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Home My WebLink AboutMINUTES - 02152005 - C30 ti CONTRA TOO BOARD OF SUPERVISORS • COSTA, FROM: John Sweeten,County Administrator COUNTY DATE. February 15,2005 09 SUBJECT.* Remedies for Brown Act Violations SPECIFIC REQUEST(S)OR RECOMMENDATION(S)& BACKGROUND AND JUSTIFICATION RECOMMENDATION OPPOSE AB 194 (Dymally) which would change current law which requires that a legislative body have an opportunity to cure or correct an alleged Brown Act violation before the District Attorney or an interested party can commence legal action on the alleged violation. (Government Code §54960.1 Brown Act compliance), as recommended by County Administrator's Office. BACKGROUND/REASON(n FOR RECOMMENDATION. Existing law requires, with specified exceptions, that all meetings of a legislative body of a local agency be open and public and all persons be permitted to attend (Ralph M. Brown Act). Current law allows for the District Attorney or any other interested person to take legal action against the legislative body to render an action of the body as null and void, if the action was in violation of the Brown Act. The law also requires, however, that the legislative body must be given the opportunity to cure or correct the alleged violation prior to commencement of the legal action. AB 194 (Dymally) would remove the requirement that the District Attorney or interested party must make a demand that the legislative body cure or correct alleged Brown Act violations prior to commencement of the legal action and would further remove provisions that preclude specified actions involving bond sales, tax collection, and issuance of contracts from being determined null and void. AB 194 would remove an important opportunity for Boards of Supervisors and other legislative bodies governed by the Brown Act to modify or reverse an action that would otherwise result in what could be lengthy and time- consuming litigation for all parties. Requiring that legislative bodies be given the opportunity to cure or correct a violation is more in the spirit of good government and helps avoid the acrimony and expense of litigation. Since current law allows for litigation after the legislative body has had the opportunity to cure or correct the alleged violation, the appropriate due process remedy is already in place. CONTINUED ON ATTACHMENT: YES SIGNATURE: RECOMMENDATION OF COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR RECOMMENDATION OF BO EE Z;WPPROVE OTHER SIGNATURE(S): ACTION OF BOAZA:r- hjn2 APPROVED AS RECOMMENDED '-'000r VOTE OF SUPERVISORS I HEREBY CERTIFY THAT THIS IS A UNANIMOUS(ABSENT TRUE AND CORRECT COPY OF AN AYES: NOES: ACTION TAKEN AND ENTERED ABSENT: ABSTAIIi. ON MINUTES OF THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS ON THE DATE SHOWN. Contact: Sara Hofirnan,3364090 ATTESTED ............. cc: CAO N SWEETE-U. RK OF Nielsen-Merksamer THE BOARD OF S PERVISORS County Counsel COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR 7 BY - 50= DEPUTY CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE-2oo5-o6 REGULAR SESSION ASSEMBLY BILL No. 194 Introduced by Assembly Member Dymally January 27, 2005 An act to amend Section 54960.1 of the Government Code,relating to open meetings. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST AB 194, as introduced, Dymally. Brown Act violations: remedy. The Ralph M. Brown Act requires, with specified exceptions, that all meetings of a legislative body of a local agency be open and public and all persons be permitted to attend. The act authorizes the district attorney or any interested person to commence an action for a judicial determination that an action of a legislative body of a local agency taken in violation of the act is null and void but requires that the body have an opportunity to cure or correct the alleged violation prior to commencement of the legal action. The act provides that an action of the body alleged to violate specified provisions of the act shall not be determined to be null and void if the action was taken in substantial compliance with those provisions and in other specified circumstances. This bill would remove the requirement that the legislative body be allowed to cure or correct an alleged violation prior to commencement of a legal action and would remove provisions that preclude specified actions from being determined to be null and void. Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no. State-mandated local program: no. 99 AB 194 —2 The people of the State of California do enact as follows: I SECTION 1. Section 54960.1 of the Government Code is 2 amended to read: 3 54960.1. (a) The district attorney or any interested person 4 may commence an action by mandamus or injunction for the 5 purpose of obtaining a judicial determination that an action taken 6 by a legislative body of a local agency in violation of SY e e-tt n f-1 7T f- .. ft. 0 ft�Q-W) a. * ) . this al4adpw 46iQ Qizatigua I�IsgAA%" 8 chapter is null and void %W 9 -Uall Jume eon&tr *g% a IRPANO e--F%*PA %"K.&"F LVJ. 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IQ 22 4L:LLL%O LO L WX L11%.1 23 kA-,y TWIL11,11 ftila %ol"Yo M-L L%,,%-,%,,'F WAX 24 100%dy sliall Pawe or eorreet itan 0=4 inrerm *Lim, %,%.&,L %I 11AAW 25 "I L t;"*%g af:its se""ans to etwe or eorreet oir %j.L .9 L i not to e 26 F ia 31-4'"14 a Pit:it 27 lm. 28 - i&Wsm11 alviLin .acj a Jeetsion-ftet to etwe or 29 LW%1LAWJLAq� 30 eomet tlfted. ellax"alz IL en sa e iJ a—A JLJL.& T&%J.LW.Lk k"'I 31.L"JLJL 31 eemmeftee 'IL.Le a"%P#it itax eJ i4a Q a fla,4 i;'Ai Q i OR aia= 4:60 Ul Jaw "JL1L%01K LJLL%O ft-FW-%A" 32 eommeftee to rtm 'LA-Le` "that,F a 4 *LWA tooltwe o J 33 eorreet 34 4A� AAT"Lin Ic Jews al: reetaipt a;c 41-e ;,a--:"en fietfimee, WA.L t"Hwe 171 TVALAJLAIA A-' 35 ]qg%4;qF,- r *Iq %4VV.&0.RWJL.L L.., eure or eortreet,, War not to eure o WJL LAA%.f %,1MFXJLL&&AW1JL WJL LLJL%O �rzi g%4 36 eorLr,,p,.%P..*L,, Or;,Vvi"AiRin Iftrif dffFs oi:4-1-im PIC44415 :ZO "At .7&3 37 m 1LJLL%,*%A%11A1L&1.L%JLA1-L5 FCLJL L.7 OL 99 3 AB 194 1 2 . wisia 4 ' } } } } 5 f ` • . r w 1 • r } } iia-1- -*"pn* ar Q ereernen'41-er-&O. 12 1 it . r 14 r r 15 ` FJL } 16 r %J 17ei : 18 (A 2216 p 2 PILAMIX L"Z%,V LLJL%IVLAW&A VVItAX LLJL%of %O%J11%ofVt1W11 M-L ^19' �4 9 21 22 z3 . + } } ! } 24 25 z7 . 28 • 29 } 30 . . 315 F"'Otttfflt to r 32 L&LOSUMI tow Saub"d L ("a� iz:tufa ena-vt s'eterrmn } LM 33 34 } + }!r% Jana Ueen eureiA or eemeted. * 3 35 } } . -a 3f w } 3 • 38VU- 39 (v i 'The fact that a legislative body takes a subsequent action to 4o cure or correct an action shall not 99 AB 194 —4 preclude a judicial 2 determination that a violation of this chapter has occurred. 0 99