TO: Napa County Housing Commission
FROM: Jason Dooley, Deputy County Counsel
REPORT BY: Jason Dooley, Deputy County Counsel
SUBJECT: Presentation on Brown Act
RECOMMENDATION
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Commission Counsel to provide overview of the Ralph M. Brown Act and how it applies to the Napa County Housing Commission.
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Commission Counsel to provide overview of the Ralph M. Brown Act and how it applies to the Napa County Housing Commission
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT
ENVIRONMENTAL DETERMINATION: The proposed action is not a project as defined by 14 California Code of Regulations 15378 (State CEQA Guidelines) and therefore CEQA is not applicable.
BACKGROUND AND DISCUSSION
THE BASICS
Meetings of public bodies must be "open and public," actions may not be secret, and action taken in violation of open meetings laws may be voided. (§§ 54953(a), 54953(c), 54960.1(d))
WHO'S COVERED
• Local agencies, including counties, cities, school districts and special districts. (§ 54951)
• "Legislative bodies" of each agency--the agency's governing body plus "covered boards," that is, any board, commission, committee, task force or other advisory body created by the agency, whether permanent or temporary. (§ 54952(b))
• Any standing committee of a covered board, regardless of number of members. (§ 54952(b))
• Governing Bodies of Non-profit corporations formed by a public agency or which includes a member of a covered board and receives public money from that board. (§ 54952(c))
WHO'S NOT COVERED
• Ad hoc advisory committees consisting of less than a quorum of the covered board (§ 54952(b)); most other non-profit corporations.
• All other government agencies or individual officials or decisionmakers. State governmental agencies are covered by the Bagley-Keene Open Meeting Act. (Govt. Code §§ 11120-11132)
WHAT'S COVERED
A "meeting" is any gathering of a majority of the members of a covered board to hear, discuss, or deliberate on matters within the agency's or board's jurisdiction. (§ 54952.2(a)) This is a short rule that covers a lot of potential behavior. A “meeting” is not limited to the concept of everyone gathering in one place to discuss or deliberate on matters. Meetings can occur when members of the legislative body send emails to each other, or meet individually but in a sequence where a majority of members share their opinions. Care should be taken that the interactions of commission or board members cannot be construed as a meeting.
WHAT MUST HAPPEN
Under the Brown Act an agency must:
• Post notice and an agenda for any regular meeting (§§ 54954(a), 54954.2(a)); mail notice at least three days before regular meetings to those who request it, (§ 54954.1); post notice of continued meetings, (§ 54955.1); deliver notice of special meetings at least one day in advance to those who request it, (§ 54956); and deliver notice of emergency meetings at least one hour in advance to those who request it (§§ 54956, 54956.5)
• Notify the media of special or emergency meetings if requested, (§§ 54956, 54956.5); allow media to remain in meetings cleared due to public disturbance. (§§ 54957.9)
•Hold meetings in the jurisdiction of the agency except in limited circumstances, (§§ 54954(b)- (e)), and in places accessible to all, with no fee. (§ 54961(a))
•Not require a "sign in" for anyone. (§ 54953.3)
•Allow non-disruptive recording and broadcast of meetings, (§ 54953.5(a)), and let the public inspect any recording made by the agency of its open meetings. (§ 54953.5(b)) The agency may destroy recordings it made after 30 days. (§ 54953.5(b))
•Allow the public to address the covered board at regular or committee meetings on any item in the agency's jurisdiction not addressed by the agency at an earlier open meeting. (§ 54954.3(a))
•Conduct only public votes, with no secret ballots. (§ 54953(c))
•Treat documents as public "without delay," if distributed to all or a majority of members of a board before or at the meeting, unless they are also exempt under the Public Records Act. (§ 54957.5)
WHAT MAY HAPPEN
Under the Brown Act an agency may meet in closed session only for the following reasons:
•Existing litigation - to receive and discuss legal advice and make litigation decisions
•Initiation of litigation - to decide whether to initiate litigation
•Threat of litigation - to discuss a written or oral threat of litigation received by the agency.
•Significant exposure to litigation - To receive and discuss legal advice relating to existing facts and circumstances that may constitute a significant exposure to litigation against the agency.
•Real estate negotiations, but only to discuss price and terms of payment - to discuss and develop a negotiating strategy for the purchase, sale, exchange, or lease of real property, but the discussion may not get into policy considerations and may not range far afield from price and terms of payment.
•Staff performance evaluations - to engage in free and candid discussions of personnel matters, primarily to provide feedback on past performance and establish goals for future improvement.
•Employee discipline or dismissal - to address confidential human resources matters relating to employee discipline, provided that the employee has a right to have complaints or charges heard in open session.
•Labor negotiations - to provide instructions to the agency's negotiator regarding salaries, salary schedules, fringe benefits, and any other matter within the scope of representation.
•Matters that constitute a threat to public services or facilities - to allow the agency to discuss emergency situations or threats to services or structures, provided the discussion is with the relevant law enforcement agency or security personnel.