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Asked & Answered

A&A: Opening closed session agenda items by a city council

firstamendment June 13, 2009

Opening closed session in mid-meeting Q: Can a city council vote to open a closed session agenda item for the public record? A: There are at least two possible answers to your question, depending on the particular situation. First, after a closed session, a city council is generally required to disclose certain information about that closed session and any action taken in closed session. What has to be publicly disclosed, and how quickly, depends on

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A&A: Councilmember penalties for Brown Act violations

firstamendment June 13, 2009

Brown Act violation as misdemeanor Q: What are the penalties for a City Council member who violates the Brown Act? A: A member of a City Council can be guilty of a misdemeanor under certain circumstances. Specifically, under California Government Code section 54959, each member of a legislative body who attends a meeting of that legislative body where action is taken in violation of the Brown Act, and “where the member intends to deprive the

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A&A: Secret ballots violate Brown Act

firstamendment June 13, 2009

Secret ballots violate Brown Act Q: I attended a City Council Meeting today where the Council appointed members to an advisory board. The appointments were done in open session, but by secret ballot. After announcing the matter, taking questions and comments, the city council sat at the dias w/microphones off, each wrote their choices for the board on a piece of paper and handed them to the City Clerk who tallied the votes and announced

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A&A: Time allotted for speaking at public meeting

firstamendment June 13, 2009

Time allotted for speaking at public meeting Q: Since the State take-over of the Oakland Public Schools, the State Administrator, Randolph Ward, has maintained the following rule for public comment. At a regular State Administrator and/or School Board Meeting, a member of the public is restricted to three minutes of public speech on all agenda and non-agenda items. Is this rule a violation of the Brown Act? A: Time limits on public comment are not

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A&A: “Amended” agenda for public meeting

firstamendment June 13, 2009

“Amended” Agenda must meet 72-hour notice rule Q: Recently, I attended a local school board meeting in which an “Amended” Agenda was made available for the public after the regular agenda had already been published. This “amended” agenda was made available less than 72 hours before the meeting. Is this procedure OK? A: California Government Code section 54954.2(a) requires the legislative body of the local agency to post an agenda at least 72 hours before

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