Brown Act
Encyclopedia
The Ralph M. Brown Act, was an act of the California
State Legislature
, authored by Assemblymember Ralph M. Brown
and passed in 1953, that guaranteed the public’s right to attend and participate in meetings of local legislative bodies.
The Brown Act, originally a 686 word statute
that has grown substantially over the years, was enacted in response to mounting public concerns over informal, undisclosed meetings held by local elected officials. City councils, county boards, and other local government bodies were avoiding public scrutiny by holding secret "workshops" and "study sessions." The Brown Act solely applies to California city and county government agencies, boards, and councils. The comparable Bagley-Keane Act
mandates open meetings for State government agencies.
The Sacramento Bee said of the act:
, on the 50th anniversary of the bill's passage in 2003.
It should also be noted that public bodies can and have employed provisions of the Brown Act to circumvent or thwart the Act's own intended purposes. For Example, the Sacramento City Council invoked the Brown Act to delay action on an urgent matter that the citizen's had brought before that body, but which was not on the Council's regular agenda (October 11, 2011). Since the matter before the Council concerned an enforcement action currently being taken by the City Manager, it was likely that a simple informal consensus and request by the Council to the City Manager would have resulted in moratorium on further enforcement until the City Council could properly take up the matter at the following meeting. Instead, the Council chose to simply inform the citizens that under the Brown Act, they were compelled to wait an additional week before any action could be taken. In another instance, the Cal Expo Board of Directors advised a citizen to take a certain matter to a subcommittee of the Board, rather than present it to the full Board as the citizen requested. The citizen did as the Board suggested, only to find that his presentation at the subcommittee exempted the matter he wished to present from further Brown Act protection. (§ 54954.3(a).) The citizen was, thereafter, prevented from re-introducing the same subject to the full Board at a later date.
While it is clear that the Brown Act was intended to give the ordinary citizen a "seat at the table" of his or her public bodies, these examples demonstrate how the Brown act is sometimes employed to defeat its own intentions, and to take advantage of a citizen's lack of understanding of the many complexities of the Act itself.
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
State Legislature
California State Legislature
The California State Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of California. It is a bicameral body consisting of the lower house, the California State Assembly, with 80 members, and the upper house, the California State Senate, with 40 members...
, authored by Assemblymember Ralph M. Brown
Ralph M. Brown
Ralph Milton Brown was a member of the California State Assembly representing the 30th State Assembly district from 1943 to 1961...
and passed in 1953, that guaranteed the public’s right to attend and participate in meetings of local legislative bodies.
The Brown Act, originally a 686 word statute
Statute
A statute is a formal written enactment of a legislative authority that governs a state, city, or county. Typically, statutes command or prohibit something, or declare policy. The word is often used to distinguish law made by legislative bodies from case law, decided by courts, and regulations...
that has grown substantially over the years, was enacted in response to mounting public concerns over informal, undisclosed meetings held by local elected officials. City councils, county boards, and other local government bodies were avoiding public scrutiny by holding secret "workshops" and "study sessions." The Brown Act solely applies to California city and county government agencies, boards, and councils. The comparable Bagley-Keane Act
Bagley-Keane Act
The Bagley-Keene Act of 1967, officially known as the Bagley-Keene Open Meeting Act, implements a provision of the California Constitution which declares that "the meetings of public bodies and the writings of public officials and agencies shall be open to public scrutiny", and explicitly mandates...
mandates open meetings for State government agencies.
History
The introduction to the Brown Act describes its purpose and intent:In enacting this chapter, the Legislature finds and declares that the public commissions, boards and councils and the other public agencies in this State exist to aid in the conduct of the people's business. It is the intent of the law that their actions be taken openly and that their deliberations be conducted openly. The people of this State do not yield their sovereigntySovereigntySovereignty is the quality of having supreme, independent authority over a geographic area, such as a territory. It can be found in a power to rule and make law that rests on a political fact for which no purely legal explanation can be provided...
to the agencies which serve them. The people, in delegating authorityAuthorityThe word Authority is derived mainly from the Latin word auctoritas, meaning invention, advice, opinion, influence, or command. In English, the word 'authority' can be used to mean power given by the state or by academic knowledge of an area .-Authority in Philosophy:In...
, do not give their public servants the right to decide what is good for the people to know and what is not good for them to know. The people insist on remaining informed so that they may retain control over the instruments they have created.
The Sacramento Bee said of the act:
A law to prohibit secret meetings of official bodies, save under the most exceptional circumstances, should not be necessary. Public officers above all other persons should be imbued with the truth that their business is the public’s business and they should be the last to tolerate any attempt to keep the people from being fully informed as to what is going on in official agencies. Unfortunately, however, that is not always the case. Instances are many in which officials have contrived, deliberately and shamefully, to operate in a vacuum of secrecy.
Criticisms
Supporters of the Brown Act say it still lacks enforcement, contending the law has been eroded by court decisions and government officials' efforts to block access to records. "The unfulfilled promise, I'm afraid, that 50 years has revealed, is enforcement," commented Terry Francke, of the California First Amendment CoalitionCalifornia First Amendment Coalition
The First Amendment Coalition is a nonprofit public interest organization committed to freedom of speech, more open and accountable government, and public participation in civic affairs...
, on the 50th anniversary of the bill's passage in 2003.
It should also be noted that public bodies can and have employed provisions of the Brown Act to circumvent or thwart the Act's own intended purposes. For Example, the Sacramento City Council invoked the Brown Act to delay action on an urgent matter that the citizen's had brought before that body, but which was not on the Council's regular agenda (October 11, 2011). Since the matter before the Council concerned an enforcement action currently being taken by the City Manager, it was likely that a simple informal consensus and request by the Council to the City Manager would have resulted in moratorium on further enforcement until the City Council could properly take up the matter at the following meeting. Instead, the Council chose to simply inform the citizens that under the Brown Act, they were compelled to wait an additional week before any action could be taken. In another instance, the Cal Expo Board of Directors advised a citizen to take a certain matter to a subcommittee of the Board, rather than present it to the full Board as the citizen requested. The citizen did as the Board suggested, only to find that his presentation at the subcommittee exempted the matter he wished to present from further Brown Act protection. (§ 54954.3(a).) The citizen was, thereafter, prevented from re-introducing the same subject to the full Board at a later date.
While it is clear that the Brown Act was intended to give the ordinary citizen a "seat at the table" of his or her public bodies, these examples demonstrate how the Brown act is sometimes employed to defeat its own intentions, and to take advantage of a citizen's lack of understanding of the many complexities of the Act itself.
Brown Act Sections
- Title and definitions
- Adjourned or continued meetings
- Closed sessions
- Documents at meetings are public
- Emergency situations
- Electronic Communications
- Public is not required to provide their name or any information
- No action or discussion shall be undertaken on any item not on the agenda
- Notice of meetings
- Open Meetings
- Penalty to deprive the public of information
- Public comment
- Public criticism allowed
- Recording the proceedings -You have the right
- Reports of closed session actions
- Special meetings
- Taxes
- Time limits for public testimony
- When it does apply
- When it does not apply
- Willfully interrupting a meeting
See also
- Freedom of information law in California
- Bagley-Keane ActBagley-Keane ActThe Bagley-Keene Act of 1967, officially known as the Bagley-Keene Open Meeting Act, implements a provision of the California Constitution which declares that "the meetings of public bodies and the writings of public officials and agencies shall be open to public scrutiny", and explicitly mandates...
- California Public Records ActCalifornia Public Records ActThe California Public Records Act was a law passed by the California State Legislature and signed by the Governor in 1968 requiring inpection and/or disclosure of governmental records to the public upon request, unless exempted by law.The law is similar to the Freedom of Information Act,...
- Sunshine law
- Freedom of Information ActFreedom of Information Act (United States)The Freedom of Information Act is a federal freedom of information law that allows for the full or partial disclosure of previously unreleased information and documents controlled by the United States government. The Act defines agency records subject to disclosure, outlines mandatory disclosure...
- Transparency (humanities)Transparency (humanities)Transparency, as used in science, engineering, business, the humanities and in a social context more generally, implies openness, communication, and accountability. Transparency is operating in such a way that it is easy for others to see what actions are performed...
(metaphorical term, also related to politicsPoliticsPolitics is a process by which groups of people make collective decisions. The term is generally applied to the art or science of running governmental or state affairs, including behavior within civil governments, but also applies to institutions, fields, and special interest groups such as the...
) - California government and politicsCalifornia government and politicsCalifornia government and politics may refer to:*Government of California*Politics of California...
- Conflict of interestConflict of interestA conflict of interest occurs when an individual or organization is involved in multiple interests, one of which could possibly corrupt the motivation for an act in the other....
- California First Amendment CoalitionCalifornia First Amendment CoalitionThe First Amendment Coalition is a nonprofit public interest organization committed to freedom of speech, more open and accountable government, and public participation in civic affairs...
- Californians AwareCalifornians AwareCalifornians Aware, The Center for Public Forum Rights, also known as CalAware, is a Carmichael, California based nonprofit organization established to help journalists and others keep Californians aware of what they need to know to hold government and other powerful institutions accountable for...
External links
- Link to Brown Act guide (pdf)
- Thorough discussion in the open government guide
- CFAC.org - 'California First AmendmentFirst Amendment to the United States ConstitutionThe First Amendment to the United States Constitution is part of the Bill of Rights. The amendment prohibits the making of any law respecting an establishment of religion, impeding the free exercise of religion, abridging the freedom of speech, infringing on the freedom of the press, interfering...
Coalition: Protecting & Defending California's Right to Know Since 1988' - CNPA.com - 'Ralph M. Brown Act: 1953-2003 50th Anniversary: Brown Act and Beyond'
- Contra Costa Times - 'Brown Act backers say laws need teeth', Don Thompson (AP), Contra Costa Times (July 2, 2003)
- FAS.org - 'Project on Government Secrecy', Federation of American Scientists
- VanguardNews.com - 'The Brown Act: California Codes Government Code Section 54950-54963 (August 28, 2004)
- RCFP.org - 'The Door to Open Government in California', Duffy Carolan, Esq., Selena Poon Ontiveros, Esq., The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press