BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 2720
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Date of Hearing: May 7, 2014
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATION
Isadore Hall, Chair
AB 2720 (Ting) - As Amended: April 2, 2014
SUBJECT : Public meetings.
SUMMARY : Requires a state body to publicly report any action
taken and the vote or abstention on that action of each member
present for the action.
EXISTING LAW
1)Requires under the Bagley-Keene open Meeting Act (Bagley Act)
that all meetings of a state body be open and public and that
all persons be permitted to attend and participate in any
meeting of a state body.
2)Defines a "state body" as each of the following:
a) Every state board, or commission, or similar multimember
body of the state that is created by statute or required by
law to conduct official meetings and every commission
created by executive order.
b) A board, commission, committee, or similar multimember
body that exercises any authority of a state body delegated
to it by that state body.
c) An advisory board, advisory commission, advisory
committee, advisory subcommittee, or similar multimember
advisory body of a state body, if created by formal action
of the state body or of any member of the state body, and
if the advisory body so created consists of three or more
persons.
d) A board, commission, committee, or similar multimember
body on which a member of a body that is a state body
pursuant to this sections serves in his or her official
capacity as a representative of that state body and that is
supported, in whole or in part, by funds provided by the
state body, whether the multimember body is organized and
operated by the state body or by a private corporation.
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3)Defines "action taken" as a collective decision by the members
of a state body, a collective commitment or promise by the
members of the state body to make a positive or negative
decision or an actual vote by the members of a state body when
sitting as a body or entity upon a motion, proposal,
resolution, order or similar action.
FISCAL EFFECT : The bill is keyed non-fiscal by Legislative
Counsel.
COMMENTS :
Purpose of the bill : According to the author, current law
requires that the meetings of state boards and commissions be
open to the public, so that their deliberations and actions are
conducted in service of the public's interest. However, there
is no specific requirement that actions taken by state boards
and commissions during regular meetings are publicly reported
and reveal vote or abstention of each member present for the
action. Consequently, there are multiple examples of state
boards and commissions that do not make this important
information readily accessible to the public. Final votes are
often reported, for example, as 20 Ayes and 10 Noes, making it
impossible to determine how individual members, who represent
different industry interests, voted on the action taken. Some
votes do not even report the final vote numerically, only
reporting whether the action passed or failed. If a member of
the public was not able to attend the meeting, then it is
impossible for that individual to be wholly informed about the
outcome of the action taken.
AB 2720 would strengthen California's commitment to open and
transparent governance by requiring all state boards and
commissions to count, identify, and publicly disclose all votes
on actions taken during meetings. This bill will ensure that
the public has complete information about the decisions made by
state bodies, so they are held accountable to the public
interest.
Bagley-Keene Act : When the Legislature enacted the Bagley-Keene
Act of 1967 it essentially said that when a body sits down to
develop its consensus, there needs to be a seat at the table
reserved for the public. In doing so, the Legislature has
provided the public with the ability to monitor and be part of
the decision-making process. The Bagley Act explicitly mandates
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open meetings for California State agencies, boards, and
commissions. It facilitates transparency of government
activities and protects the rights of citizens to participate in
state government deliberations. Therefore, absent a specific
reason to keep the public out of meetings, the public should be
allowed to monitor and participate in the decision-making
process. Similarly, the California's Brown Act of 1953 protects
citizen's rights to open meetings at the local and county
government levels.
Ralph M. Brown Act (Brown Act) : While the Bagley Act ensures
open meetings at the state level, the Brown Act governs open
meetings at the local level. Last year, the Legislature
unanimously approved and the Governor signed SB 751 (Yee), which
guaranteed that local agencies publicly report the vote of each
member of their governing bodies on actions taken. AB 2720 will
make conforming changes to the Bagley Act to ensure that all
state boards and commissions are similarly held accountable to
the public they serve.
Arguments in support : The California Taxpayers Association
(CalTax) states that all levels of government need to continue
to promote a transparent government. Empowering people to
engage in government allows them to become stakeholders in the
political process. Giving access, in turn, allows people to see
how their government is run, and how policymakers' decisions
will impact their lives.
The California Newspaper Publishers Association states that the
need for AB 2720 arose when several state agencies governed by
the Bagley Act, failed to conduct either a roll call vote or a
specific tally and report the votes of each member of the
boards. Consequently, constituents found it difficult, if not
impossible to determine who voted for or against a measure when
the agencies took action. AB 2720 would prevent anonymous
voting by large agencies and would improve the ability of the
public and others who monitor legislative meetings of state
agencies to be certain of how members vote on an issue. The
costs associated with the implementation of AB 2720 would be
minimal because the task of identifying how a member votes is a
simple one requiring little, if any, effort by the agency to
perform.
Related legislation : AB 2058 (Wilk), 2013-2014 Legislative
session. The bill would modify the definition of "state body" to
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clarify that standing committees, even if composed of less than
three members, are a "state body" for the purposes of the Bagley
Act. (Pending in Assembly Appropriations Committee)
Prior legislation : SB 751 (Yee), Chapter 257, Statutes of 2013.
The bill required local agencies to publicly report any action
taken and the vote or abstention of each member of a legislative
body.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
California Newspaper Publishers Association
California Taxpayers Association
Opposition
None on file
Analysis Prepared by : Felipe Lopez / G. O. / (916) 319-2531