The Santa Barbara City Council, citing the need for freer discussion of issues, voted 4-3 to roll back aspects of the Brown Act, California’s open meeting law. The council majority expressed the need for more leeway in discussion before making decisions and argued it was unproductive to restrict private meetings.
The mayor who voted against the majority said, “It [deliberating in public] takes longer and it’s not as pretty…but at the end of the day, transparency is paramount.” -db
From Noozhawk, June 7, 2011, by Giana Magnoli.