Since 1953, the state of California has used the Brown Act to hold local government agencies accountable and ensure that local citizens and press members have access to public meetings. The Brown Act has been revisited many times since 1953 and received frequent updates to keep up with changing technology. While the Brown Act is relevant to members of the public, it is also extremely important to those in the publishing industry.
What is the Brown Act?
While the Ralph M. Brown Act includes many provisions to detail and explain the rights of the public, its main intent can be neatly summed up. Under this act, legislative meetings of local agencies are to be open and public, and anyone should be able to attend these meetings. The Brown Act does allow for closed, private meetings in certain circumstances—for the most part, however, it strives to keep local government transparent and accountable.
Media Participation in Meetings
One aspect of the Brown Act is public participation in legislative meetings. Not only must these meetings be open to the public, attendees and members of the press must be allowed to participate in them. Participation includes attendance, broadcasting, recording, and commenting. This provision makes it easier for newspapers and other members of the media to share the content of meetings and prevent important decisions from being made in secret.
Special and Emergency Meetings
The Brown Act is applicable to regularly scheduled legislative meetings, including those held at set dates, times, and locations. However, it is also applicable to both special and emergency meetings. Special meetings are those called by the legislative body or presiding officer to discuss specific topics and agenda items. A notice of a special meeting must be delivered to local newspapers in general circulation at least 24 hours in advance. Emergency meetings are held to discuss items that require prompt action to prevent disruption to public facilities. If a news publication requests notice of special meetings, they must receive notice of an emergency meeting at least one hour in advance.
Exceptions to the Brown Act
To be held to the Brown Act, a gathering must be considered a meeting. Individual contacts between legislative members and other people are not considered meetings. The Brown Act does not apply to conferences or gatherings open to the public that are attended by legislative members. Similarly, community meetings held by non-governmental organizations—even if they’re attended by members of legislative bodies—are not held to the Brown Act. A gathering can quickly become a violation of the Brown Act if attending legislative members discuss or take action on legislative items while attending.
Technology and the Brown Act
Each type of technology that fosters communication challenges the Brown Act and forces legislators to determine its limits and applications. Consider email. If members of legislative bodies forward and reply to emails relating to legislative items, that chain of emails quickly becomes a “meeting” under the Brown Act if it involves a majority of members. Electronic communication, including participation in comments of news articles, blog post comments, or Internet forums, can also lead to an unintentional Brown Act violation.
Members of the press are often the first to identify and call out violations of the Brown Act, a move that upholds the principles of the act and allows the public to stay well-informed. If you’re struggling with governmental agencies that are prone to Brown Act violations, contact us today.