BILL ANALYSIS
AB 1494
Page 1
CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS
AB 1494 (Eng)
As Amended June 4, 2009
Majority vote
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|ASSEMBLY: |73-0 |(May 14, 2009) |SENATE: |34-0 |(July 9, 2009) |
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Original Committee Reference: G.O.
SUMMARY : Amends the Bagley-Keene Open Meeting Act's
(Bagley-Keene Act) definition of "meeting" to address a recent
court order decision affecting serial meetings of public bodies,
which are prohibited under existing law.
The Senate amendments clarify that any individual contact or
conversation between a member of a state body and any person
considered to be part of the related business of a legislative
body of a state agency is a violation of the Bagley-Keene Act.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Establishes the Bagley-Keene Act and requires that all
meetings of a state body, with specified exceptions, be open
and public and all persons be permitted to attend any meeting
of a state body.
2)Covers all state boards and commissions. Requires these
bodies to publicly notice their meetings, prepare agendas,
accept public testimony and conduct their meetings in public
unless specifically authorized by law to meet in closed
session.
3)Defines "meeting" to include any congregation of a majority of
the members of a state body at the same time and place to
hear, discuss, or deliberate upon any item that is within the
subject matter jurisdiction of the state body to which it
pertains.
4)Prohibits a majority of the members of a state body from using
a series of communications of any kind, directly or through
intermediaries, to discuss, deliberate, or take action on any
item of business that is within the subject matter of the
state body.
AB 1494
Page 2
5)Specifies the contacts, conferences, and other types of
gatherings that are excluded from the prohibition, as noted,
in 4) above.
AS PASSED BY THE ASSEMBLY , this bill:
1)Clarified that an employee or official of a state agency can
engage in a separate conversation or communication with a
member of a legislative body of a state agency for the purpose
of answering questions or providing information regarding a
matter that is business pertaining to the subject matter
jurisdiction of the state agency.
2)Repealed the prohibition regarding the use of direct
communication, personal intermediaries, or technological
devices employed by a majority of the members of a state body
to develop a collective concurrence.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Senate Appropriations
Committee, pursuant to Senate Rule 28.8, negligible state costs.
COMMENTS : This bill would make the Bagley-Keene Act's serial
meeting prohibition identical to the Ralph M. Brown Open Meeting
Law (Brown Act)-the counterpart to the Bagley-Keene Act that is
applicable to local government bodies.
Analysis Prepared by : Rod Brewer / G. O. / (916) 319-2531
FN: 0001774