The Brown Act: New Transparency Regulations in California

What is the Brown Act?

The Brown Act, also referred to as California’s Open Meeting Law, requires any meeting held by a legislative body to be open and transparent to the public.

A meeting under this act is defined as the majority of the members meeting to “hear, discuss, deliberate, or take action on an item.” If a council has five members, and three (or more) of them are gathering at the same time and place to discuss action items, this meeting is subject to the rules of the Brown Act.

All meetings held must also have a notice and an agenda, so that citizens are aware of and can choose to attend the meeting.

The law requires any action taken in meetings of legislative bodies to be publicly reported. This means each Board member’s vote must be recorded and reported so that it is transparent to the public.

Any business transacted in meetings that violate this law may be voided.  

Who does it apply to?

• Governing bodies of a local agency
• Local bodies created by state or federal law
• Local agencies such as counties, cities, and school districts
• Legislative bodies of each agency such as boards, commissions, committees, or task forces
• Standing committee of a covered board
• Governing bodies of non-profit corporations formed by a public agency

What does it require?

• Legislative bodies must report how each individual member votes on an action during a public meeting, and record the vote in meeting minutes.
• Meetings must be transparent and open to the public.
• In order for a meeting to take place, a notice and an agenda must be posted to ensure the public can access the meeting.
• The media must be notified, and are allowed to record and broadcast the meeting.
• All votes must be public; secret ballots are not allowed.

Electronic Voting and the Brown Act

After revisions to the Brown Act became effective, many public agencies began reviewing the tools they use to manage their public meetings. The requirements of the law make it more difficult for agencies to manage their agendas, track votes, and post counted votes in a time-efficient way.

The use of an electronic voting system can reduce much of the stress associated with these new procedures. By using electronic voting devices at a public meeting, votes are instantly tabulated and published in reports that are posted to the community. 

Each voting keypad is issued to the appropriate board or agency voter. The user’s identity is associated with the voting device.  The system can display the voters name and vote on the public screen on each question during the meeting.  This eliminates delays with roll-calls and manual tallies on each motion or question.

Matthew Richardson explains the importance of the transparency and ethics regulations provided by the Brown Act: