A&A: Park & Rec “advisory committee” keeping its advice secret

Q: 1. Can the (recently appointed) president of a Park and Recreation board form a “Management Committee” without approval of the full Board when one of the (two) members of said Committee is a public member? 2. This “Committee” met with representatives of several public and possibly private (non-profit) organizations without publically reporting who they [...]

California: San Juan Bautista city attorney acknowledges open meeting violation

During a town hall gathering last week, San Juan Bautista council members discussed topics that were not on the agenda, prompting the city attorney to conclude that the council had committed a violation of the Brown Act, the state’s open meeting law. With all five of the council members in attendance, they discussed a number [...]

Southern California tribe alleges governing bodies committed open meeting violations

The Big Pine Tribe alleged that since the Inyo County-Los Angeles Standing Committee conducted business without a quorum of the L.A. City Council, the proceedings violated California’s open meeting act. -db The Inyo Register October 10, 2010 By Mike Gervais Members of the Big Pine Tribe are asking the Board of Supervisors and Los Angeles [...]

A&A: Is a quorum required for presentations?

Q: There’s some confusion about whether the county Mental Health Board is violating the Brown Act by receiving information when it doesn’t have a quorum. Can the board have discussions and receive presentations, but not take formal action, when a quorum isn’t present? A: As you probably know, the Brown Act sets out certain requirements [...]

Sunnyvale: Family affair in school board race prompts concerns about open meeting violations

Three members from the Goldman family are running for the Fremont Union High School District board in a contest for three open seats as observers expressed some skepticism about whether, if all three are elected, they could successfully observe California’s open meeting law and avoid discussing school district business around the breakfast table. -db San [...]

A&A: “Briefings” on controversial project really serial meetings?

Q: The planning commission was given six days to review a 117 page packet for a very controversial project for the gateway of our city, which has not been developed. The day before the commission hearing, the city manager held a series of “briefing” meetings with groups of the 2-3 planning commissioners at a time [...]

Does newspaper candidate forum constitute a quorum?

Q: We invited city council candidates to our newspaper offices for an editorial endorsement forum. There are three incumbents and one challenger for three seats. We will have me, the editor, and a reporter there to ask the candidates questions about why we should endorse their candidacy. Because there are three candidates currently on the [...]