SCA 7 would ensure public-meetings law provisions are not suspended during budget difficulties. -sdl
SACRAMENTO – A state senator has introduced a California constitutional amendment that would strengthen the Brown Act by requiring that government agencies provide notice of public meetings, even in lean budget times.
Sen. Leland Yee, D-San Francisco, introduced Senate Constitutional Amendment 7 following what he said were too many instances of local, county and state government officials suspending the law during fiscal crises.
Last year the Brown Act was not funded in the state budget, sowing uncertainty about whether or not public bodies must follow the agenda-posting and reporting requirements of the Brown Act, Yee said.
“Californians have a fundamental right to know what their government is doing,” Yee said. “One only needs to look at corruption within the City of Bell to realize that the Brown Act should never be compromised. Our open meeting laws are too important to be made optional every time the state runs short of money.”
“SCA 7 will once and for all require local public bodies – city councils, county boards of supervisors, school boards and special districts – to give the public ample notice of meetings and actions,” said Tom Newton, General Counsel to the California Newspaper Publishers Association. “An open door means nothing if folks don’t know the location, time and place of the meeting and the issues to be discussed or decided.”
SCA 7 will require approval by two-thirds of the Legislature before qualifying for a statewide ballot in November or in a special election that may be called in June, Yee said.
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