Asked & Answered

A&A: Union representatives in closed labor negotiations

Union representatives in closed labor negotiations Q: Is it legal, and if so, which code can I refer to, to ask the teachers’ union president to come into our closed session under labor negotiations to give us a report only on what is being negotiated?  My reason for this is that we do not receive all the information from our negotiation team for the district so we are looking for a way to have the

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A&A: Identifying self while making public comment

Identifying self while making public comment Q: Does a member of the public have to identify themselves before commenting?  Can they be refused if they do not? A: The Brown Act provides that “[e]very agenda for regular meetings shall provide an opportunity for members of the public to directly address the legislative body on items of interest to the public that are within the subject matter jurisdiction of the legislative body.”  Ca. Govt. Code Section

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A&A: Objecting to agenda item during meetings

Objecting agenda item during meetings Q: Our Board of Supervisors is playing fast and loose with the Brown act, specifically adding items to the agenda that don’t even come close to meeting the requirements of the Brown Act.  Question: Can I object to an item being heard ? If yes, how do I object? If no, what do I do? A: Unfortunately, although you can object to an item being heard at a meeting because

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A&A: Rights of Public Comment

Rights of Public Comment Q: The City is holding public meetings using public facilities and staff to show plans of a developer of a former navy base. The only public participation allowed is in two methods.  One is the small group’s method, the opinions of the members of the public in these groups, may or may not be presented after the small groups have met.  The other is comment cards which are known only to

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A&A: Lawsuits Among School Trustees

Lawsuits Among School Trustees Q: I cover the School District, which has just been sued by one of its trustees on allegations of civil rights violations and harassment. The board of trustees held a closed session on the litigation on Tuesday night and I received an anonymous tip that this trustees was asked to leave the closed session so that the other trustees could discuss strategy to defend the district against this lawsuit. He refused

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