The California Ralph M. Brown Act (Brown Act) requires public agencies to conduct agency business in public at properly noticed open meetings, subject to very narrow exceptions. Under the Brown Act, meeting agendas must be published seventy-two hours prior to the governing body’s meeting. A legislative body cannot act on Items not on the agenda.
Coronavirus/COVID-19 Weekly Update & Resources – March 23, 2020
Last week, we published several special bulletins covering COVID-19. Below are short summaries and links to the updates published since our last COVID-19 round up.
We will continue providing these special bulletins and updates as needed. Please visit https://www.lcwlegal.com/responding-to-COVID-19 for the most up-to-date bulletins.
Governor Newsom Amends Brown Act Changes in Subsequent Executive Order
Legislation to Watch: California Rules on Government Ethics
In the first half of 2017, some two-dozen bills have been introduced in the State Legislature with the potential to impact laws regulating government ethics, transparency, and political activity. Legislation proposed in the State Assembly and State Senate seeks to repeal portions of existing law, and, at the same time, impose stronger penalties for violating
Governor Brown Vetoes Legislative Bill Which Would Have Allowed Factfinding for All Negotiable Subjects Rather than Only MOUs, And Impasse Mediation If Requested By One Party
This blog post was authored by Connie C. Almond and Shardé C. Thomas
On September 30, 2014, Governor Brown vetoed AB 2126 – a bill which included significant changes to the Meyers-Milias-Brown Act (“MMBA”). As discussed in our prior blog post, this closely watched bill included four amendments to the MMBA’s factfinding and mediation
Is The Window On Open Government Closed? What The State’s Suspension Of Portions Of The Brown Act Means To Your Agency.
This guest post was authored by Meredith Karasch
Buried within the State’s 2012-2013 budget, is a new provision that may have the effect of suspending portions of the Brown Act. In an effort to reduce expenditures, the budget suspends reimbursement to local agencies for costs of posting agendas. Under Government Code section 17581, the