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Showing 381 - 390 of 694 results

  • Posts

    FAC Urges Merced School Board President to Stop Threatening Speech Rights

    […] two and a half years, the board’s president has regularly warned members of the public that "derogatory comments against district employees or others made in a board meeting can be actionable as defamation under certain circumstances," before comment periods of its public meetings. FAC Legal Fellow Annie Cappetta sent a letter to Brooks, explaining […]

    October 28, 2024

  • Asked and Answered

    Brown Act

    School Boards, Closed Sessions, and Student Files

    […] matter in closed session.  As long as the item was adequately described on the agenda, the Brown Act requires the school district to disclose, in the open meeting, "the item or items to be discussed in the closed session."  Cal. Gov. Code Sec. 54957.7.  Nothing in that section "shall require or authorize a disclosure […]

    June 14, 2009

  • Asked and Answered

    Brown Act

    Minutes and closed sessions

    […] minutes reflect a teleconference with the board's attorney to otherwise justify a closed session under 54956.9 that does not state that the attorney was present at the meeting in the minutes?  Also, if the minutes are simply in error and there actually was a teleconference with the attorney, would this per se invalidate the […]

    June 14, 2009

  • Asked and Answered

    Brown Act

    Agendas and sufficiency of “brief general descriptions”

    Government Code section 54954.2(a) of the Brown Act provides that at least 72 hours prior to a regular meeting, the body must post an agenda containing a brief general description of each item to be discussed or transacted at the meeting, including items to be discussed in closed session.  A "brief general description," as […]

    June 14, 2009

  • Asked and Answered

    CPRA

    When government outsources program are documents public?

    […] Atty. Gen. 55 (March 14, 2002). The AG noted that a nonprofit that satisfies the requirements of Govt. Code section 54592(c) (which is part of California's open meetings law, the Brown Act), is also subject to the PRA. Section 54592(c) provides that a legislative body includes: (1) A board, commission, committee, or other multimember […]

    October 10, 2011

  • Asked and Answered

    Brown Act

    Secret ballots violate Brown Act

    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 […]

    June 14, 2009

  • Asked and Answered

    Brown Act

    Agenda item questions

    Government Code section 54954.2(a) provides that at least 72 hours prior to a regular meeting, the body must post an agenda containing a brief general description of each item to be discussed or transacted at the meeting, including items to be discussed in closed session. A "brief general description," as the term indicates, can […]

    June 14, 2009

  • Asked and Answered

    First Amendment

    What Are the First Amendment Rights of Elected Officials to Publicly Voice Opinion ?

    I am an elected official in the town where I reside. Recently, at the beginning of a Council meeting, after the meeting had been called to order but before any agenda item was undertaken, I made a statement about gun violence and my belief that stricter gun laws are in order. I made clear […]

    November 26, 2018

  • Asked and Answered

    Brown Act

    Advisory committees and the Brown Act

    […] on local agencies regarding how such committees may be constituted, i.e. who must or can be on an advisory committee. The Brown Act does address whether the meetings of such committees must be open and public, in accordance with the various requirements of the Brown Act (such as the requirement for the posting of […]

    June 14, 2009

  • Latest News

    Blog

    Vallejo’s bankruptcy highlights need for transparency in city-union contracts

    […] can afford. While decisions at the state level are partly to blame, ultimate responsibility for the mismatch of revenue and expenses rests with local elected officials who, meeting in secret, have managed to avoid public discussion of the true cost and fiscal impact of the pay deals that they have approved. If no one […]

    June 3, 2009