BILL ANALYSIS �
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 194|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 194
Author: Campos (D)
Amended: 7/1/14 in Senate
Vote: 21
SENATE GOVERNANCE & FINANCE COMMITTEE : 5-2, 6/25/14
AYES: Wolk, Beall, DeSaulnier, Hernandez, Liu
NOES: Knight, Walters
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 46-11, 1/29/14 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : Open meetings: public criticism and comment
SOURCE : Author
DIGEST : This bill amends the Ralph M. Brown Act (Brown Act)
on the right to give public comment during open meetings, and
clarifies that the legislative body of a local agency shall not
prevent public criticism or comments, as defined.
ANALYSIS : The 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.
Existing 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
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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.
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.
This bill 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 acting in their
official capacity shall not prevent:
1. Public criticism of the policies, procedures, programs, or
services of the agency, or of the acts or omissions of the
legislative body or its officers or employees acting in their
official capacity.
2. Comment from a member of the public who has not provided
notice of their desire to comment prior to consideration of
the agenda item by the legislative body.
3. Public comment based on an individual's view point where the
comment is within the subject matter jurisdiction of the
legislative body.
This bill provides, if a legislative body limits the total
amount of time allocated for public testimony on a particular
issue or for each individual speaker, the questioning or
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interrupting of the speaker by the legislative body, its
officers or employees, and the speaker's response to questioning
shall not reduce the total time allocated for public testimony
on the particular issue or allocated for an individual speaker.
Comments
This bill 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. This bill
avoids confusion over the extent that local agencies can limit
speech, and clarifies that some procedural requirements, such as
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. This bill
improves the ability of the public to participate in the
policymaking process and help fulfill the promise of the Brown
Act.
Prior legislation
SB 1003 (Yee, Chapter 732, Statutes of 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.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: No Local:
No
SUPPORT : (Verified 7/1/14)
American Civil Liberties Union
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 46-11, 1/29/14
AYES: Alejo, Ammiano, Atkins, Bocanegra, Bonta, Bradford,
Brown, Campos, Chau, Chesbro, Cooley, Dababneh, Daly,
Dickinson, Donnelly, Fong, Garcia, Gatto, Gomez, Gonzalez,
Gordon, Gray, Hall, Roger Hern�ndez, Jones-Sawyer, Levine,
Lowenthal, Medina, Melendez, Mullin, Nazarian, Pan, V. Manuel
P�rez, Quirk, Quirk-Silva, Rendon, Ridley-Thomas, Rodriguez,
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Salas, Skinner, Stone, Ting, Weber, Wieckowski, Yamada, John
A. P�rez
NOES: Conway, Dahle, Beth Gaines, Grove, Jones, Mansoor,
Morrell, Muratsuchi, Nestande, Wagner, Waldron
NO VOTE RECORDED: Achadjian, Allen, Bigelow, Bloom, Bonilla,
Buchanan, Ian Calderon, Ch�vez, Eggman, Fox, Frazier, Gorell,
Hagman, Harkey, Holden, Linder, Logue, Maienschein, Olsen,
Patterson, Perea, Wilk, Williams
AB:d 7/2/14 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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