Page 11 - Microsoft Word - Lozano Smith Board Member Toolkit 2025

 Response to Public Comments / Announcements: The legislative body or staff
may briefly respond to statements made or questions posed by members of the
public. Members of the legislative body or its staff may make a brief
announcement or report, refer items to staff, request staff to report back at a
subsequent meeting concerning any matter, direct staff to place a matter of
business on a future agenda, or ask a clarifying question.

Public Comment
 Each regular meeting agenda must provide an opportunity for public comment on
any agenda item, before or during the legislative body’s consideration of the item,
and on any item of interest to the public within the subject matter jurisdiction of
the legislative body. This includes a right to comment on closed session agenda
items prior to closed session.

 For special meetings, the agenda must provide an opportunity for members of the
public directly to address the legislative body concerning any item on the agenda,
including the opportunity to comment on closed session agenda items prior to
closed session; comments on items not on the agenda need not be allowed.

 Reasonable time limitations on public comment are permissible, such as time limits
per agenda item and per speaker. If a speaker requires a translator and no
simultaneous translation is available, that speaker is allowed twice the time limit
that would otherwise apply.

 The Brown Act allows photographs, audio recording, and video recording of
meetings unless it would be an actual and persistent disruption of the meeting.

Inspection of Documents and Records
Documents distributed to the board must be available for public inspection at the
meeting if prepared by the local agency, or after the meeting if prepared by some
other person. Writings distributed for closed session are exempt from public
disclosure if exempt under the Public Records Act or other applicable law.
If documents related to an agenda item are distributed to all of or a majority of the
legislative body less than 72 hours prior to the meeting, these documents must be
made available to the public. In addition, every agenda must state the location of an
office at the agency where members of the public may inspect these documents.

Closed Sessions

Closed sessions are permitted for specific purposes defined in the Brown Act.
Closed sessions are meetings conducted in private without the attendance of the
public. They are permitted only for specific purposes; courts construe the statutory
basis for closed sessions narrowly. Generally, to preserve the confidentiality of
closed sessions, only essential staff should attend a closed session.

8 Guide to Effective Governance