BROWN ACT MODERNIZATION
AB 1944 | ASSEMBLYMEMBER ALEX LEE
OFFICE OF ASSEMBLYMEMBER ALEX LEE
AB 1944 FACT SHEET | UPDATED 02/14/22
THIS BILL
This bill would allow members of a local legislative body, upon majority vote, to allow members to waive Brown
Act requirements of publishing their private address, and making their private address open to members of the
public. It would also require a remote participation option for members of the public to address the body.
BACKGROUND
The Ralph M. Brown Act passed in 1953 requires local
government business to be conducted at open and public
meetings, except in certain limited situations. Existing law allows the legislative body of a local agency to use teleconferencing as long as a quorum of the members
participate from locations within the boundaries of the agency’s jurisdiction.
In order to teleconference, each teleconference location is required to be identified in the notice and agenda of the meeting, as well as be accessible to the public.
On March 2020, Governor Newsom issued Executive
Order N -29-20 which waived the teleconference
requirements for local agencies during the COVID -19
pandemic. This order has since expired.
AB 361 (Rivas, 2021) permits local agencies to continue to meet virtually and remotely during a state -declared emergency without having to meet a quorum and other
requirements of teleconference meetings under the Brown Act. Local legislative bodies may continue to meet
virtually pursuant to AB 361 until the end of the current state of emergency and during any future state of
emergency up until January 1, 2024. The legislative body is required to take a majority vote every 30 days in order to continue allowing members to participate virtually
without meeting existing Brown Act requirements.
PROBLEM
Given the last few years of the COVID -19 pandemic,
many members of Brown Act bodies have participated
remotely in official business, and have shown effective leadership while keeping themselves and their families
healthy and safe. However, even with existing legislation, the protections are only in place during a declared state of emergency. In addition, if there is no majority vote every 30 days , members who choose to teleconference are
required to make private addresses publicly known and
accessible.
Since there are many members of Brown Act bodies who
have families that may be immunoc ompromised or may
need to teleconference from a private location that cannot be made accessible to the public, there are still many
concerns with existing legislation.
For example, if outside of the pandemic a local elected is teleconferencing from a hospital room after giving birth, she would be forced to either reveal the location she is teleconferencing from or make the room publicly
available, or she would not be able to attend the meeting and partake in her official duties.
Another example is if a Planning Commissioner is
immunocompromised, or has immunocompromised
family members at home, they may choose to
teleconference into meetings. However, they would be
required to share their private home address and make it publicly accessible.
SOLUTION
AB 1944 would ensure that:
Brown Act bodies have the ability to vote to allow
their members to teleconference into a meeting
without having to reveal private addresses or
make private addresses accessible to the public,
in order to best continue performing their official
duties
Livestreams of meetings are required whenever
members teleconference into meetings so the
public has access to observe and participate in
meetings
Members of the public are able to address their
elected officials either through a call -in or video
option, ensuring that they are able to participate
in government
OFFICE OF ASSEMBLYMEMBER ALEX LEE
AB 1944 FACT SHEET | UPDATED 02/14/22
SUPPORT
Gilroy City Councilmember Zach Hilton
Santa Clara School Board Member Vickie Fairchild
Santa Clara School Board Member Bonnie Lieberman
Seaside City Councilmember Jon Wizard
South San Francisco Councilmember James Coleman
San Bruno Park District Trustee Andriana Shea
Santa Ana City Councilmember Jessie Lopez
Sacramento City Councilmember Katie Valenzuela
North Westwood Neighborhood Councilmember A ndrew
Lewis
CONTACT
Maria Montchal, Legislative Aide
Office of Assemblymember Alex Lee
916-319-2025 | [email protected]