Despite issuing an additional notice and agenda for a March 12
town hall forum, the San Juan Bautista City Council still violated
California’s open meetings law, California Newspaper Publishers
Association legal advisor Jim Ewert said.
Despite issuing an additional notice and agenda for a March 12 town hall forum, the San Juan Bautista City Council still violated California’s open meetings law, California Newspaper Publishers Association legal advisor Jim Ewert said.
“The city attorney is overlooking a pretty important part of the agenda requirement in the Brown Act,” Ewert said.
Ewert explained a detailed agenda must be filed for items that are discussed and acted upon in meetings.
The Brown Act, the state’s open meeting law, requires public officials to post an agenda and description on all discussion and action items, according to the law. It refers to all matters under the government entity’s jurisdiction.
“The body must post an agenda containing a brief general description of each item to be discussed or transacted at the meeting,” according to the law, which goes on, ” The Act makes it clear that discussion items must be placed on the agenda, as well as items which may be the subject of action by the body.”
The alternative notice and agenda doesn’t comply with the Brown Act for the same reason as the original document handed out at the meeting – it’s insufficient, Ewert said.
“You have to put on the agenda items that will be transacted or discussed,” he said.
City Attorney George Thatcher contended that the second notice and agenda was compliant with the Brown Act.
Below is video from the meeting.
