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1 RiversideCA.gov
1 RiversideCA.gov
THE BROWN ACT
California’s Open Meeting Law
AND
THE CITY OF RIVERSIDE SUNSHINE
ORDINANCE
Office of the City Attorney
March 22, 2022
RiversideCA.gov
2 THE BROWN ACT
• The Brown Act was enacted in 1953.
• Is codified in the California Government Code,
secti
on 54950, et seq.
• Requires the deliberations and actions of California’s public agency
governing boards, commissions and
councils be taken openly
and in public.
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Date: 3-22-22
Item No.: 32
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3 KEY PROVISIONS
• A meeting shall be open and public except when the Brown Act authorizes otherwise.
• The public has a right to attend and participate in the meeting. • A meaningful agenda must be posted in advance of the meeting. • Discussion and action is limited to the matters listed on the agenda for the meeting.
• Discussions (a) outside of noticed meetings (b) by a majority of Members of the City Council (c) about an item of business within the subject matter jurisdiction of the City Council (d) are prohibited.
RiversideCA.gov
4 COMMON QUESTIONS AND ISSUES
• Who is governed by the Brown Act?
• What constitutes a meeting?
• What are the notice and agenda requirements?
• What are the public’s rights under the Brown Act?
• What are the consequences for violating the Brown Act? 3 4
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5 WHO IS GOVERNED BY THE BROWN ACT?
• Any “legislative body”.
• Governing body of any local agency
i.e., the City Council.
• Local agency commissions, appointed either
permanently or temporary, who have decision
making or advisory powers.
• The City Council is a legislative body as
defined by the Brown Act and is therefor
subject to the Brown Act requirements.
(Government Code §54952)
RiversideCA.gov
6 WHAT IS A MEETING?
A meeting is:
• Any congregation of a majority of the
Members of the Council at the same time
and locations including teleconference
locations . . . to hear, discuss, deliberate,
decide, or take action on any item that is
within their subject matter jurisdiction.
• Shall also mean a meal or social
gathering of a majority of members of a
local body immediately before, during, or
after a meeting of a local body (S.O.).
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7 WHAT IS THE SUBJECT MATTER JURISDICTION OF THE
CITY COUNCIL (Charter Section 406)?
• All powers of the City shall be vested in
the City Council except as otherwise
provided in this Charter
• Powers vested in other officers or
Boards (i.e. City Manager, City
Attorney, City Clerk, Boards and
Commissions)
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8 • Shall be held within the City of Riverside except:
– To comply with state or federal law or court order, or attend a judicial or administrative proceeding which the local body is a party
– Inspect real or personal property which cannot be conveniently brought to Riverside, provided the topic of the meeting is limited to items directly related to the real or personal property – Participate in meetings or discussion of multi-agency significance that are outside of Riverside. However, meeting or discussion shall take place within the jurisdiction of one of the participating agencies and be notice by the respective body
MEETING LOCATION
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9 • Meeting with elected or appointed officials of the United States or the State of California
– when a local meeting would be impractical
– solely to discuss a legislative or regulatory issue affecting the City of Riverside, and
– over which issue the other federal or state agency has jurisdiction
• Regular meeting
– Posting12 calendar days in a location freely accessible and on-line
MEETING LOCATION AND NOTICE
RiversideCA.gov
10 • Special meeting – by the presiding officer or majority of CC – Posting 5 calendar days in a location freely accessible and on-line – Delivery 48 hours before meeting to each member of the Council, each local newspaper of general circulation and each media organization which has requested written notice
– Less than 5 days notice is permissible for an urgent item as determined by a majority of the CC must comply with Brown Act • Each special meeting shall be held at the regular meeting place of the CC except the CM
– May designate an alternative meeting location
– Specified in the agenda and
– Noticed at least 12 days prior to the meeting
MEETING NOTICE
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11 SERIAL MEETINGS - HUB AND SPOKE/DAISY CHAIN
1) A chain or series of communications.
2) Each of which involves less than a quorum
of the City Council.
3) But when taken together involve a majority
of the body’s members (or)
4) A concerted plan to engage in collective
deliberation on public business through a
series of letters, telephone calls, e-mails, that
pass from one member of the governing
body to the next and excluding the public.
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12 SERIAL MEETINGS - HUB AND SPOKE/DAISY CHAIN
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13 WHAT CONSTITUTES A SERIES OF COMMUNICATIONS?
• A “series of communications” includes conference
calls, emails, text messages, responses on internet
based social media platforms, shared among the
majority of the City Council, or conversations among
members in which the position of other Members are
shared to the majority.
• Technological devices may create a “virtual serial
meeting” so be mindful of the limitation imposed on
the use of social media,
e-mails, “IM”, texts, chat rooms, blogs, etc.
• Case held letter circulated for signature among a
legislative body was a violation of the Brown Act.
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14 ISSUE / CHALLENGE
When can a discussion become an issue
for Brown Act purposes?
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15 WHEN THE ISSUE IS:
• Within subject matter jurisdiction of the
City Council; and,
• A majority of City Council Members
participate; and,
• “Meeting is held”; and,
• Brown Act is not followed.
This deprives the public of an opportunity for meaningful observation of and participation in the decision-making.
RiversideCA.gov
16 E-MAIL
• Don’t hit “reply all” in response to email from staff to all Members of the City Council.
• Refrain from emailing or forwarding an email to a majority of City Council.
• Remember e-mails never
go away.
• E-mail can create a
“virtual serial meeting”
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17 EXAMPLE: E-MAIL
Becomes “illegal” when it is replied to
by a majority or by “Reply to All”:
• “I agree” [Reply to All]
• “Good idea!!!” [Reply to All]
• “Concur . . .” [Reply to All]
What starts out as “legal” under the Brown Act:
• I think we should do “x” at our next meeting
RiversideCA.gov
18 USE OF SOCIAL MEDIA
City Council Members
Members may not respond directly
to any communication from
another Member on an internet
based social media platform
regarding a matter within your
subject matter jurisdiction
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19 USE OF SOCIAL MEDIA
What did not make it into the
new legislation – language
that would have allowed:
• Commenting on another
Member’s post
• Retweeting
• Forwarding
• Posting an emoji
• Clicking the “like” button
RiversideCA.gov
20 EXCEPTIONS TO MEETING
• Individual Contacts: Individual contacts or
conversations between a member of a legislative
body and any other person including staff.
• Conferences: Public or educational conferences on
matters of general interest.
• Community Meetings: Publicized and public
meetings to discuss a topic of local community
concern organized by someone other than the City.
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21 EXCEPTIONS TO MEETING
• Other Legislative Bodies: Open and noticed meeting
of another body of the public agency or open and
noticed meeting of a local body of another agency
• Standing Committees: Open and noticed meeting
of a standing committee within our agency,
provided not a member of standing committee and
you only observe
• Social or Ceremonial Events: Purely social or
ceremonial events as long as no discussion of
business w/in subject matter of jurisdiction of the City Council.
RiversideCA.gov
22 AGENDAS AND NOTICE
• Every meeting of the City Council must be preceded
by a posted agenda in a location freely accessible
24 hours a day and on line.
• The agenda must be posted at least 12 days before
the regular meeting. (See City of Riverside Sunshine
Ordinance)
• The agenda must advise the public of the meeting
and the matters to be transacted or discussed.
• The agenda must state the meeting time and place.
• Each item of business to be transacted must be
briefly described.
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23 ACTION ON NON-AGENDIZED ITEMS
• The Mayor, City Council or staff may “briefly”
respond to statements or questions posed by the
public at a public meeting.
• The Mayor or Member of the City Council may
ask “a question for clarification, make a brief
announcement, or make a brief report on his or
her own activities.”
• Otherwise, no action can be taken on issues or
items that are not on the agenda.
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24 PUBLIC PARTICIPATION
• The public has a right to attend, observe and
participate in meetings.
• Members of the public cannot be required to
register their names or provide information.
• All actions taken by the City Council must be in
open session, unless a closed session is
authorized, and the vote of each Member must
be disclosed to the public at the appropriate
time.
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25 CRIMINAL ENFORCEMENT ACTIONS
Why do we take this so seriously?
• It is a misdemeanor for a Member to
attend a meeting where action is
taken that violates the Brown Act,
and the Member intended to deprive
the public of information that the
Member knew or had reason to know
that public was entitled.
RiversideCA.gov
26 CIVIL ENFORCEMENT ACTIONS
• Enforcement actions can be brought by
the District Attorney or any interested
person to get a court order to stop a
violation of the Brown Act.
• A court action may also void actions that
were taken in violation of the Brown Act.
• Before bringing suit, the plaintiff must
demand the City Council cure or correct
the offending action.
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27 • Findings and Purpose
– A government’s duty is to serve the public and in reaching its decisions to accommodate those who wish to obtain information about or participate in the process
– The City Council, commissions, boards, advisory bodies and other agencies of the City exist to conduct the people’s business. – The Sunshine Ordinance is intended to assure that deliberations and the City’s operations are open to the public
– The Sunshine Ordinance is intended to clarify and supplement the City Charter, the Brown Act, and the PRA to assure the people of the City can be fully informed and thereby retain control over the instruments of local government in their City
TITLE 4 – PUBLIC MEETINGS
RiversideCA.gov
28 Brown Act v. S.O.
• Each item of business to
be transacted must be
briefly described
• Shall avoid the use of
abbreviations or acronyms not
in common usage and terms
whose meaning is not known to
the general public
• A description is adequate if it is
sufficiently clear and specific to
alert a person of average
intelligence and education
whose interest are affected by
the item that s/he may have
reason to attend or seek more
information on the item
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29 CONCLUSION
Discussion, Questions,
& Answers
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