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Asked and Answered

Brown Act

Closed Sessions, Settlements, and Lack of Discussion/Public Comment

[…] of the agreement were made public, but members of the public had no opportunity to comment on the terms, nor would they have known from reading the agenda item that such terms were under consideration. While the council could legally discuss the litigation in closed session, doesn't the adoption of far-reaching changes to city sign […]

June 14, 2009
Asked and Answered

Brown Act

Open meeting law and homeowners associations

[…] now have a 3/5 majority on our board. This year, with no notice from the board or the anti-skiing faction, we noticed a Presentation on the Board agenda for last Saturday's meeting entitled "Equitable Use of the Lake". A few of us managed to attend the meeting. The anti-ski faction presented their usage statistics […]

June 14, 2009
Asked and Answered

Brown Act

Does the Brown Act Allow Consultant’s Report Reviewed in Closed Sessions?

[…] here: Even if this discussion falls within one of the narrow exceptions that permit closed sessions under the Brown Act, it still must be listed on the agenda. Govt. Code § 54957.7. In a separate provision, the Brown Act bars an agency from discussing or taking any action on an item not appearing on […]

January 6, 2020
Asked and Answered

Brown Act First Amendment

Slideshow presentation during public comment at school board meeting

The Brown Act is California’s open meetings law, and addresses public comment at public meetings. The Brown Act provides that: (a) Every agenda for regular meetings shall provide an opportunity for members of the public to directly address the legislative body on any item of interest to the public, before or during the legislative […]

June 14, 2009
Asked and Answered

Brown Act

Sign-in cards for public comment

[…] threats to sue. However, the change, I believe, is in violation. The board reads the standard paragraph before the meeting regarding public comments etc... But on the agenda there is no period for public comment for those things not on the agenda. The board does not open the meeting up for public comment at […]

June 14, 2009
Asked and Answered

Brown Act

Rights of Public Comment

[…] meeting standard is satisfied, then the second question is what kind of public comment is required by the Brown Act. The Brown Act provides that: (a) Every agenda for regular meetings shall provide an opportunity for members of the public to directly address the legislative body on any item of interest to the public, […]

June 14, 2009
Asked and Answered

Brown Act First Amendment

New rule places unreasonable time restraints on public comments

[…] forced to comment on an already approved item. This is not right. Reasonable limitations are easy to imagine, and I suppose if up to three minutes on agenda’d items plus two minutes on Public Comment were combined for five minutes, it could be workable some of the time. But the comments need to be […]

March 5, 2012
Asked and Answered

Brown Act First Amendment

New rules by city council restrict free speech

As background, California's open meeting law, known as the Brown Act applies to legislative bodies, requires that "very agenda for regular meetings shall provide an opportunity for members of the public to directly address the legislative body on any item of interest to the public, before or during the legislative body's consideration of the item, that […]

December 11, 2014
Asked and Answered

Brown Act

Do Chair’s new rules for committee members violate the Brown Act?

[…] intervene. it is at the discretion of the chair whether or not to place an item requested by a committee member or the public onto the agenda. I was just prevented on putting an item on the most recent meetings agenda, although we (a dozen community members and I) were allowed to have […]

May 21, 2015
Asked and Answered

Bagley-Keene Act Brown Act

What is the Brown Act statute of limitations?

[…] exception cited is if the action was taken in an open session but in violation of Section 54954.2 (failure to provide notice of the action on the agenda), in which case the demand must be made within 30 days. See Boyle v. City of Redondo Beach, 70 Cal. App. 4th 1109 (2009). The date […]

February 3, 2012