California Attorney General Opinion 23-102

Citations

• 107 Ops.Cal.Atty.Gen. 47

Syllabus

QUESTIONS: The Ventura Chamber of Commerce hosted an annual breakfast at which the mayor, who is a member of the city council, delivered a \State of the City\ address. Members of the public could attend the event in person, but only if they purchased a ticket from the chamber of commerce. There was no other way for the public to watch the address in real time. Given this context, the questions presented are: 1. If a majority of the members of the city council were to attend the event described above, would that event constitute a \meeting\ of the city council within the scope of the Brown Act under Government Code section 54952.2(a)? 2. Would the Brown Act exception for conferences or similar gatherings set forth in Government Code section 54952.2(c)(2) apply to such an event? 3. Would the Brown Act's exception for \community meetings\ set forth in Government Code section 54952.2(c)(3) apply to such an event? CONCLUSIONS: 1. Yes. If a majority of the members of the city council were to attend the event described above, that event would constitute a congregation of a majority of the councilmembers at the same time and location to hear—and potentially discuss—an item within their subject matter jurisdiction. As such, the event would constitute a \meeting\ of the city council within the meaning of Government Code section 54952.2(a), and the meeting would have to comply with the open-meeting requirements of the Brown Act, unless a statutory exception applies. 2. No. The event as described consisted of a single speech by a single official regarding the state of a single city. As such, it would not satisfy the Brown Act exception for conferences and similar gatherings set forth in Government Code section 54952.2(c)(2) because that exception involves a discussion of issues of general interest to the public or to public agencies of the type represented by the city council. 3. No. The Brown Act exception for community meetings set forth in Government Code section 54952.2(c)(