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RESOURCES
Accessing Public Meetings
Welcome to FAC’s Open Meeting resources. In California, the key opening meeting law is the Ralph M. Brown Act, which requires legislative entities of local governments and agencies — for example, city councils and school boards — to conduct business in a way that enables the public to scrutinize government decision-making.
On this page you will find links to all of our resources for the Brown Act including Brown Act questions answered by our attorneys and information on the the Bagley-Keene Act, the open meeting law that governs the state agencies and commissions in California.
Accessing State Meetings
navigating the California Brown Act
Brown Act Primer
Our summary of the Brown Act aims to explain the requirements it places on the agencies it governs and make the law more accessible to its users. This primer was last updated in 2022.
"Cure & Correct" Letter Template
A sample letter template with instructional annotations for writing a Brown Act "Cure & Correct" letter. This model letter was last updated in 2022.
Text of the Ralph M. Brown Act
Link to the California Legislature's website for Government Code Section 54950-54963.
ACCESSING CA State Government
The Bagley-Keene Open Meeting Act
The Bagley-Keene Open Meeting Act applies to California state boards, committees, and commissions to help implement the California Constitution’s command that “the meetings of public bodies … shall be open to public scrutiny.” The act, one of four open-meetings acts in California, facilitates accountability and transparency of government activities and protects the rights of people to participate in state government deliberations. It is modeled after the Ralph M. Brown Act, which applies to open meetings at the county and local government level.
The Bagley-Keene Act can be found at sections 11120 to 11133 of the California Government Code can be found on the Legislature’s website.
Asked & Answered
Brown Act Drill Down
Each of the links in the menu opens a targeted search of our Asked & Answered database to help you quickly find authoritative answers provided by FAC attorneys to questions submitted by people like you. This list does not exhaust the Asked & Answered resource, consisting of over 1,000 questions and answers spanning more than a decade.
Video
Brown Act Essentials
Play Video
2013 video featuring an overview of the Brown Act.