Page 16 - 2026 Lozano Smith Brown Act Handbook

a. General Definition. Any congregation of a majority of the members of a
legislative body at the same time and place to hear, discuss, or deliberate upon any item that is
within the subject matter jurisdiction of the legislative body of the local agency to which it
pertains.

(Government Code § 54952.2(a); 103 Ops.Cal.Atty.Gen 42 (2020))

2. Meetings Can Occur Through the Use of Intermediaries.

A “meeting” includes any use of direct communication, personal intermediaries,
or technological devices, such as email, that are employed by a majority of the members of the
legislative body to discuss, deliberate, or take action on any item that is within the subject matter
jurisdiction of the legislative body. A “collective concurrence” is not necessary to be considered
a meeting. Agency employees and officials can still provide information to and answer
questions of legislative body members, provided that the employee or official does not
communicate to members of the legislative body the comments or position of any other member
or members of the legislative body.

(Government Code § 54952.2(b); Golightly v. Molina (2014) 229 Cal.App.4th 1501; Page v.
MiraCosta Community College District (2009) 180 Cal.App.4th 471; Wolfe v. City of Fremont
(2006) 144 Cal.App.4th 533, overruled in part by SB 1732; 103 Ops.Cal.Atty.Gen 42 (2020); 84
Ops.Cal.Atty.Gen. 30 (2001).)

3. Meetings Do Not Include:

a. Individual Contact. Individual contacts or conversations between a
member of a legislative body and any other person.

b. Public Conferences. Attendance of a majority at conferences that are open
to the public and involve a discussion of general interest to the public or public agencies of that
agency’s type, provided the majority does not discuss local agency business among themselves,
other than as part of the scheduled program. A single agency conference, with primary speech
by a single agency official, such as the mayor or superintendent, will not meet this exception.

c. Community Meetings. Attendance of a majority at a publicized meeting
organized to address a topic of local community concern by a person or organization other than
the local agency, provided the majority does not discuss local agency business among
themselves, other than as part of the scheduled program. The community meeting exception may
not apply if members of the public are required to purchase a ticket to attend the meeting.

d. Other Local Agency Meetings. Attendance of a majority at an open and
noticed meeting of another body of the local agency, or at an open and noticed meeting of a
legislative body of another local agency, provided the majority does not discuss local agency
business among themselves, other than as part of the scheduled meeting.

e. Social Gatherings. Attendance of a majority at a purely social or
ceremonial occasion, providing that no local agency business is discussed.

4 LozanoSmith.com 2026 Brown Act Handbook