the bulletin board in the office and on the school website and the PFRD e-blast. SPECIAL MEETINGS: Twenty-four hour notice must be provided to members of legislative body and media outlets including brief general description of matters to be considered or discussed. EMERGENCY MEETINGS: One hour notice in case of work stoppage or crippling activity, except in the case of a dire emergency.

Meeting Requirements No action or discussion can be undertaken on any item not appearing on the posted agenda with certain limited exceptions The agenda for regular meetings shall provide an opportunity for members of the public to directly address the legislative body on any item of interest to the public within the agency’s jurisdiction before or during the board’s consideration of the item Meetings must be held within the boundaries of the school jurisdiction All votes, except for those cast in permissible closed session, must be cast in public. No secret ballots, whether preliminary or final, are permitted Public may not be asked to register or identify themselves or to pay fees in order to attend public meetings Meeting materials must be made available to the public upon request

What is a meeting? Individual contacts ARE NOT meetings: the act recognizes the right to confer with constituents, advocates, consultants, news reporters, local agency staff or a colleague Serial meetings ARE meetings: you can’t meet with a quorum by meeting with the members one at a time to get around the public hearing requirements Outside of public meetings, you may ask for information about a topic, but you may not discuss what other members think about it or how they intend to vote

Exceptions Closed Session meetings may be held if: considering personnel matters meeting with law enforcement or security personnel concerning the security of public buildings and services discussing pending litigation discussing labor or property negotiations

For More Information California Attorney General’s office Pamphlet: f? f? Open & public iV: A Guide to the Ralph M. Brown Act by the League of California Cities Engagement/Professional-Departments/City- Attorneys-Department/Publications/Open-Public-IV_- A-Guide-to-the-Ralph-M-Brown-Act-(.aspx Engagement/Professional-Departments/City- Attorneys-Department/Publications/Open-Public-IV_- A-Guide-to-the-Ralph-M-Brown-Act-