Page 11 - 2024 Brown Act Handbook

OVERVIEW OF THE BROWN ACT

I.
INTRODUCTION

The Brown Act, Government Code section 54950 et seq., regulates many aspects
of local public agency meetings in both open and closed sessions. The companion statute for
state agencies is the Bagley-Keene Act, Government Code section 11120 et seq. The Brown Act
and Bagley-Keene Open Meeting Act require that all meetings of legislative bodies be open to
the public, except for authorized closed sessions.

The Legislature adopted the Brown Act, commonly referred to as California’s
“Open Meetings Laws” in 1964, and substantially overhauled the Brown Act in 1993. The
Legislature periodically makes substantive and technical changes to the Brown Act. These
materials address the Brown Act and include all revisions through the 2023 Legislative session.

On November 2, 2004, the voters approved Proposition 59 which amended
section 3 of article 1 of the California Constitution to mandate that the Brown Act, Bagley-Keene
Open Meeting Act, and the California Public Records Act (Government Code § 7920.000 et
seq.) be broadly construed in furtherance of the public’s “right of access to information
concerning the conduct of the people’s business.” Proposition 59 made no substantive changes
to these Acts. (Sutter’s Place Inc. v. Superior Court (2008) 161 Cal.App.4th 1370.)

On November 4, 2014, the voters approved Proposition 42 which again amended
section 3 of article 1 of the California Constitution. Proposition 42 expands upon the
constitutional mandate of Proposition 59 by making compliance with both the Brown Act and the
Public Records Act mandatory even if the State Legislature suspends reimbursable mandates for
compliance with those laws. As with Proposition 59, Proposition 42 made no substantive
changes to these Acts.

The Brown Act is essentially a body of rules designed to ensure open government
and fairness.

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