Times of public meetings
Q: Is there a time constraint on the scheduling of public meetings? My issue: can a City Council start a Study Session on a hot topic at 10 PM on a weeknight, effectively limiting the participation of people who must work the next day?
A: The first issue that must be addressed is whether the study session you reference constitutes a meeting for purposes of the Brown Act. The Brown Act defines a “meeting” as “a congregation of a majority of the members of a legislative body at the same time and place to hear, discuss, or deliberate upon any item that is within the subject matter jurisdiction of the legislative body or the local agency to which it pertains.” Govt. Code § 549523.2(a). To the extent that there will be communication at the study session among a majority of the members of the city council concerning matters within the city council’s subject matter jurisdiction resulting in a collective concurrence as to action that will be taken on an agenda item, this may be a meeting for purposes of the Brown Act, requiring notice and compliance with Brown Act provisions.
Assuming the study session constitutes a meeting under the Brown Act, the practice of holding late meetings can, in some instances, be used to violate the spirit of the Act. Although the Brown Act does not specifically address the scheduling of public meetings, the general intent of the Act is to give members of the public on opportunity to attend the meeting, if they wish, so that they may observe the discussion and/or participate as part of a public comment period. In those instances where the legislative body makes it a practice to hold late meetings, a person may not be able to attend the entire meeting or any part of the meeting, as you pointed out in your message. The legislative body, therefore, may be able to effectively avoid oversight of its discussions. Because of this, such practices should be discouraged. Nevertheless, because the Brown Act does not set forth any particular requirements as to the time of day that meetings may be held, it may not be possible to force the city council to abandon this practice by taking legal action.