BILL ANALYSIS �
SENATE GOVERNANCE & FINANCE COMMITTEE
Senator Lois Wolk, Chair
BILL NO: AB 194 HEARING: 6/25/14
AUTHOR: Campos FISCAL: No
VERSION: 6/17/14 TAX LEVY: No
CONSULTANT: Ewing
LOCAL AGENCIES' OPEN MEETINGS
Amends the Brown Act on the right to give public comment
during open meetings.
Background and Existing Law
The Ralph M. Brown Act requires the meetings of local
governments' legislative bodies to be "open and public,"
thereby ensuring people's access to information so that
they may retain control over the public agencies that serve
them. Private discussions among a majority of a
legislative body are prohibited, unless expressly
authorized under the Brown Act.
State law requires every agenda for a regular meeting of a
local agency's legislative body to provide an opportunity
for members of the public to directly address the
legislative body on any item of interest to the public,
before or during the body's consideration of the item.
Every notice for a special meeting shall provide an
opportunity for members of the public to directly address
the legislative body concerning any item that has been
described in the notice for the meeting, before or during
consideration of that item.
Local agencies may adopt reasonable regulations on public
comments, including, but not limited to, limits on the
amount of time allocated for public testimony on particular
issues and for each individual speaker.
The Brown Act prevents a local agency from prohibiting
public criticism of the policies, procedures, programs, or
services of the agency, or of the acts or omissions of the
legislative body.
AB 194 -- 6/17/14 -- Page 2
Some open government advocates are concerned that the
rights of the public to comment during public meetings are
not clear and should be clarified to avoid confusion and
legal disputes over what is permitted with regard to public
comment periods.
Proposed Law
Assembly Bill 194 preserves the authority of local agencies
to adopt reasonable regulations to limit public comment,
including time limits, and clarifies that the legislative
body of a local agency, or its presiding officer or staff
shall not prevent:
Public criticism of local officials or staff acting
in their official capacity.
Public comment after an introductory presentation
has been made but before the legislative body takes
action.
Comment from a member of the public who has failed
to provide notice of their desire to comment at the
beginning of the meeting.
Public comment based on an individual's viewpoint.
Public comment by interrupting, questioning or
otherwise disrupting public comment in a way that
takes up an individual speaker's allotted time.
State Revenue Impact
No estimate.
Comments
1. Purpose of the bill . AB 194 clarifies the public's
right to comment during a public meeting, within the
reasonable regulations, including time limits, which a
local agency can establish to ensure orderly and timely
handling of the public's business. AB 194 avoids confusion
over the extent that local agencies can limit speech, and
clarifies that some procedural requirements, such as
AB 194 -- 6/17/14 -- Page 3
providing notice of a desire to speak at the beginning of a
meeting, cannot be used to prevent public comment for
individuals who may arrive late, for instance. AB 194 will
improve the ability of the public to participate in the
policymaking process and help fulfill the promise of the
Brown Act.
2. Local control . Local agencies put rules in place,
within the limits authorized by the Brown Act, to ensure
the timely and orderly progression of a public meeting
without undue delay or disruption. How those rules are
developed and enforced varies from one local agency to
another, based on the traditions and needs of each
community. If local agencies overreach on the constraints
placed on the public's right to comment, they are subject
to local accountability in a given meeting as well as at
the ballot box. The Committee may wish to consider whether
AB 194 is necessary.
3. Conflict avoidance . AB 194 amends some of the same code
sections that would be amended by AB 1330 (J.A. P�rez). If
both bills are signed into law, the changes made by the
bill that's chaptered first would be wiped out by the
changes made by the bill that's chaptered second. To avoid
the possibility that AB 194 could "chapter-out" provisions
of AB 1330, the Committee may wish to consider amending AB
194 to include the amendments that AB 1330 makes to code
sections that are being amended by both bills.
4. Related legislation . SB 1003, Yee, Chapter 732, 2012,
amended the Brown Act to establish a procedure for a
district attorney or any interested person to file a claim
with a local agency regarding an alleged Brown Act
violation, allowing for a local agency to provide an
enforceable commitment to avoid future, potential
violations, thus avoiding judicial intervention.
Assembly Actions
Assembly Local Government 6-0
Assembly Floor 46-11
Support and Opposition (6/19/14)
AB 194 -- 6/17/14 -- Page 4
Support : Unknown.
Opposition : Unknown.