by Jack McCurdy
The Ralph M. Brown Act, commonly known as the Brown Act, is California's open meeting law, and over the years since it was adopted by the California Legislature in 1953 (Brown Act), there undoubtedly have been many claimed and actual violations of this state law governing public bodies. Residents will have an opportunity later this month to hear all about the Brown Act and how it can affect their knowledge of what goes on in their city.
Morro Bay is no exception to accusations — informal that is, and rarely a formal, legal charge of a violation.
A very recent accusation was that the Morro Bay City Council violated the Brown Act by placing on its meeting agenda a proposal to appoint two residents to a committee that the Council established to select a project manager to oversee the development of a new Water Recycling Facility (previously known as a wastewater treatment plant) that Morro Bay is required by the state to undertake. And then in that meeting, the Council changed the number of appointees to five and approved the five, instead of two that the agenda provided for. City attorney Rob Schultz denied an accusation sent to him by email that it represented a Brown Act violation, and no legal charge has been filed.
But the Council did hold another meeting where the appointment of five residents to the Committee was on the agenda, not two, and the five were approved, which Schultz said "cured" the situation.
Coincidentally, the Council has scheduled a Brown Act study session on Tuesday, May 21, starting at 6 p.m. at the Vets Hall. Council member Noah Smukler said idea of the study sessions was a suggestion from city staff when mayor Jamie Irons inquired about options to engage the public in deeper dialog on key issues of interest outside of the traditional Council meeting format.
"The Brown Act session is in response to public input and the Council's interest in hearing concerns and further implementing adjustments to our policies/procedures to respect the Brown Act and increase transparency," Smukler said. "Mayor Irons has already expanded public comment to every item (at Council meetings), and we have adjusted our closed session practices (example: harbor leases start in open session, a more strict interpretation of what is justifiably worthy of closed session).
In commenting on the study session, Schultz said that "each and every year, I conduct Brown Act training for the Council and all the (city) boards and commissions. Sometimes, I conduct the training one on one with new Council members, commissioners or board members.
"Sometimes, I go to each board or commission meeting and conduct the training at the meeting. Other times, I have done a city-wide Brown Act study session/training. This year, I decided to do a city-wide Brown Act training because there have been some issues raised regarding the Brown Act that need to be discussed, explained and vetted. There have also been a lot of questions raised regarding potential conflict of interests and city policies, so I will also be going over those areas of the law. For the Brown Act Study Session, I will be going over the law and answering questions and taking comments much like we did for the harbor lease sites."
The Ralph M. Brown Act was an act of the California State Legislature, authored by Assembly member Ralph M. Brown and passed in 1953, guaranteeing 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 (Brown_Act).
California's Open Meeting Law: The Ralph M. Brown Act describes many facets of how the Act is applied.
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. See (§§ 54953(a), 54953(c), 54960.1 (d ).
