Is a weekly Rotary Club meeting a “Social or Ceremonial” event governed by the Brown Act?

Answer

It seems unlikely that a Rotary Club meetings would be subject to the Brown Act. If such a meeting were to be considered the type of social or ceremonial event that would implicate the Brown Act probably depends in large part on the substance of the meeting.

In a 1964 opinion, the Attorney General wrote that certain regularly scheduled lunch meetings attended by members of the legislative body of a local agency were subject to the Brown Act in spite of their informal nature and the fact that no decisions were made during them. 43 Ops. Cal. Atty. Gen. 36.

The opinion states that:

“[w]e believe that the very nature of such meetings, indeed, perhaps their true purpose and design, is to provide a forum for the free exchange of information and ideas on items of area importance with a view towards obtaining a general consensus which in turn will provide the bases for fruitful ‘action’ by the legislative bodies.”
But the Attorney General specifically cautioned that the opinion “should not be construed as holding that the mere social attendance by a majority of the members of a city council or other local agency governing body at a luncheon or dinner, such as are frequently given by the Rotary, Kiwanis, Lions, Optimists, Elks, Moose, or other fraternal organizations, would constitute a meeting of such city council subject to the Ralph M. Brown Act.”

Of course, if the majority of members of a legislative body congregated at a Rotary Club meeting and discussed items within the subject matter jurisdiction of the legislative body, the Brown Act might nevertheless be implicated.

Holme Roberts & Owen LLP is general counsel for the First Amendment Coalition and responds to First Amendment Coalition hotline inquiries. In responding to these inquiries, we can give general information regarding open government and speech issues but cannot provide specific legal advice or representation.