A parent sued the Orange Unified School District for alleged violations of the Brown Act, the state’s open meeting law, by failing to give adequate notice for a meeting on January 5, providing an inadequate description of the items up for discussion and conducting serial meetings. (The Orange County Register, April 1, 2023, by Roxana Kopetman)
State Senator Anthony Portantino introduced SB 411 to allow neighborhood councils, boards and commissions in Los Angeles to continue to conduct their meeting virtually. (California State Senate/Democratic Caucus, February 10, 2023, press release)
The Editorial Board of The Orange County Register, April 1, 2023, argues that Senate Bill 411 to eliminate in-person meeting requirement for local agencies and regional boards and commissions would weaken accountability and public participation.
The board of the Foothill-DeAnza Community College District punished a fellow board member for racist comments about the DeAnza College president and for talking about the details of a chancellor search outside of a closed meeting in violation of the Brown Act. (Palo Alto Daily Post, March 31, 2023, by Brad Cartwright)
The California Supreme Court rendered an appeals court decision non binding in precedent while ruling that notice of California Environmental Quality Act actions must appear on meeting agendas. The decision came in considering a lawsuit arising from a dispute over a trash hauling contract in Thousand Oaks. (JDSupra, March 27, 2023, by Best Best & Krieger)
Someone leaked confidential information from a closed meeting of the Stockton City Council prompting a heated confrontation at a restaurant just after the meeting. (The Record, March 22, 2023, by Ben Irwin and Aaron Leathley)
The Atascadero City Council met on March 14 in a virtual meeting held under AB 361 allowing such meetings during an emergency, in this case, an atmospheric river. (The Atascadero News, March 15, 2023, by Christianna Marks)
The Ventura County district attorney said that the Ojai Unified School District school board violated the Brown Act in considering details of staff cuts in a closed session. (KCLU, March 14, 2023, by Lance Orozco)
The League of California Cities is proposing two Brown Act bills, one to eliminate the sunset provisions of AB 361 that allows remote meetings during emergencies. A second bill allows non-decision-making bodies currently under the Brown Act to conduct virtual teleconferencing without posting a a location. (League of California Cities, March 8, 2023)
The Fairfield City Council is adjusting its procedures in arranging for district meetings so that all seven council members could participate without violating the Brown Act. Originally, residents were supposed to set the agendas and conduct meetings without notice. (Daily Republic, March 8, 2023, by Todd R. Hansen)
Mat Wahlstrom of the Times of San Diego in Ocean Beach Rag, March 6, 2023, argues against changes in the provisions for Community Planners Committees, established by San Diego city law and subject to the Brown Act. Walhstrom says the reform was partially caused by “burdensome conditions” made by the committees that curbed development. He says the reform “…has been a wholly bipartisan effort to disenfranchise community input and remove any brakes on runaway development.”
Berry Creek residents are suing Butte County claiming they violated the Brown Act in a meeting on closing the community’s fire station. The residents said the board of supervisors did not prominently post a link to the agenda for its December 13 meeting 72 hours in advance. (Chico Enterprise-Record, March 3, 2023, by Jake Hutchison)
The First Amendment Coalition asked the San Bernardino County sheriff to drop charges against Victorville Councilwoman Bianca Gomez after she was arrested for charges of disturbing a council meeting. The Coalition says the arrest may have violated the Brown Act as well as the First Amendment. (Victorville Daily Press, March 1, 2023, by Rene Ray De a Cruz)
Santa Cruz County decided that the Committee of Mayors that conducted meetings for over ten years without published agendas and public input was in violation the Brown Act. David Loy of the First Amendment Coalition said it was clear that the meetings were illegal, “Best case scenario is that somebody was just asleep at the wheel for a long time.” (Santa Cruz Sentinel, February 26, 2023, by PK Hattis)
The Orange Unified school district board fired a superintendent, hired an interim superintendent at the same closed meeting and announced the moves to the public without explanation. The board is suspected of conducting serial meetings prior to the closed door session. (EdSource, February 22, 2023, by John Fensterwald)
Three newly elected members of the Temecula Valley school board may have violated the Brown Act by conferring together before a board meeting. (Patch, February 3, 2023, by Toni McAllister)