Page 59 - BrownActHandbook
P. 59
THE RALPH M. BROWN ACT
GOVERNMENT CODE
TITLE 5. Local Agencies
DIVISION 2. Cities, Counties, and Other Agencies
PART 1. Powers and Duties
Common to Cities, Counties, and Other Agencies
CHAPTER 9. Meetings
54950. Declaration of intent: sovereignty
In enacting this chapter, the Legislature finds and declares that the public commissions, boards
and councils and the other public agencies in this State exist to aid in the conduct of the people’s
business. It is the intent of the law that their actions be taken openly and that their deliberations
be conducted openly.
The people of this State do not yield their sovereignty to the agencies which serve them. The
people, in delegating authority, do not give their public servants the right to decide what is good
for the people to know and what is not good for them to know. The people insist on remaining
informed so that they may retain control over the instruments they have created.
54950.5. Title of act
This chapter shall be known as the Ralph M. Brown Act.
54951. Local Agency, definition
As used in this chapter, “local agency” means a county, city, whether general law or chartered,
city and county, town, school district, municipal corporation, district, political subdivision, or
any board, commission or agency thereof, or other local public agency.
54952. Legislative body, definition
As used in this chapter, “legislative body” means:
(a) The governing body of a local agency or any other local body created by state or federal
statute.
(b) A commission, committee, board, or other body of a local agency, whether permanent or
temporary, decision making or advisory, created by charter, ordinance, resolution, or formal
action of a legislative body. However, advisory committees, composed solely of the members of
the legislative body which are less than a quorum of the legislative body are not legislative
bodies, except that standing committees of a legislative body, irrespective of their composition,
which have a continuing subject matter jurisdiction, or a meeting schedule fixed by charter,
2025 Brown Act Handbook LozanoSmith.com 47
