The Brown Act
Presented by Tiffany Israel, City Attorney
City of Murrieta
Received After Agenda Printed
7/31/2024 - Special Workshop
WORKSHOP - AGENDA ITEM WS2
Staff Presentation
“All meetings of the legislative body of a local
agency shall be open and public, and all
persons shall be permitted to attend any
meeting of the legislative body of a local
agency.”
(Gov. Code § 54953)
APPLIES TO “LEGISLATIVE BODIES”
AND ADVISORY BODIES
Commission and committee bodies.
Does not apply to bodies of less than a quorum.
Body which is created by formal action to provide an advisory role.
Definition: "Meeting" includes
any gathering of a majority
of the members of a
legislative body to hear,
discuss, or deliberate upon any
item which is within its
subject matter jurisdiction.
WHAT ELSE IS A MEETING?
Means of Communication: A meeting includes any use of direct communication, personal intermediaries, or technological devices which are employed by a majority of the members of the
legislative body to develop a collective concurrence on action to be taken by members of the legislative body.
(§ 54952.2)
“WHAT IS A MEETING” CONT…
Meetings take place if quorum receives information
on, discusses, or deliberates on any item on which
the body may legally act.
Serial meetings are prohibited.
Beware of Email & Texting discussions.
TWO TYPES OF SERIAL MEETING
Chain: If Member A contacts Member B to express
his/her opinion on a City-related issue, and Member
B contacts Member C and shares the opinions of
Members A and B, a “serial meeting” may result in
violation of the Brown Act.
Hub and spoke: An intermediary, such as staff member,
contacts at least a quorum of the Council Members to develop a collective concurrence on an action to be taken by the legislative body.
Staff briefings (2-2-1s)
The prohibition on serial meetings does not prevent an
employee or official of a local agency from engaging in separate conversations with members of a legislative body, outside of an open and noticed meeting, to answer questions or provide information about a matter, as long as the person giving the briefing does not know or communicate to members of the legislative body the comments or position of any other
member(s) of the body.
Govt C §54952.2(b)(2).
MORE on Email & Texting
Your emails and text messages are
subject to public disclosure under
the Public Records Act.
This includes communications
relating to city business made on
your private electronic devices (City
of San Jose v. Superior Court, 2
Cal.5th 608 (2017).)
Social gatherings arepermitted:
• Conferences: Quorum may attend conference or similar publiclyopen gathering on issues of general public interest. Quorum cannot discuss amongst themselves any City business.
• Community Meetings: Like conferences, a quorum can attend an open and publicized meeting held by another organization on a topic of local community concern. City business cannot be discussed and the public must be able to attend at no cost.
WHAT IS A MEETING, CONT…
A recent opinion of the Attorney General found that City of Ventura’s State of theCity violatedtheBrownActbecause:
• The event is a “meeting” because a majority of the legislative body attended and heard a discussion of items within the body’s subject matter jurisdiction.
• The exception for conferences and similar gatherings only applies to a discussion of issues of general interest to the public or public agencies and did not apply to this type of event which was specific to the city’s business.
• The exception for community meetings only applies if the public is able to attend without purchasing a ticket and a majority are not hearing about the city’s business.
Take-aways from the AG Opinion
Some cities will need to revise its participation
in third-party events to:
• ensure that less than a quorum of the
legislative body is attending if there will be a
discussion of City business; and
• allow public access to the event free of
charge.
A member of the legislative body may not respond directly to any communication posted or shared by another
legislative body member regarding city business on social media.
• This includes likes, thumbs up, emojis, sharing, or commenting • Social media is any online platform that “is open and accessible to the public.” Traditional social media sites (Facebook, Instagram, X formerly Twitter, Nextdoor) as well as smaller forums such as a discussion section on a news website.
Social Media Restrictions (AB 992)
continued
• OK: Engaging in separate conversations or communications on an internet-based social media platform to answer questions, provide information to the public, or to solicit information from the public regarding a matter that is within the subject matter jurisdiction of the city.
• Not OK: Unlike other serial meeting restrictions that are triggered when there are contacts by a majority of the legislative body, this provision is triggered when there is interaction between as little as 2 members of a legislative body.
Whenever you have
doubts!
Please do NOT wait
for the meeting!
Tiffany Israel
Presented By:
1 Park Plaza Suite 1000
Irvine, California, 92614
Corporate
Headquarters
Phone (949) 223-1170
Fax: (949) 223-1180
Get In Touch www.awattorneys.com
@AleshireWynder
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