Sunshine Ordinances in California
Although state law–mainly in the form of the Brown Act and the Public Records Act–governs access rights at the local level, cities and counties are free to enact ordinances that provide GREATER RIGHTS OF ACCESS than state law. These local laws providing extra rights are often referred to as “Sunshine” laws.
At last count, seven local governments in California had enacted such laws: Benicia, Contra Costa County, Milpitas, Oakland, Riverside, San Francisco and Vallejo.
Below are the texts of each of these Sunshine laws. They vary significantly in their methods for strengthening state law access rights. To assist you in understanding what these laws do–and to help you pick and choose among the provisions for a proposed Sunshine law for your own community–we have highlighted the language in the local laws that differs substantively from state law. Focus on the highlighted language.
While the seven listed communities have chosen different paths, CFAC would like to offer for your consideration one strategy that, as yet, has not been pursued or implemented in California. That strategy is as follows:
Instead of drafting new legal rules and standards, simply list the court decisions and statutory amendments that, over the years, have punched the biggest holes in state access protections, and state that these decisions and amendments shall NOT apply in your community.
That way you will achieve huge improvements in access rights, while minimizing uncertainty about the effect of your local law and retaining the predictability and clarity of the existing framework of state statutes–all in a package that can be promoted (accurately!) as merely restoring the Brown Act and the Public Records Act to the forms in which they were originally adopted.–Peter Scheer
A former member of the Watsonville City Council and Planning Commission says that greater transparency is needed in expenditures and city contracts especially in legal and consulting services. -DB
Register-Pajaronian
Opinion
January 16, 2010
By Emilio Martinez
While walking the districts these past few weeks I had some long-term Watsonville residents use the word “corrupt” numerous times when talking about [...]
Supporters of San Leandro Unified School District Superintendent Christine Lim say that the school board fired Lim December 15 in closed meeting but did not announce their move until January 5, a violation of California’s open government laws. The Brown Act requires prompt disclosure of actions taken in closed sessions. -DB
The Oakland Tribune
January 14, 2010
By [...]
The Ontario city attorney claims that California’s open meeting laws were not broken this week when the city council hastily appointed the fire chief city manager. Open meeting advocates are skeptical of the need to hurry the decision, suggesting other action that would have allowed input from the public. -DB
Inland Valley Daily Bulletin
January 13, [...]
Twenty-three Republican senators sent a letter to Majority Leader Harry Reid claiming that the health care bill violated the Honest Leadership and Open Government Act of 2007. -DB
Politico
January 12, 2010
Twenty-three Republican senators sent a letter Tuesday to Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) seeking a full accounting of provisions within the health care bill that benefitted [...]
A Superior Court judge found that the Los Angeles City Council violated the Brown Act, California’s open government law, by not giving the public sufficient notice of a meeting during which they approved a shopping center development in South Los Angeles. -DB
The Los Angeles Times
January 12, 2010
By David Zahniser
A Superior Court judge tentatively ruled Monday [...]
The Hughson town mayor demanded that three councilmen resign after they were accused in a grand jury report of conferring via e-mail on town business and plotting privately to remove the city manager. -DB
The Modesto Bee
January 12, 2010
By Patty Guerra
HUGHSON — Mayor Ramon Bawanan on Monday demanded that three city councilmen named in a blistering [...]
A Novato Sanitary District board member said his fellow board members excluded him from closed-door meeting in violation of the Brown Act, California’s open government law. -DB
Marin Independent Journal
January 11, 2010
By Jim Welte
When Dennis Welsh became the lone opposition candidate elected to the Novato Sanitary District board last November, he and his new colleagues expressed [...]
A San Francisco Chronicle editorial argues that as a matter of great public concern, police misconduct hearings should be open. Maintaining secrecy erodes public trust of the police. -DB
San Francisco Chronicle
Editorial
January 11, 2010
Our system of government is based on the idea that an open government is a smarter, safer and more effective government. That’s why [...]
The president of the Big Bear Community Service District admitted it was a violation of California’s open government law, the Brown Act, to elect the new president of the board by secret ballot. -DB
Big Bear Grizzly
January 7, 2010
By Katie Onheiber and Judi Bowers
The Big Bear City Community Services District board has spoken, the problem is [...]
In settling a claim by a retired police officer involving sexual harassment and disability, Atherton officials failed to make the settlement public until a month later. -DB
The Almanac
January 6, 2010
By Andrea Gemmet
Atherton officials said that the failure to inform residents about a $230,000 pay-out to a former police officer was an oversight, and one that [...]
A member of the Garen Grove Unified School District said she left this week’s school board meeting because of a deal brokered between three other board members just minutes before the start of the meeting to nominate each other for board president and vice president . She claimed that the deal was a violation of the [...]
A Solano County supervisor alleged that three of her colleagues decided ahead of a meeting to block her becoming board chair thus violating California’s Brown Act that provides for open government. -DB
The Reporter
January 6, 2010
By Danny Bernardini
Solano County leaders started the new year the same way they ended 2009: with infighting and 3-2 votes.
During the [...]
Open government analysts say that if California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger hosts California legislators to a lunch after his State of the State address and does not admit the public and reporters, the meeting will violate the Brown Act, the state’s open meeting law. -DB
Bay News 9
January 6, 2010
By Juliet Williams and Judy Lin
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) [...]
The new Center for Open Government at Chicago-Kent College of Law will provide legal help to those seeking documents from local and state governments. -DB
Galesburg Radio
December 27, 2009
A new academic institute will help citizens pry information from reticent governments.
The new Center for Open Government at Chicago-Kent College of Law will represent individuals and interest groups [...]
A grand jury has charged that three Hughson City Council members violated the Brown Act and other rules and ordinances and recommended that they be removed from office. -DB
The Turlock Journal
December 22, 2009
By Maegan Martens
Three Hughson City Council members received not so glad tidings on Tuesday when the Civil Grand Jury handed down a recommendation [...]
While finding that the county supervisors covered themselves sufficiently on the Brown Act, the Imperial Valley Press argues that they failed to honor the spirit of the Brown Act by not fully informing the public that it was their intention to intervene in a federal case involving Prop 8 making same-sex marriage illegal in California. -DB
Imperial [...]
The American Civil Liberties Union is looking into an allegation that the Imperial County Board of Supervisors violated California’s Brown Act in a closed session December 15 when it voted to intervene in a federal case involving Prop 8, the state proposition making same-sex marriage illegal. -DB
Imperial Valley Press
December 18, 2009
By Elizabeth Variner
Did the Imperial County [...]
The Montebello City Council may have violated the Brown Act, California’s open government law, when they allegedly discouraged public participation leading up to a November 16 city council meeting. -DB
San Gabriel Valley Tribune
December 17, 2009
By Thomas Himes
MONTEBELLO, Calif. – The District Attorney’s Office is investigating allegations that a special meeting of the City Council violated [...]
With 14 ad hoc committees, one four years old, the Highland City Council is needlessly conducting vast amounts of the people’s business behind closed doors, says an editorial in the Highland Community News. -DB
Highland Community News
Editorial
December 17, 2009
Ad hoc committees can serve a very useful purpose.
Operating out of public view, they can sometimes work out [...]
The Gilroy City Council met in closed session to decide what to do on about a pot dispensary operating without a license thereby botching their attempt to gain a preliminary injunction to close down the dispensary.-DB
Gilroy Dispatch
Editorial
December 17, 2009
Spanked. That’s what the city of Gilroy got in court Tuesday when seeking a preliminary injunction to [...]
The Huntington Beach visitors’ bureau is facing a suit over their failure to tell the public how much taxpayer money they spent on a legal dispute over a T-shirt. The bureau engaged a souvenir shop in Santa Cruz in a battle over the marketing of the shirt reading “Surf City USA” which Huntington Beach claims [...]
The California Judicial Council approved a new Rule of Court this week giving the public a right of access to administrative records of Superior and Appellate courts and the Administrative Office of the Courts. The rule will be in effect January of next year and is modeled after the California Public Records Act. -DB
Legislative Bulletin
California [...]
California’s Fair Political Practices Commission fined a number of political candidates and committees for among other things failing to report contributions and expenses. -DB
Courthouse News Service
December 15, 2009
By Elizabeth Banicki
California political candidates, commissioners and committees were fined from $200 to more than $100,000 for campaign reporting violations, including failing to report contributions and expenses, making [...]
White House computer technicians discovered 22 million e-mails lost during the Bush administration. Two groups had filed Freedom of Information Act requests for the e-mails in connection to the firing of U.S. attorneys and the Valerie Plame-CIA scandal. -DB
Wired
December 14, 2009
By Kim Zetter
White House computer technicians have found 22 million e-mails that were believed to [...]
An editorial in the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal defends the Texas Open Meetings Act currently under attack in Texas courts and the legislature -DB
Lubbock Avalanche-Journal
Editorial
December 11, 2009
Foes of open government are trying to turn back the clock on transparency and accountability in a two-prong attack on the Texas Open Meetings Act. They should be thwarted at every [...]
A group of Ventura citizens is asking the Grand Jury to investigate whether the city deliberately withheld information that showed there was sufficient money to keep the H.P. Wright Library open. The citizens also claim the city violated the Brown Act, the state’s open government law. -DB
Ventura County Reporter
December 10, 2009
By Paul Sisolak
After a sit-in [...]
An open government activist has alleged that the Claremont Unified School District violated the Brown Act in firing a school nurse in a closed meeting without allowing her supporters to speak on her behalf. -DB
Contra Costa Times
December 5, 2009
By Wes Woods II
CLAREMONT – Open government activist Richard McKee has asked the Claremont Unified School District to [...]
To avoid charges of violating the Brown Act, the Inyo County Board of Supervisors voted to shut down the Klondike Lake Subcommitee whose meeting have been closed to the public. -DB
Sierra Wave
November 24, 2009
By Benett Kessler
The Inyo Supervisors got the Klondike Lake issue off their backs Tuesday, stating they didn’t want to face misdemeanor charges for [...]
Under California law, government agencies have ten days to fulfill public information requests, but as of last week, in response to a citizen’s inquiry, the Glendale Unified School District has not supplied full records of employees who make more than $100,000. -DB
Glendale News Press
November 23, 2009
By Max Zimbert
GLENDALE — Brian Ellis’ months-long quest for a [...]
The Orange County treasurer is recommending a Joint Powers Agreement between the county and city of Costa Mesa to buy the Orange County Fairground as the best way to guarantee transparency under the Brown Act and satisfy community concerns. -DB
Daily Pilot
November 20, 2009
By Mona Shadia
Orange County Treasurer Chriss Street is recommending that the county enter into [...]
Anchorage Daily News editor Paul Jenkins says that the refusal to release the Palin’s administration’s e-mails in a timely fashion is only the most recent attempt by the Alaska state government to withhold records from the public in defiance of the state’s public records law. -DB
Anchorage Daily News
Opinion
November 14, 2009
By Paul Jenkins
Alaska state government is [...]
A Superior Court judge ruled that the Santa Ynez Valley School District’s Board of Education did not violate the Brown Act in 2008 when it failed to publicly disclose charges against a popular high school principal in an open meeting even though the principal himself aired the issues in a public meeting. -DB
Santa Maria Times
November [...]
After two parents filed a complaint the Alisal Union School District board had denied parental participation, the board called a special meeting at 1 p.m. to revote on a meeting agenda. One resident was not impressed since she said few could attend a meeting at 1 p.m. -DB
The Californian.com
November 17, 2009
By Maria Ines Zamudio
In less than [...]
After failing to put up for public discussion all details of a compensation package for a new fire chief, the Oroville City Council will correct the Brown Act violation by considering the package in an open meeting. -DB
Oroville Mercury-Register
November 15, 2009
By Mary Weston
OROVILLE, Calif. — The City Council has an item to cure and correct [...]
Associated Student Government President Steve Macias was back in office when backers of the nullified recall violated the Brown Act by not posting the time and location of a meeting to organize the recall election. Macias was the target of the recall for refusing administration orders to ask a pro-life group to leave campus during Constitution [...]
The Redding Record Searchlight has asked the county superior court to release documents on alleged mismanagement and misconduct by an ex-fire chief. The chief resigned last July. -DB
Redding Record Searchlight
November 10, 2009
By Jim Schultz
The Record Searchlight on Monday sued the Anderson Fire Protection District to obtain an investigator’s report on the conduct of its former [...]
Six public Fair Board members are said to be forming a private nonprofit to buy the Fairgrounds. Orange County Register columnist Frank Mickadeit says that the six board members want closed meetings to discuss the issue, a move that he says would make the public even move suspicious of the private nonprofit. -DB
The Orange County [...]
Many California county health officials are discounting arguments that it is in the public interest to know who died from swine flu and refusing to release the records to journalism students from University of Southern California’s Annenberg School of Journalism. In denying the requests, officials cite privacy issues and the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability [...]
Butte County District Attorney agreed with a citizen who said the Oroville City council violated the Brown Act, California’s open government law, when it appointed a fire chief and approved free rent and the use of a city car on weekends in closed session last August and failed to report the rent and car benefits. [...]
In response to allegations of Brown Act violations from CalAware, an open government advocacy group, the West Covina School District is asking for more details about the allegations. The allegations concerned inadequate notice of meetings, failure to convene open meetings after closed sessions and not reporting actions from the closed sessions. -DB
San Gabriel Valley Tribune
November 5, [...]
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