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(1) “Disrupting” means engaging in behavior during a meeting of a legislative body that actually
disrupts, disturbs, impedes, or renders infeasible the orderly conduct of the meeting and includes,
but is not limited to, one of the following:

(A) A failure to comply with reasonable and lawful regulations adopted by a legislative body
pursuant to Section 54954.3 or any other law.

(B) Engaging in behavior that constitutes use of force or a true threat of force.

(2) “True threat of force” means a threat that has sufficient indicia of intent and seriousness, that
a reasonable observer would perceive it to be an actual threat to use force by the person making
the threat.

54957.10 Closed sessions; local agency employee application for early withdrawal of
funds in deferred compensation plan; financial hardship

Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a legislative body of a local agency may hold closed
sessions to discuss a local agency employee’s application for early withdrawal of funds in a
deferred compensation plan when the application is based on financial hardship arising from an
unforeseeable emergency due to illness, accident, casualty, or other extraordinary event, as
specified in the deferred compensation plan.

54958. Application of chapter

The provisions of this chapter shall apply to the legislative body of every local agency
notwithstanding the conflicting provisions of any other state law.

54959. Criminal penalty for violation of chapter

Each member of a legislative body who attends a meeting of that legislative body where action is
taken in violation of any provision of this chapter, and where the member intends to deprive the
public of information to which the member knows or has reason to know the public is entitled
under this chapter, is guilty of a misdemeanor.

54960. Actions to stop or prevent violations of meeting provisions; recording
closed sessions

(a) The district attorney or any interested person may commence an action by mandamus,
injunction, or declaratory relief for the purpose of stopping or preventing violations or threatened
violations of this chapter by members of the legislative body of a local agency or to determine
the applicability of this chapter to ongoing actions or threatened future actions of the legislative
body, or to determine the applicability of this chapter to past actions of the legislative body,
subject to Section 54960.2, or to determine whether any rule or action by the legislative body to
penalize or otherwise discourage the expression of one or more of its members is valid or invalid
under the laws of this state or of the United States, or to compel the legislative body to audio
record its closed sessions as hereinafter provided.

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