California Legislature—2013–14 Regular Session

Assembly BillNo. 2492


Introduced by Assembly Member Jones-Sawyer

February 21, 2014


An act to amend Section 54956.8 of the Government Code, relating to local government.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 2492, as introduced, Jones-Sawyer. Local agencies: meetings: real property transactions.

Existing law, the Ralph M. Brown Act, requires all meetings of the legislative body of a local agency to be open and public, with specified exceptions. Existing law authorizes a legislative body of a local agency, after holding an open and public session as specified, to hold a closed session with its negotiator prior to the purchase, sale, exchange, or lease of real property by or for the local agency to grant authority to its negotiator regarding the price and terms of payment for the purchase, sale, exchange, or lease.

This bill would instead authorize the legislative body to hold a closed session to grant authority to the negotiator regarding the price and terms of the purchase, sale, exchange, or lease.

Existing constitutional provisions require that a statute that limits the right of access to the meetings of public bodies or the writings of public officials and agencies be adopted with findings demonstrating the interest protected by the limitation and the need for protecting that interest.

This bill would make legislative findings to that effect.

Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no. State-mandated local program: no.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

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SECTION 1.  

Section 54956.8 of the Government Code is
2amended to read:

3

54956.8.  

Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter,
4a legislative body of a local agency may hold a closed session with
5its negotiator prior to the purchase, sale, exchange, or lease of real
6property by or for the local agency to grant authority to its
7negotiator regarding the price and termsbegin delete of paymentend delete for the
8purchase, sale, exchange, or lease.

9However, prior to the closed session, the legislative body of the
10local agency shall hold an open and public session in which it
11identifies its negotiators, the real property or real properties which
12the negotiations may concern, and the person or persons with whom
13its negotiators may negotiate.

14For purposes of this section, negotiators may be members of the
15legislative body of the local agency.

16For purposes of this section, “lease” includes renewal or
17renegotiation of a lease.

18Nothing in this section shall preclude a local agency from holding
19a closed session for discussions regarding eminent domain
20proceedings pursuant to Section 54956.9.

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SEC. 2.  

The Legislature finds and declares that Section 1 of
22this act, which amends Section 54956.8 of the Government Code,
23imposes a limitation on the public’s right of access to the meetings
24of public bodies or the writings of public officials and agencies
25within the meaning of Section 3 of Article I of the California
26Constitution. Pursuant to that constitutional provision, the
27Legislature makes the following findings to demonstrate the interest
28protected by this limitation and the need for protecting that interest:

29Local agencies increasingly are entering into more sophisticated
30and complex real estate transactions requiring the negotiation of
31nonmonetary terms outside the scope of the “price and terms of
32payment” that constitute valuable consideration. A local agency
33must be authorized to consider all of the terms of a real estate
34transaction in closed session in order to preserve its negotiating
35position so as to strike the best bargain in the public interest.



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