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Showing 241 - 250 of 1793 results

  • Asked and Answered

    Brown Act

    Can a city council reduce the time allotted for individual public comment?

    […] on each specific agenda item as it is taken up by the body." Galbiso v. Orosi Public Utility Dist., 167 Cal. App. 4th 1063, 1079 (2008). Under Government Code section 54954.3(b)(1), the legislative body may adopt "reasonable regulations" to ensure the public's right to comment in section (a) above is carried out, "including, but […]

    September 25, 2025

  • Asked and Answered

    First Amendment

    Can a school limit a teacher’s speech?

    […] condition public employment on a basis that infringes the employee’s constitutionally protected interest in freedom of expression.’" Garcetti, 547 U.S. at 413. However, "[w]hen a citizen enters government service, the citizen by necessity must accept certain limitations on his or her freedom." Garcetti, 547 U.S. at 418. Typically, whether a government employee’s speech receives […]

    April 1, 2025

  • Latest News

    FAC News

    We’re Hiring: Programs Coordinator

    […] to the health of our democracy – that the values expressed by the First Amendment provide a blueprint for an inclusive, equitable society and a responsive, accountable government. To that end, FAC educates, advocates and litigates to protect and promote government transparency and First Amendment protections for all. FAC is a small but growing […]

    February 18, 2025

  • Handbooks

    Guide to the Bagley-Keene Open Meeting Act

    […] 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 […]

    September 10, 2024

  • Posts

    FAC Opposes California Bills that Would Reduce Face-to-Face Accountability

    Legislation Would Make Government More Remote You may have seen the recent editorials sounding the alarms over legislation that would make California government less open and accountable by chipping away at our state's open-meetings laws. Los Angeles Times: It's time for California's public officials to return to work. In person. Mercury News: Stop Two […]

    August 21, 2023

  • Latest News

    Blog Cases

    Victory for newspaper publisher Tim Crews and FAC in Appeals Court decision

    […] legal fees to a school board he sued over his public records request. The unanimous decision (see Court of Appeal's opinion below) represents a crucial victory for government transparency and a welcome success for the First Amendment Coalition, which was instrumental in organizing and underwriting Crews’ successful defense. "The appeals court’s decision makes clear […]

    July 20, 2013

  • Latest News

    Blog

    The First Amendment protects journalists using Snowden’s documents. But what about Snowden?

    […] information, not a journalist who receives leaks. The difference is crucial: in the transaction between source and journalist, constitutional protections extend only to the latter. Specifically, the government is legally powerless to get a court injunction barring a journalist from publishing a story based on leaked information. And post-publication, too, journalists have special protections: […]

    October 22, 2013

  • Latest News

    Blog Events

    Sunshine Week Event: Inside the Fight for Public Information

    Sunshine Week 2021: Join us for a discussion on navigating barriers to public records and fighting for open government Update: Check out the event recap. The coronavirus pandemic has made accessing public information more challenging than ever, with some governments refusing to even respond to requests for public records. Yet news organizations across the […]

    March 2, 2021