Ralph Milton Brown was a member of the California State Assembly

California State Assembly

The California State Assembly is the lower house of the California State Legislature. There are 80 members in the Assembly, representing an approximately equal number of constituents, with each district having a population of at least 420,000...

 representing the 30th State Assembly district

California's 30th State Assembly district

California's 30th State Assembly district is one of 80 districts in the California State Assembly. It is currently represented by Republican David Valadao of Hanford.-District profile:...

 from 1943 to 1961. Born in Kentucky

Kentucky

The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth...

 and a resident of Modesto, California

Modesto, California

Modesto is a city in, and is the county seat of, Stanislaus County, California. With a population of approximately 201,165 at the 2010 census, Modesto ranks as the 18th largest city in the state of California....

, he was Speaker of the Assembly from January 1959 until he resigned in September 1961 to accept appointment to the California Courts of Appeal, Fifth Appellate District Court. He is best known for writing the Brown Act

Brown Act

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....

, California's first sunshine law, providing for increased public access to government meetings, which was enacted in 1953.