A Ventura County judge ruled that Senate Bill 1421 requiring police to open records of misconduct, use of force and shootings does not apply retroactively, prompting an appeal to the state Second District Court of Appeals. The police union contends that the California Legislature did not directly say that the law applied to conduct that took place before Senate Bill 1421 was passed. FAC opposed the judge’s ruling and filed an amicus brief with the appeals court. (Courthouse News Service, January 14, 2021, by Nathan Solis)
Hermosa Beach residents objected to a plan by the city manager to stop attaching public communications to the agenda that do not refer to specific agenda items. (Easy Reader News, January 14, 2021, by Dan Blackburn)
Parents are starting a recall of board members of the San Ramon Valley Unified School District over failure to open schools during the pandemic and alleged Brown Act violations during a December 15 meeting. The Brown Act is the state’s open meeting law. The parents claim the board voted to postpone in-person learning without sufficient notice to the public. (Pleasanton Weekly.com, January 14, 2021, by Ryan J. Degan)
A dispute broke out during the January 12 meeting of the Paso Robles Joint Unified School District when the district directed a staff person to translate Spanish to English who was not a certified translator. (The Paso Robles Press, January 14, 2020, by Camille DeVaul)
The Santa Monica City Council is taking a re-vote of their selection of a mayor after residents cited possible Brown Act violations involving serial meetings by council members. (Santa Monica Daily Press, January 13, 2021, by Brennon Dixson)
A member of the California City city council objected to what she alleged was the mayor’s violation of the Brown Act. Kelly Kulkoff said Mayor Jeanie O’Laughlin, among other questionable practices, was attempting to hold serial meetings. (Mojave Desert News, January 13, 2021, by Jack Barnwell)
Anti-terrorism grants are shrouded in secrecy as the San Diego City Council put the latest grants on a consent agenda without knowing the exact details. The public is routinely shut out, but the Voice of San Diego found that the latest acquisition includes a way for first responders to gain access to cell phones of victims and witnesses without confiscating the devices and waiting weeks for a search warrant. (Voice of San Diego, January 13, 2021, by Jesse Marx)
The Orange County Board of Supervisors agreed to change their rules governing public input. The American Civil Liberties Union alleged that the board rule that speakers must provide their names and address their comments only to the chair violated the Brown Act. (KCAL CBS Los Angeles, January 12, 2021, by staff)
A former trustee of the Antioch Unified School District alleges that the district violated the Brown Act during its December 21 meeting when it read only three of the over 200 public comments submitted. (East County Today, January 13, 2021, by ECT)
A former school board trustee won a Brown Act lawsuit against the Mountain View School District. Steve Nelson claimed the board’s use of the word “negotiations” to describe closed session agenda items was vague and did not meet the requirement for a “brief general description” of each agenda item. [(Mountain View Voice, January 4, 2021, by Elena Kadvany)
State Senator Nancy Skinner of Berkeley re-introduced SB 16 to reinforce SB 1421, the police transparency law passed in 2019. SB 16 would extend the coverage to unreasonable or excessive use of force and cases where police engaged in racist or biased conduct. It would also disallow purging schedules for misconduct records and limit charges for copying records to its actual cost. (San Jose Mercury News, December 7, 2020, by Robert Salonga)
Sausalito residents have voiced concern over city officials contacting potential retail cannabis business owners. The city claims everything is above board and plans to use information from the contacts to draft an ordinance. (Marin Independent Journal, December 1, 2020, by Lorenzo Morotti)