BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                  SB 751
                                                                  Page  1

          Date of Hearing:   June 26, 2013

                       ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON LOCAL GOVERNMENT
                           K.H. "Katcho" Achadjian, Chair
                      SB 751 (Yee) - As Amended:  June 17, 2013

           SENATE VOTE  :   39-0
           
          SUBJECT  :   Meetings: publication of action taken.

           SUMMARY  :   Requires local agencies to publicly report the vote  
          of each member of their governing bodies on actions taken.   
          Specifically,  this bill  :

          1)Requires the legislative body of a local agency to publicly  
            report any action taken and the vote or abstention on that  
            action of each member present for the action.

          2)Provides that no reimbursement is required by this bill  
            because the only costs that may be incurred by a local agency  
            or school district under this bill are not reimbursable.

           EXISTING LAW  :

          1)Requires, pursuant to the Ralph M. Brown Act (Brown Act), that  
            all meetings of the legislative body of a local agency be open  
            and public, and that all persons be permitted to attend any  
            meeting of the legislative body of a local agency, except as  
            otherwise provided.

          2)Allows the legislative body of a local agency to use  
            teleconferencing in connection with any meeting or proceeding  
            authorized by law, requires teleconferenced meetings or  
            proceedings to comply with the Brown Act and all otherwise  
            applicable provisions of law relating to a specific type of  
            meeting or proceeding, and requires all votes taken during a  
            teleconferenced meeting to be taken by roll call.

          3)Prohibits any legislative body from taking action by secret  
            ballot, whether preliminary or final.

          4)Requires the following items to be posted for a minimum of 10  
            days in a public place as soon as possible after any emergency  
            meeting, which can be held in closed session: the minutes of  
            the meeting; a list of persons who the presiding officer of  








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            the legislative body, or designee of the legislative body,  
            notified or attempted to notify; a copy of the roll call vote;  
            and, any actions taken at the meeting.

          5)Requires all investment transaction decisions made during a  
            closed session held to consider the purchase or sale of  
            particular, specific pension fund investments to be made by  
            roll call vote entered into the minutes of the closed session,  
            as specified.

           FISCAL EFFECT  :   This bill is keyed fiscal.




           COMMENTS  :   

          1)According to the author, "SB 751 seeks to remedy a situation  
            where a legislative body does not report to the public the  
            individual votes of members.  Some legislative bodies only  
            report to the public the final vote, for example: 20 Ayes to  
            11 Noes.  For any member of the public who is unable to attend  
            the meeting or hearing, holding a representative or board  
            member accountable is nearly impossible.  Although the Brown  
            Act prohibits legislative bodies of a local agency from  
            conducting a vote by secret ballot, the Act is silent on the  
            reporting of individual votes to the public.  SB 751 would  
            establish a reasonable provision on Brown Act bodies to report  
            the individual votes of members on an action taken.  This will  
            ensure that when the people's business is conducted, it is  
            conducted in an open, transparent and accountable manner."   
            This bill is sponsored by the Orange County Business Council.

          2)The Brown Act requires local agencies to report the vote or  
            abstention of every member present for specified closed  
            meetings or for meetings that utilize teleconferencing.   
            However, the Brown Act does not require agencies to report the  
            vote of individual members at other public meetings, including  
            those open to the public.  This bill clarifies the Brown Act  
            to require the legislative body of a local agency to publicly  
            report any action taken and the vote or abstention on that  
            action of each member present for the action.

          3)The California Newspaper Publishers Association, in support,  
            writes, "Although the Brown Act prohibits members of a  








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            legislative body from using secret ballots when taking action,  
            it does not require members to publicly report the votes cast  
            in an open and public meeting.  The need for SB 751 arose when  
            the Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG), a large  
            government agency governed by the Brown Act, failed to conduct  
            either a roll call vote or a specific tally and report the  
            votes of each member of the board.  Consequently, constituents  
            found it difficult, if not impossible, to determine who voted  
            for or against a measure when ABAG took action.  SB 751 would  
            prevent anonymous voting by large agencies and would improve  
            the ability of the public and others who monitor legislative  
            meetings of local agencies to be certain of how members vote  
            on an issue."

           4)Support arguments  :  Supporters argue that this bill encourages  
            government transparency and makes it easier for the public to  
            determine how their elected officials are voting.

             Opposition arguments  :  Opponents could argue that existing  
            open and public meeting requirements of the Brown Act are  
            sufficient protections for the public.













           REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION  :

           Support 
           
          Orange County Business Council [SPONSOR]
          Association of California Cities, Orange County
          California Apartment Association
          California Building Industry Association
          California Business Roundtable
          California Common Cause
          California Newspaper Publishers Association








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          Inland Empire Economic Partnership
          Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce
          Los Angeles County Business Federation
          Los Angeles County Economic Development Corporation
          Orange County Taxpayer's Association
           
            Opposition 
           
          None on file

           Analysis Prepared by  :    Angela Mapp / L. GOV. / (916) 319-3958