by Kelly M. Doyle on March 18, 2026
posted in
Administrative Regulations, Brown Act, Legislative Updates, Meetings, Municipal Law,
Recognizing the utility of employing online meeting platforms for public meetings under the Ralph M. Brown Act, California’s open meeting law, lawmakers recently approved legislation that would require certain public agencies to provide the public with both online and telephonic options at public meetings, among other requirements. This legislation, Senate Bill 707 (María Elena Durazo, D-Los Angeles), aims to modernize the Brown Act’s teleconferencing provisions while expanding the public’s access to local government meetings.
Scope
Many of the sweeping changes authorized by SB 707 ... Continue Reading
tags:
Brown Act, Hybrid meetings, Public meetings,
by Steven G. Pacifico on March 18, 2020
posted in
Meetings,
On March 17, 2020, Governor Newsom issued Executive Order No. N-29-20 concerning COVID-19 (the “coronavirus”) that, among other things, supersedes the provisions of Executive Order No. N-25-20 related to partial suspensions of the Brown Act. This previous order and its effect on local agencies was covered in our previous blog post.
The new executive order suspends portions of the Brown Act to allow local government to implement recommended or imposed social distancing measures to prevent or slow the spread of the coronavirus.
... Continue Reading
tags:
Brown Act, COVID-19, Public meetings,
by Derek P. Cole on August 23, 2016
posted in
Legislative Updates, Meetings, Uncategorised,
On August 23, 2016, Governor Brown signed SB 1436 (Bates), which mandates that local agencies report out certain information before changing the compensation or benefits of their “executives.” Under this new law, legislative bodies (e.g., city councils, boards of supervisors, or boards of directors) for agencies must “orally report a summary of a recommendation” for changes in salaries or benefits before voting for the changes. The votes must then take place in the open session portions of their meetings.
SB 1436 is part of an evolving trend toward requiring greater transparency concerning ... Continue Reading
tags:
city of bell, closed session, executive compensation, open session, oral report, Public meetings, sb 1436,
by Sean D. De Burgh on April 14, 2015
posted in
Meetings,
During the course of their public service, many council members and staff will encounter the displeased citizen who often seems more intent on disrupting the governmental process than contributing to it in any meaningful way. When this scenario is encountered, council members and staff will naturally desire to take steps to control the situation and ensure that the People’s business is not impeded. Notwithstanding this natural inclination, council members and staff must be careful not to infringe upon the Constitutional and statutory rights of citizens. This requires the conscientious balance ... Continue Reading
tags:
Disruptive citizens, First Amendment, Public Comment, Public meetings,
