Q: Can I request to have an agenda mailed to me at the time of posting? And what is the time frame? A: The Brown Act provides that: “[a]ny person may request that a copy of the agenda, or a copy of all the documents constituting the agenda packet, of any meeting of a legislative body be mailed to that person. . . . Upon receipt of the written request, the legislative body or its
Q: Are city councils required to have minutes? A: The Brown Act, the law that governs the extent to which local agencies such as city councils must conduct their meetings in a manner open to the public, does not require that a city council take minutes. The Brown Act only acknowledges that a minute book may kept for closed sessions and that a legislative body may require another legislative body over which it has appointed
Q: A nonprofit 501c3 foundation was set up to raise money for a public agency, incorporates the name of the agency into its name, uses the agency’s facilities and relies on the agency to act in the capacity of employer of its staff. Is it arguably a public agency, and as such subject to CPRA? A: The Public Records Act, borrowing the definition from the Brown Act, applies only to nonprofit organizations that either: Were
Q: We have noticed a new trend during City Council meetings. We are seeing council and staff texting/emailing to each other while on the dais. This is occurring during the public comment item of the meeting and includes the city attorney. We would like to CPRA these texts but believe they will either claim they are not retained or are privileged. I don’t believe the council should be having a private conversation with the city
Q: The Academic Senate of our public college has an established body called the Academic Executive Board, which is made up of seven or so members (including the president, vice president, etc.) of the Academic Senate. The Executive Board meets regularly and the Academic Senate bylaws state the meeting must be open to the public. The overall consensus of the Executive Board is that the meeting should be open to the public. (This issue was