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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCC AG PKT 2009-10-12 #AAGENDA STAFF REPORT DATE: SeptembeY 28, 2009 October 12, 2009 TO: Honorable Mayor and City Council FROM: David Carmany. City Manager SUBJECT: REVIEW OF COUNCIL RULES OF PROCEDURE, SUMMARY OF REQUEST: Mayor Shanks has requested the City Council review the Council Rules of Procedure that set forth the order of business during City Council meetings (Attachment A). Staff has prepared a Council Policy for City Council review. BACKGROUND: On October 27th, 2003, the Seal Beach City Council adopted resolution #5179 (copy attached) that included a section that outlined the agenda order of business. Mayor Shanks has requested this matter be placed on the agenda to consider revising the policy and order of business. FISCAL IMPACT There is no fiscal impact. RECOMMENDATION: Discuss and take appropriate action. Attachments: A) Resolution No. 5919 establishing Council Rules of Conduct - Policy 100 -03 B) Resolution No. 5179 - Council Policy 100 -03 - October 27, 2003 C) Redline version D) Comments submitted E) Government Code Section 54950 -54963 (known as the Ralph M. Brown Act) - Penal Code Section 403 - Seal Beach City Charter Section 406 Agenda Item A Attachment A Resolution Number 5919 Council Policy 100 -03 - Council Rules of Conduct RESOLUTION NUMBER 5919 A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SEAL BEACH ESTABLISHING COUNCIL RULES OF PROCEDURE THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SEAL BEACH DOES HEREBY RESOLVE AS FOLLOWS: Section 1. The City Council hereby adopts the policy attached hereto as Attachment A. Attachment A is hereby incorporated by this reference. Section 2. The City Council hereby repeals Resolution Number 5179. PASSED, APPROVED AND ADOPTED by the City Council of Seal Beach, at a meeting hereof held on the 12th day of October . 2009 by the following vote: AYES: COUNCILMEMBERS NOES: COUNCILMEMBERS ABSENT: COUNCILMEMBERS ABSTAIN: COUNCILMEMBERS Mayor ATTEST: City Clerk STATE OF CALIFORNIA } COUNTY OF ORANGE } SS CITY OF SEAL BEACH } I, Linda Devine, City Clerk of the City of Seal Beach, California, do hereby certify that the foregoing resolution is the original copy of Resolution Number 5919 on file in the office of the City Clerk, passed, approved, and adopted by the City Council of the City of Seal Beach, at a regular meeting held on the 12th day of October , 2009. City Clerk Attachment "A" CITY OF SEAL BEACH Council Policy SUBJECT COUNCIL RULES OF CONDUCT SECTION INDEX NO. ISSUANCE: REVISION COUNCIL CITY DATE APPROVAL MANAGER 100 03 Res #5919 Res #5179 Res #4792 approval 10/12/09 10/27/03 3/13/2000 N/A 1. SCOPE The successful operation of a municipality requires that standards be established to define the roles, responsibilities and expectations of the governing board and staff in the operation of the organization. These standards will promote communication, understanding and trust among members of the City Council, the public and City staff concerning their roles, responsibilities and expectations, and public participation in the process. 2. PURPOSE AND INTENT This policy establishes rules of decorum for Council /staff interaction and procedure for orderly conduct of City Council meetings, special meetings, and study sessions. Due to the informal nature of workshops, study sessions and joint meetings, the presiding officer may deviate from these rules, provided all deviations comply with the Brown Act. The establishment and periodic review of these City Council rules will help protect free speech and civil discourse and facilitate the orderly, efficient conduct of productive, issue -based City Council meetings. 3. MEETING POLICY These rules are designed to comply with the City Charter and applicable state law, including the Ralph M. Brown Act ( "Brown Act "), and apply to all meetings of the City Council and Redevelopment Agency. Unless otherwise stated, reference to the City Council shall also include the Redevelopment Agency. When these rules refer to the Mayor and Council Members, the term shall also include Chair and Members of the Redevelopment Agency. Any act that the Mayor is authorized to perform may be performed by the Mayor Pro Tern in the Mayor's absence, or by the Vice Chair of the Redevelopment Agency in the Chair's absence. 1 of 12 (100 -03) City Council Meetings will be conducted according to Article IV of the City Charter, provisions of the Government Code that pertain to holding meetings in public (Section 54950 - 54963, the Brown Act), and Robert's Rules of Order, Newly Revised, if the Charter, the Brown Act or these Rules do not address a subject. 4. ORDER OF BUSINESS A. Matters will be heard in the order printed on the City Council agenda. However, with Council approval, the City Council may hear agenda items out of their prescribed order on the printed agenda, if a large number of the public are present to speak on that specific agenda item, or if the City Council otherwise determines that it is in the public interest to change the order of the agenda. The appropriate time to rearrange the order of the agenda is while considering the approval of the agenda. B. At the time the Council considers approval of the agenda, the Council may approve a request by the City Manager to change the Order of Business. C. At anytime during a council meeting, Council Members may request an item be placed on a future council agenda. If a majority of the Council consents to the request, the item will be placed on a subsequent agenda. In addition, the Mayor may place items on the next council agenda at any time that complies with the Brown Act's posting of agenda requirements. D. Prior Approval by Administrative Staff. All ordinances, resolutions and contract documents shall, before presentation to the Council, be 1) examined and approved as to form and legality by the City Attorney and 2) examined and approved for administration by the City Manager. E. Reading of Minutes. Unless a member of the Council requests a reading of the minutes, the minutes may be approved without reading if the City Clerk has previously furnished each member with a copy. Directions for changes in the minutes shall be made only by a majority action of the City Council. 5. CLOSED SESSIONS A. Purpose. It is the policy of the City Council to conduct local government business at open and public meetings, except in certain limited situations as authorized by California State law. Examples of business that may be conducted in closed session include personnel evaluations, threats to public safety, labor negotiations, pending litigation, real estate negotiations, and consideration of a response to an audit report from the Bureau of State Audits. 2 of 12 (100 -03) B. Rule of Confidentiality. The City Council recognizes that breaches in confidentiality can severely prejudice the City's position in litigation, labor relations and real estate negotiations. Further, breaches of confidentiality can create a climate of distrust among Council Members and can harm the Council's ability to communicate openly in closed sessions, thereby impairing the Council's ability to perform its official duties. City Council Members will keep. all written materials and verbal information properly provided to them in closed session in complete confidence to ensure that the City's position is not compromised. No mention of information in these materials will be made to anyone other than Council Members, the City Attorney and /or -the City Manager, except where authorized by a majority of the City Council. C. The City Council further recognizes that confidentiality of discussions and documents are at the core of a closed session. Confidentiality is essential if the closed session is to serve its purpose. Therefore, the City Council will adhere to a strict policy of confidentiality of closed sessions. D. Breach of Rule of Confidentiality. No person who attends a closed session may disclose any statements, discussions, documents or votes made in a closed session unless the city council authorizes the disclosure. Violations can be addressed through injunctions, disciplinary action, and referral to the grand jury. E. Closed session business shall be described on the public agenda. Public comment on closed session items will be allowed before convening the closed session. After a closed session, the city council will convene the public meeting and publicly report certain types of actions if they were taken, and the vote on those actions. 6. CITY COUNCIL MEETING RULES OF ORDER A. Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised shall govern the proceedings of the City Council in all instances not addressed by the Charter, Brown Act or these City Council Rules of Procedure. B. Rules of Debate 1. Presiding officer may engage in discussion and council votes. The presiding officer (Mayor) may move, second, and debate from the chair, subject only to such limitations of debate as are by these rules imposed on all members and shall not be deprived of any of the rights and privileges of a Council Member by reason for his /her acting as the presiding officer. 2. Getting the Floor -- Improper References shall be avoided. Every member desiring to speak shall address the Chair, and, upon recognition by the presiding officer, shall confine himself /herself to the question under debate, avoiding all personalities and indecorous language. 3of12 (100 -03) 3. Interruptions. A member, once recognized, shall not be interrupted when speaking unless it is to cAll him /her to order, or as otherwise provided in these rules. If a member, while speaking, is called to order, he /she shall stop speaking until the question of order is determined, and, if in order, he /she shall be permitted to proceed. 4. Motion to reconsider. Other than adoption of resolutions of final actions in quasi - judicial proceedings, a motion to reconsider action taken by the Council may be made only on the date action was taken or at the next subsequent meeting. It may be made whether immediately during the same session, or at a recessed or adjourned session. This motion must be made by one of the prevailing side, but may be seconded by any member, and may be made at any time and have precedence over all other motion or while a member has the floor; it is debatable. Nothing in these rules prevents a member of the Council from making or remaking the same =of any other motion at a subsequent meeting of the Council. 5. Remarks of Council Member - When Entered in Minutes. A Council Member may request, through the presiding officer, the privilege of having an abstract of his statement on any subject under consideration by the Council entered in the minutes. 6. Limitation of Debate. No Council Member shall be allowed to speak more than once upon a particular subject until every other Council Member desiring to do so have spoken. 7. Each Council Member shall limit his or her comments to 15 minutes on each item on the agenda. 7. RULES OF DECORUM A. Remarks during Council meetings. No person shall make impertinent, slanderous, libelous, personal or profane remarks or who becomes boisterous during a City Council meeting shall be called to order by the presiding officer. B. The presiding officer will use his or her discretion to enforce these rules. Council Members and staff will be polite. Even under tense situations, all speakers shall refrain from the use of profanity, impolite or disrespectful remarks and offensive gestures, either towards a City Council Member, staff or the public. C. Public remarks. 1. The City encourages the public to participate in every public meeting conducted by the City. Any member of the public may directly address the Council on any item of interest to the public, or any item on the agenda, 4 of 12 (100 -03) during the portion of the agenda entitled, "Oral Communications." In addition, any member of the public may provide testimony at any public hearing. Consistent with the City's established policy, all comments shall be civil. Pursuant to the Brown Act, the Council cannot take action on or discuss any item not appearing on the posted agenda. 2. Each person desiring to address the Council shall approach the podium and when recognized by the Chair shall step to the microphone, state the subject he /she wishes to discuss, state whom he /she is representing if he /she represents an organization or other persons, and, unless further time is granted by majority vote of the Council, shall limit his /her remarks to no more than 5 minutes. In certain matters, the Chair may limit remarks to 3 minutes. In order to effectively enforce the time limit, the Mayor Pro Tern will monitor the time for each speaker and inform the Council when the time limitation has been reached. The presiding officer will strictly enforce the time limit in order to ensure that all members of the public have an opportunity to speak and that the Council is able to complete the public's business. Individual speakers may not use the allocation of other persons. Individual speakers may not speak twice on the same item. All remarks shall be addressed to the Council as a body, and not to any member thereof. No person other than the speaker may speak without the permission of and through the presiding officer. 3. Speakers shall refrain from attacking character or motives of any person. The presiding officer, subject to appeal to the Council, shall be the judge of whether speakers are impugning character or motives. 4. The presiding officer shall not recognize the same person to speak more than once on the same subject except at the discretion of the City Council unless that person is deemed to be able to give expert advice needed by the Council in their deliberations. C. Spokesman for Group of Persons. In order to expedite matters and to avoid repetitious presentations, any group of persons wishing to address the Council on the same subject matter is encouraged to choose a spokesman to address the Council. D. Relevancy. At public hearings, speakers shall confine their remarks to those that are relevant to the subject of the hearing. The presiding officer, subject to appeal to the Council, shall be the judge of relevancy. E. Members of the Audience. 1. A person in the audience who engages in disorderly conduct such as stamping of feet, whistling, using profane language, yelling, or any other type of demonstration, the conduct of which disturbs the peace and good order of the meeting, or who refuses to comply with the lawful orders of the presiding officer, shall, upon instructions from the presiding officer, be removed from the Council Chambers by the Sergeant at Arms. 5of12 (100 -03) 2. It is the policy of the Council that all members of the public have the right to address the Council and that right includes the right to make remarks that members of the City Council may find critical, unpleasant, or even offensive. The Brown Act states that the Council "shall not prohibit public criticism of the policies, procedures, programs or services of the City or the acts or omission of the City Council." However, the. Brown Act also provides that nothing in such provision "shall confer any privilege or protection for expression beyond that otherwise provided by law." Moreover, the Brown Act also recognizes it is also important that a proper standard of behavior be maintained during meetings and that the City Council is able to complete the public's business in a timely manner. Therefore, the public should respect the order, procedures, and decorum of City Council meetings. Persons addressing the City Council shall adhere to time limits, should not make slanderous, personal, impertinent, or obscene remarks, shall not disrupt the conduct of the meeting, and shall not make threats against any person or the public order. The Presiding officer shall enforce this rule of decorum. F. City Council Remarks. 1. Council Members will address the public and staff in a courteous manner. While the Council is in session, the members must preserve order and decorum, and a member shall neither by conversation or otherwise delay or interrupt the proceedings or the peace of the Council nor disturb a member while speaking or refuse to obey the orders of the presiding officer. Members of the Council shall not leave their seats during the meeting without first obtaining the permission of the presiding officer. 2. Respect for each individual Council Member's interpersonal style will be a standard of operation. Courtesy and respect for individual points of view will be a standard of operation. All City Council Members will respect each other's right to disagree. All City Council Members will expect a high degree of decorum and courtesy during the City Council meetings, both among Council Members and towards the public and staff. 3. Council members may discuss non - agenda items under any of the following exceptions. Council Members may briefly respond to statements made or questions posed by persons once the presiding officer closes Oral Communications. In addition, on his or her own initiative or in response to questions posed by the public, a Council Member may ask a question for clarification, make a brief announcement, or make a brief report on his or her own activities. Furthermore, the Council may provide a reference to staff or other resources for factual information, request staff to report back to the Council at a subsequent meeting concerning any matter, or take action to direct staff to place a mater of business on a future agenda. 4. Council Members will address the public and staff in a courteous manner. Council Members shall not make hostile remarks or engage 6 of 12 (100 -03) in debate with a member of the public or staff at a Council meeting, since these types of debates seldom resolve concerns and many times inflame feelings. If a speaker from the public personally attacks or "pushes the buttons" of a Council Member, the presiding officer may ask the staff for input, if appropriate. If a speaker from the public makes inflammatory or erroneous statements, after the conclusion of the public input, the presiding officer will then provide each Council Member with the opportunity to briefly respond. Harsh words stir up anger; a gentle answer turns away wrath. 5. Council Members shall keep open minds on all issues prior to deliberation immediately prior to a vote. Council Members shall base their decisions in quasi - judicial matters upon the evidence, including testimony presented at the public hearing. 6. There will be no "grandstanding" on any issue. "Grandstanding" refers to the misuse of the grandstand, or Council dais. It is the use of individual Council seat on the Council dais in a disrespectful and inappropriate manner to state a point of view in a negative manner. Negative manner includes: personally attacking another Council Member, staff or member of the public, walking off the Council dais or leaving any meeting in anger or disgust; emphasizing a political point of view solely for the purpose of playing to the audience unrelated to the issue before the Council; using the dais for a strictly personal purpose; addressing the media for political purposes rather than addressing the Council as a body, or purposely misstating the facts of an issue for political purposes. 7. The City Council respects the decision of the City Council is made by the majority and not by an individual City Council Member. Members who are in the minority on an issue will respect the authority of the majority. Members who are in the majority will respect the right of the minority to express their disagreement with the majority after making his /her position known for the record, must respect the decision of the majority. G. Comments regarding city employees. Council Members shall not make comments regarding personnel matters related to the performance of any City employee, nor make any slanderous, libelous, personal, or profane remarks about any City employee during a City Council meeting. H. Consent Calendar. During consideration of approval of the agenda: 1. A Council Member may remove items listed on the Consent Calendar for individual consideration. 2. Upon request by the City Manager, City Attorney or member of the public, the presiding officer may remove items listed on the Consent Calendar for individual consideration. 7of12 (100 -03) I. Employees. Members of the City staff and employees shall observe the same rules of order and decorum applicable to the City Council. Members of the City staff may leave their seats during a meeting without first obtaining the permission of the presiding officer. J. Enforcement of Decorum. The Chief of Police, or such member of the police department as he /she may designate, shall be Sergeant at Arms of the City Council and shall carry out all orders given by the presiding officer for the purpose of maintaining order and decorum at the Council meetings. A Council Member may move to require the presiding officer to enforce the rules and the affirmative vote of a majority of the Council shall require him /her to do so. K. Violation of the Rules of Decorum. Upon violation of the rules of decorum, the established procedure to enforce the rules shall be as follows: 1. Warning. Any person making impertinent, slanderous, libelous, personal or profane remarks or who becomes boisterous during a City Council meeting shall be called to order by the presiding officer. The presiding officer shall first request that a person who is violating the rules cease such conduct. If, after receiving a request from the presiding officer, the person persists in violating the rules, the presiding officer shall order a recess. Any representative of law enforcement who is present at the meeting when any violations occur shall be authorized to warn the person that his /her conduct is violating the rules and that he /she is requested to cease such conduct. If upon resumption of the meeting the violation persists, the presiding officer shall order another recess, whereupon the presiding officer shall have the authority to ask the law enforcement personnel to remove the person from the meeting and /or to cite the person as being in violation of Penal Code Section 403. 2. Motion to Enforce. If the presiding officer fails to enforce the rules of decorum set forth herein, any Council Member may move to require the presiding officer to do so, and an affirmative vote of a majority of the Council shall require the presiding officer to do so. If the presiding officer fails to carry out the majority of the Council in this matter, the majority may designate another Council Member to act as presiding officer for the limited purpose of enforcing the rules of decorum established herein. 3. Clearing the Room. Pursuant to Government Code Section 54957.9, in the event that any meeting is willfully interrupted by a person or groups of persons so as to render the orderly conduct of such meeting unfeasible and order cannot be restored by the removal of the individuals who are willfully interrupting the meeting, by a majority vote of the City Council, the meeting room may be ordered cleared and the meeting shall continue in session. Representatives of the press or other news media, except those participating in the disturbance, shall be allowed to attend any session pursuant to the Government Code Section 54957.9. Nothing in this section shall prohibit the Council from readmitting an individual or individuals not responsible for willfully disturbing the orderly conduct of the meeting. 8of12 (100 -03) 4. Violation of the California Penal Code. Any person who, without authority of law, willfully disturbs or breaks up any meeting, is guilty of a misdemeanor and may be prosecuted under Penal Code Section 403 for disturbing a public meeting. 8. VOTING A. Failure to Vote. Every Council Member present shall vote unless he disqualifies himself by reason of conflict of interest. An abstention is an indication that a Council Member does not wish his /her position to become known, or he /she has no preference of position on the issue. For purposes of action of the Council, an abstention shall neither be counted for the majority nor for the minority and shall therefore have the effect in result of the vote when counted, as though no vote were cast. The recorded and published vote, however, shall show the abstention. B. Tie Vote. Tie votes shall be lost motions and may be reconsidered. C. Changing Vote. A member may change his vote only if he makes a timely request to do so immediately following the announcement of the vote by the City Clerk and prior to the time that the next item in the order of business is taken up. A Council Member who publicly announces that he is abstaining from voting on a particular matter may not subsequently withdraw his abstention. 9. COUNCIL MEETING TIME LIMITS A. Establishing Meeting Time Limit. The City Council shall not consider any new agenda item after 11:00 p.m. at any meeting. No later than 10:45 p.m. the City Council shall determine by a vote thereof to continue the meeting until the remaining agenda items are resolved, or reschedule the remaining items to a date certain prior to, the next meeting, or continue the items until the next meeting. B. Final Adjournment Hour. The City Council shall adjourn any meeting no later than 11:59 p.m. on the date of said meeting. C. Waiver of Adjournment Time. The Council may waive these time limits by majority vote. 10. CITY COUNCIL RELATIONSHIP WITH CITY STAFF A. Article III of the City Charter provides that the City of Seal Beach operates under the Council- Manager form of government; Article VI of the City Charter defines the duties of the City Manager. Section 406 of the City Charter 9 of 12 (100 -03) says that neither the City Council nor any of its members shall interfere with the execution by the City Manager of his /her duties. B. The City Council is the City's policy- making body and the City Manager administers the Council's policies. The Council holds the City Manager responsible for the administration of the City departments. The overall internal administration by the City Manager is necessary in order to assure efficient and economic operations of the various departments pursuant to the Council's direction. The practices of each department are subject to review and approval by the City Manager. C. Except for purposes of inquiry, the City Council and its members shall deal with the administrative service solely through the City Manager and shall not give orders to any subordinate of the City Manager, either publicly or privately. D. All Council Member requests for written reports or research shall be addressed to the City Manager. The City Manager shall inform all Council Members a Council Member has requested informational material. Any Council Member may request a copy of any written material provided to the requesting Council Member. City Council Members should contact the City Manager as early as possible if they desire to have any additional written material prior to a City Council meeting. If a Council Member has questions, needs clarification, or needs additional material, he or she will advise the City Manager as early as possible before a City Council meeting so the staff can meet his or her needs. E. Council shall not attempt to coerce or direct staff in the performance of their duties. F. City Council agenda reports should be provided to the City Council as early as possible before a meeting but no later than the Friday before that City Council meeting. Staff reports will give professional input on the issue, including areas of potential controversy and concern, will try to present all sides of an issue, and will recommend areas for discussion and decision by the City Council. G. Once a decision is made by the Council, it will be fully supported, accepted and implemented by staff. H. Any concerns by a Council Member over the performance of a City employee should be discussed privately with the City Manager. City Council Members shall refrain from engaging in personal attacks on staff at any time. 11. INDIVIDUAL COUNCIL MEMBER'S REQUESTS OF CITY STAFF A. Any project requested by an individual Council Member must be authorized by the City Manager. If the City Manager deems the project to be outside the bounds of Council's work program, the Council Member making the 10 of 12 (100 -03) request may bring the request to the full Council for modification of the work program. Staff responses to requests for written information from one Council Member shall be copied to all Council Members. B. The Council shall recognize that the primary functions of City staff are to execute Council policy, and to keep the Council informed. . C. Council Members may make routine requests for information through the appropriate department head. Complex or comprehensive requests shall be made through the City Manager. D. Council Members may make requests for work to be done through the City Manager. E. Council Members shall not attempt to pressure or influence staff decisions, recommendations, workloads, schedules or department priorities without the prior knowledge and approval of the Council majority. F. Council Members as well as the Council as a whole shall be permitted complete freedom of access to any information requested of staff, and shall receive the full cooperation and candor of staff in being provided with any requested information. Council Members shall make routine requests for information through the appropriate department head. G. An exception to the above guidelines may be staff work required in support of a Council Member designated by the City Council to represent the City in an intergovernmental role (e.g., membership on Joint Powers Authority), or relative to a special assignment (e .g., a special task force) 12. TIMELY RESPONSE City staff will make every effort to respond in a timely and professional manner to all requests made by individual Council Members for information or assistance, provided that, in the judgment of the City Manager the request is not of a magnitude, either in terms of workload or policy, which would require that it more appropriately be assigned to staff through the collective direction of the City Council. In terms of making this judgment, the following guidelines should be considered: The request should be specific and limited in scope so that staff can respond without altering other priorities and with only minimal delay to other assignments; the request should only impose a "one- time" work requirement, as opposed to an on -going work requirement; the response to the request should not require a significant allocation of staff resources (generally defined as consisting of more than one staff person, or a single staff person working on the issue in excess of 1 -2 hours). 11 of 12 (100 -03) 13. DIRECTION FROM COUNCIL Staff is obligated to take guidance and direction only from the Council as a whole or from the appropriate management superiors as may be the case. Staff is directed to reject any attempts by individual members of the Council to unduly influence or otherwise pressure them into making, changing or. otherwise suppressing staff decisions or recommendations, or changing departmental work schedules and priorities. Staff shall report such attempts to influence them in confidence to the City Manager, who may inform the Council as a whole of such attempts. 14. ISSUANCE Approved by City Council October 12, 2009 by Resolution No. 5919 12 of 12 (100 -03) Attachment B Resolution Number 5179 Council Policy 100 -03 Council Meeting Procedural Rules CITY OF SEAL BEACH Council Policy SUBJECT COUNCIL MEETING PROCEDURAL RULES SECTION INDEX NO. ISSUE DATE REVISION DATE COUNCIL CM APPROVAL Res #5179 APPROVAL 100 3 10/27/03 3/13/2000 ( #4792) , N/A 1. SCOPE For City Council Agenda Sessions. 2. PURPOSE AND INTENT To establish procedural rules for conduct of City Council meetings. 3. POLICY The following procedural rules for conduct of City Council meetings are: .1 Regular Meetings. Regular meetings of the City Council shall be held on the second and fourth Monday of each month at 7:00 p.m. (Established by Ordinance Number 1056 — City Charter Section 407). .2 Regular Adjourned Meetings. The City Council may adjourn or readjourn to a date and hour, certain which shall be specified in the adjournment and when so adjourned each adjourned meeting shall be a regular meeting for all purposes. (City Charter Section 407). .3 Special Meetings. Special meetings may be called at any time by the mayor, or by a majority of the City Council, by delivering personally or by mail, facsimile or other electronic transmission written notice to each councilman and to each local newspaper of general circulation, radio or television station requesting notice in writing. Notice must be delivered at least 24 hours before the time of the meeting as specified in the notice. The call and notice shall specify the time and place of the special meeting and the business to be transacted. No other business shall be considered. Written notice may be dispensed with as to any councilman who at or prior to the time the meeting convenes files with, the City Clerk a written waiver of notice. Such waiver may be given by telegram. Written notice may also be dispensed with as to any councilman who is actually present at the meeting at the time it convenes. (Reference City Charter Section 408). 1 of 6 (100 -03) .4 Meetings to be Public -- Exception for Closed Sessions. All regular and special meetings of the City Council shall be public. However, the City Council may hold closed sessions during a regular or special meeting, from which the public may be excluded, for the purpose of considering the matters referred to in Government Code Sections 54950 et seq. No member of the City Council, employee of the City, or any other person present during a closed session of the Council shall disclose to any person the content or substance of any discussion which took place during the closed session unless the City council authorizes the disclosure of the information by majority vote. .5 Order of Business. a) Call to Order b) Pledge of Allegiance c) Roll Call d) Approval of Agenda e) Oral Communications f) Reports from Staff g) Council Comments h) Presentations /Proclamations i) Council Items j) Consent Calendar k) Items Removed from the Consent Calendar 1) New Business m) Public Hearings n) Closed Session o) Adjournment The order of business shall not be changed except by majority vote of the City Council. .6 Waiver of Reading - Ordinances and Resolutions in Full. Full reading of all ordinances and resolutions adopted at a regular or adjourned meeting may be waived by unanimous vote of the City Council by one motion (e.g. during approval of the consent calendar). Any member of the public may request full reading of resolutions or ordinances with consent of the Council. (City charter Section 412). .7 Ordinances. Prior Approval by Administrative Staff. All ordinances, resolutions and contract documents shall, before presentation to the Council, be approved as to form and legality by the City Attorney and examined and approved for administration by the City Manager or his representative. 2of6 (100 -03) .8 Reading of Minutes. Unless a reading of the minutes of a council meeting is requested by a member of the Council, the minutes may be approved without reading if the City Clerk has previously furnished each member with a copy. Directions for changes in the minutes shall be made only by a majority action of the City Council. .9 Rules of Debate. a) Presiding officer may debate and vote, etc. The Mayor or other member of the council presiding may move, second, and debate from the chair, subject only to such limitations of debate as are by these rules imposed on all members and shall not be deprived of any of the rights and privileges of a councilmember by reason for his /her acting as the presiding officer. b) Getting the Floor -- Improper References to be Avoided. Every member desiring to speak shall address the chair, and, upon recognition by the presiding officer, shall confine himself to the question under debate, avoiding all personalities and indecorous language. c) Interruptions. A member, once recognized, shall not be interrupted when speaking unless it is to call him to order, or as otherwise provided in these rules. If a member, while speaking, is called to order, he shall stop speaking until the question of order is determined, and, if in order, he shall be permitted to proceed. d) Motion to reconsider. A motion to reconsider action taken by the Council may be made only on the date action was taken or at the next subsequent meeting. It may be made whether immediately during the same session, or at a recessed or adjourned session. This motion must be made by one of the prevailing side, but may be seconded by any member, and may be made at any time and have precedence over all other motion or while a member has the floor; it is debatable. Nothing in these rules prevents a member of the Council from making or remaking the same of any other motion at a subsequent meeting of the Council. e) Remarks of Councilmember — When Entered in Minutes. A councilmember may request, through the presiding officer, the privilege of having an abstract of his statement on any subject under consideration by the Council entered in the minutes. f) Limitation of Debate. No councilmember shall be allowed to speak more than once upon a particular subject until every other councilmember desiring to do so has spoken. g) Council members shall limit their comments under City Council Items to no more than fifteen (15) minutes each and such time limit shall also be imposed on other City Council agenda items. 3of6 (100 -03) .10 Consent Calendar. Items on the Consent Calendar are considered to be routine and are enacted by one motion unless prior to approval of the agenda, a member of the Council, staff or public, requests a specific item be removed from the Consent Calendar for separate action. .11 Manner of Addressing Council. a) Each person desiring to address the Council shall approach the podium and when recognized by the chair shall step to the microphone, state his /her name and address for the record, state the subject he /she wishes to discuss, state whom he /she is representing if he /she represents an organization or other persons, and, unless further time is granted by majority vote of the Council, shall limit his /her remarks to no more than 5 minutes. All remarks shall be addressed to the Council as a whole and not to an individual member. No question shall be asked of a councilmember or a member of the City staff without the permission of the presiding officer. b) The presiding officer shall not recognize the same person to speak more than once on the same subject except at the discretion of the City Council unless that person is deemed to be able to give expert advice needed by the Council in their deliberations. c) Spokesman for Group of Persons. In order to expedite matters and to avoid repetitious presentations, whenever any group of persons wishes to address the Council on the same subject matter, the presiding officer may request that a spokesman be chosen by the group to address the Council and, in case additional matters are to be presented by any other member of the group, to limit the number of persons addressing the Council. d) After Motion. After a motion is made by a councilmember, it may be seconded for discussion, and such discussion limited by council members, or to include discussion by the public, and the second shall so state. Discussion on the subject shall then be limited to the Council unless a Council majority requests that hearing from the public is in order at that time. Hearing from the public shall be closed by order of the chairman and thereafter no member of the public shall interrupt or address the Council from the audience on the matter under consideration without first securing permission to do so by a majority vote of the City Council. .12 Rules of Decorum. a) Council members. While the Council is in session, the members must preserve order and decorum, and a member shall neither by conversation or otherwise delay or interrupt the proceedings or the peace of the Council nor disturb a member while speaking or refuse to obey'the orders of the presiding officer. 4of6 (100 -03) b) Employees. Members of the City staff and employees shall observe the same rules of order and decorum applicable to the City Council. Members of the City staff may leave their seats during a meeting without first obtaining the permission of the presiding officer. c) Persons Addressing the Council. A person making impertinent, slanderous, or profane remarks or who becomes boisterous while addressing the Council shall be called to order by the presiding officer and, if such conduct continues, may at the discretion of the presiding officer be ordered barred from further audience before the Council during that meeting. d) Members of the Audience. A person in the audience who engages in disorderly conduct such as stamping of feet, whistling, using profane language, yelling, or any other type of demonstration, the conduct of which disturbs the peace and good order of the meeting, or who refuses to comply with the lawful orders of the presiding officer, shall, upon instructions from the presiding officer, be removed from the Council Chambers by the Sergeant at Arms. .13 Enforcement of Decorum. The Chief of Police, or such member of the police department as he may designate, is Sergeant at Arms of the City Council and shall carry out all orders given by the presiding officer for the purpose of maintaining order and decorum at the Council meetings. A councilmember may move to require the presiding officer to enforce the rules and the affirmative vote if a majority of the Council shall require him /her to do so. (Reference City Charter Section 410). .14 Failure to Vote. Every councilmember present shall vote unless he disqualifies himself by reason of conflict of interest. An abstention is an indication that a councilmember does not wish his /her position to become known, or he /she has no preference of position on the issue. For purposes of action of the Council, an abstention shall neither be counted for the majority nor for the minority and shall therefore have the effect in result of the vote when counted, as though no vote were cast. The recorded and published vote, however, shall show the abstention. 15 Tie Vote. Tie votes shall be lost motions and may be reconsidered. .16 Changing Vote. A member may change his vote only if he makes a timely request to do so immediately following the announcement of the vote by the City Clerk and prior to the time that the next item in the order of business is taken up. A councilmember who publicly announces that he is abstaining from voting on a particular matter may not subsequently withdraw his abstention. .17 Establishing Meeting Time Limit. The City Council shall not consider any new agenda item after 11:00 p.m. at any meeting. No later than 10:45 p.m. the City Council shall determine by a vote thereof to continue the 5of6 (100 -03) meeting until the remaining agenda items are resolved, or reschedule the remaining items to a date certain prior to, the next meeting, or continue the items until the next meeting. .18 Final Adjournment Hour. The City Council shall adjourn any meeting no later than 11:59 p.m. on the date of said meeting. .19 Waiver of Adjournment Time. The provisions of Sections 17 and 18 may be waived for any individual item only I upon a majority vote of the City Council. 4. ISSUANCE Approved by City Council March, 13, 2000 by Resolution No. 4792 6 of 6 (100 -03) Attachment C Redline Version Redline Version CITY OF SEAL BEACH Council Policy SUBJECT COUNCIL RULES OF CONDUCT SECTION INDEX NO. ISSUANCE REVISION DATE COUNCIL CM APPROVAL Res #5919 Res #5179 APPROVAL 100 3 10/12/09 10/27/03 3/13/2000 ( #4792) N/A 1. SCOPE The successful operation of a municipality requires that standards be established to define the roles, responsibilities and expectations of the governing board and staff in the operation of the organization. These standards will promote communication, understanding and trust among members of the City Council, the public and City staff concerning their roles, responsibilities and expectations, and public participation in the process. 2. PURPOSE AND INTENT This policy establishes rules of decorum for Council /staff interaction and procedure for orderly conduct of City Council meetings, special meetings, and study sessions. Due to the informal nature of workshops, study sessions and joint meetings, the presiding officer may deviate from these rules, provided all deviations comply with the Brown Act. The establishment and periodic review of these City Council rules will help protect free speech and civil discourse and facilitate the orderly, efficient conduct of productive, issue -based City Council meetings. POLICY 3. MEETING 1 of 17 (100 -03) Redline Version • _ 1 . A r= -- U NO .. ._ - _. -_ -- ,- . - -- :- - .- -- 2 A - - - - -- W. A. A r= -- U NO .. ._ - _. -_ -- ,- . These rules are designed to comply with the City Charter and applicable state law, including the Ralph M. Brown Act ( "Brown Act "), and apply to all meetings of the City Council and Redevelopment Agency. Unless otherwise stated, reference to the City Council shall also include the Redevelopment Agency. When these rules refer to the Mayor and Council Members, the term shall also include Chair and Members of the Redevelopment Agency. Any act that the Mayor is authorized to perform may be performed by the Mayor Pro Tem in the Mayor's absence, or by the Vice Chair of the Redevelopment Agency in the Chair's absence. City Council Meetings will be conducted according to Article IV of the City Charter, provisions of the Government Code that pertain to holding meetings in public (Section 54950 - 54963, the Brown Act), and Robert's Rules of Order, Newly Revised, if the Charter, the Brown Act or these Rules do not address a subject. 2 of 17 (100 -03) Redline Version � . . . r ■ 4. ORDER OF BUSINESS A. Matters will be heard in the order printed on the City Council agenda. However, with Council approval, the City Council may hear agenda items out of their prescribed order on the printed agenda, if a large number of the public are present to speak on that specific agenda item, or if the City Council 3 of 17 (100 -03) Redline Version otherwise determines that it is in the public interest to change the order of the agenda. The appropriate time to rearrange the order of the agenda is while considering the approval of the agenda. B. At the time the Council considers approval of the agenda, the Council may approve a request by the City Manager to change the Order of Business. C. At anytime during a council meeting, Council Members may request an item be placed on a future council agenda. If a majority of the ,Council consents to the request, the item will be placed on a subsequent agenda. In addition, the Mayor may place items on the next council agenda at any time that complies with the Brown Act's posting of agenda requirements. D. Prior Approval by Administrative Staff. All ordinances, resolutions and contract documents shall, before presentation to the Council, be 1) examined and approved as to form and legality by the City Attorney and 2) examined and approved for administration by the City Manager. E. Reading of Minutes. Unless a member of the Council requests a reading of the minutes, the minutes may be approved without reading if the City Clerk has previously furnished each member with a copy. Directions for changes in the minutes shall be made only by a majority action of the City Council. 5. CLOSED SESSIONS A. Purpose. It is the policy of the City Council to conduct local government business at open and public meetings, except in certain limited situations as authorized by California State law. Examples of business that may be conducted in closed session include personnel evaluations, threats to public safety, labor negotiations, pending litigation, real estate negotiations, and consideration of a response to an audit report from the Bureau of State Audits. B. Rule of Confidentiality. The City Council recognizes that breaches in confidentiality can severely prejudice the City's position in litigation, labor relations and real estate negotiations. Further, breaches of confidentiality can create a climate of distrust among Council Members and can harm the Council's ability to communicate openly in closed sessions, thereby impairing the Council's ability to perform its official duties. City Council Members will keep all written materials and verbal information properly provided to them in closed session in complete confidence to ensure that the City's position is not compromised. No mention of information in these materials will be made to anyone other than Council Members, the City Attorney and /or the City Manager, except where authorized by a majority of the City Council. 4of17 (100 -03) Redline Version C. The City Council further recognizes that confidentiality of discussions and documents are at the core of a closed session. Confidentiality is essential if the closed session is to serve its purpose. Therefore, the City Council will adhere to a strict policy of confidentiality of closed sessions. D. Breach of Rule of Confidentiality. No person who attends a closed session may disclose any statements, discussions, documents or votes made in a closed session unless the city council authorizes the disclosure. Violations can be addressed through injunctions, disciplinary action, and referral to the grand jury. E. Closed session business shall be described on the public agenda. Public comment on closed session items will be allowed before convening the closed session. After a closed session, the city council will convene the public meeting and publicly report certain types of actions if they were taken, and the vote on those actions. NO, 5 of 17 (100 -03) r111 111. I W M, =:-- . -- I ff NO, 5 of 17 (100 -03) M, =:-- . -- I ff FIRM- NO, 5 of 17 (100 -03) M, =:-- . -- I ff OWN NO, 5 of 17 (100 -03) Redline Version ON 6. CITY COUNCIL MEETING RULES OF ORDER A. Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised shall govern the proceedings of the City Council in all instances not addressed by the Charter, Brown Act or these City Council Rules of Procedure. B. Rules of Debate 1. Presiding officer may engage in discussion and council votes. The presiding officer (Mayor) may move, second, and debate from the chair, subject only to such limitations of debate as are by these rules imposed on all members and shall not be deprived of any of the rights and privileges of a Council Member by reason for his /her acting as the presiding officer. 2. Getting the Floor — Improper References shall be avoided. Every member desiring to speak shall address the Chair, and, upon recognition by the presiding officer, shall confine himself /herself to the question under debate, avoiding all personalities and indecorous language. 3. Interruptions. A member, once recognized, shall not be interrupted when speaking unless it is to call him /her to order, or as otherwise provided in these rules. If a member, while speaking, is called to order, he /she shall stop speaking until the question of order is determined, and, if in order, he /she shall be permitted to proceed. 4. Motion to reconsider. Other than adoption of resolutions of final actions in quasi-judicial proceedings, a motion to reconsider action taken by the Council may be made only on the date action was taken or at the next subsequent meeting. It may be made whether immediately during the same 6 of 17 (100 -03) Redline Version session, or at a recessed or adjourned session. This motion must be made by one of the prevailing side, but may be seconded by any member, and may be made at any time and have precedence over all other motion or while a member has the floor; it is debatable. Nothing in these rules prevents a member of the Council from making or remaking the same of any other motion at a subsequent meeting of the Council. 5. Remarks of Council Council Member may request, through having an abstract of his statement on Council entered in the minutes. Member - When Entered in Minutes. A the presiding officer, the privilege of any subject under consideration by the 6. Limitation of Debate. No Council Member shall be allowed to speak more than once upon a particular subject until every other Council Member desiring to do so have spoken. 7. Each Council Member shall limit his or her comments to 15 minutes on each item on the agenda. 7 of 17 (100 -03) goft ww�w�r3Srr��AwhwrMe. 7 of 17 (100 -03) goft 7 of 17 (100 -03) Redline Version ) (' eUAGil m mher While the G While in a crier. the member+ a��-ry anon- �-rt�rn.-r�$ �c$vTVrr -cl� c.�rrcmv�T.a- rrrcrus most r etheFwise eF inteFFu'p^t the er the the pFe6Pedings peace of ' - A - - - IN - - N-IN - - MO. - i ON - - -- A, - - - ff 9.= - - - NO - 7. RULES OF DECORUM A. Remarks during Council meetings. No person shall make impertinent, slanderous, libelous, personal or profane remarks or who becomes boisterous during a City Council meeting shall be called to order by the presiding officer. 8of17 (100 -03) - MO. - i ON - - -- A, 7. RULES OF DECORUM A. Remarks during Council meetings. No person shall make impertinent, slanderous, libelous, personal or profane remarks or who becomes boisterous during a City Council meeting shall be called to order by the presiding officer. 8of17 (100 -03) Redline Version B. The presiding officer will use his or her discretion to enforce these rules. Council Members and staff will be polite. Even under tense situations, all speakers shall refrain from the use of profanity, impolite or disrespectful remarks and offensive gestures, either towards a City Council Member, staff or the public. C. Public remarks. 1. The City encourages the public to participate in every public meeting conducted by the City. Any member of the public may directly address the Council on any item of interest to the public, or any item on the agenda, during the portion of the agenda entitled, "Oral Communications." In addition, any member of the public may provide testimony at any public hearing. Consistent with the City's established policy, all comments shall be civil. Pursuant to the Brown Act, the Council cannot take action on or discuss any item not appearing on the posted agenda. 2. Each person desiring to address the Council shall approach the podium and when recognized by the Chair shall step to the microphone, state the subject he /she wishes to discuss, state whom he /she is representing if he /she represents an organization or other persons, and, unless further time is granted by majority vote of the Council, shall limit his /her remarks to no more than 5 minutes. In certain matters, the Chair may limit remarks to 3 minutes. In order to effectively enforce the time limit, the Mayor Pro Tem will monitor the time for each speaker and inform the Council when the time limitation has been reached. The presiding officer will strictly enforce the time limit in order to ensure that all members of the public have an opportunity to speak and that the Council is able to complete the public's business. Individual speakers may not use the allocation of other persons. Individual speakers may not speak twice on the same item. All remarks shall be addressed to the Council as a body, and not to any member thereof. No person other than the speaker may speak without the permission of and through the presiding officer. 3. Speakers shall refrain from attacking character or motives of any person. The presiding officer, subject to appeal to the Council, shall be the judge of whether speakers are impugning character or motives. 4. The presiding officer shall not recognize the same person to speak more than once on the same subject except at the discretion of the City Council unless that person is deemed to be able to give expert advice needed by the Council in their deliberations. C. Spokesman for Group of Persons. In order to expedite matters and to avoid repetitious presentations, any group of persons wishing to address the Council on the same subject matter is encouraged to choose a spokesman to address the Council. 9 of 17 (100 -03) Redline Version D. Relevancy. At public hearings, speakers shall confine their remarks to those that are relevant to the subject of the hearing. The presiding officer, subject to appeal to the Council, shall be the judge of relevancy. E. Members of the Audience. 1. A person in the audience, who engages in disorderly conduct such as stamping of feet, whistling, using profane language, yelling, or any other type of demonstration, the conduct of which disturbs the peace and good order of the meeting, or who refuses to comply with the lawful orders of the presiding officer, shall, upon instructions from the presiding officer, be removed from the Council Chambers by the Sergeant at Arms. 2. It is the policy of the Council that all members of the public have the right to address the Council and that right includes the right to make remarks that members of the City Council may find critical, unpleasant, or even offensive. The Brown Act states that the Council "shall not prohibit public criticism of the policies, procedures, programs or services of the City or the acts or omission of the City Council." However, the Brown Act also provides that nothing in such provision "shall confer any privilege or protection for expression beyond that otherwise provided by law.-" Moreover, the Brown Act also recognizes it is also important that a proper standard of behavior be maintained during meetings and that the City Council is able to complete the public's business in a timely manner. Therefore, the public should respect the order, procedures, and decorum of City Council meetings. Persons addressing the City Council shall adhere to time limits, should not make slanderous, personal, impertinent, or obscene remarks, shall not disrupt the conduct of the meeting, and shall not make threats against any person or the public order. The Presiding officer shall enforce this rule of decorum. F. City Council Remarks. 1. Council Members will address the public and staff in a courteous manner. While the Council is in session, the members must preserve order and decorum, and a member shall neither by conversation or otherwise delay or interrupt the proceedings or the peace of the Council nor disturb a member while speaking or refuse to obey the orders of the presiding officer. Members of the Council shall not leave their seats during the meeting without first obtaining the permission of the presiding officer. 2. Respect for each individual Council Member's interpersonal style will be a standard of operation. Courtesy and respect for individual points of view will be a standard of operation. All City Council Members will respect each other's right to disagree. All City Council Members will expect a high degree of 10 of 17 (100 -03) Redline Version decorum and courtesy during the City Council meetings, both among Council Members and towards the public and staff. 3. Council members may discuss non - agenda items under any of the following exceptions. Council Members may briefly respond to statements made or questions posed by persons once the presiding officer closes Oral Communications. In addition, on his or her own initiative or in response to questions posed by the public, a Council ,Member may ask a question for clarification, make a brief announcement, or make a brief report on his or her own activities. Furthermore, the Council may provide a reference to staff or other resources for factual information, request staff to report back to the Council at a subsequent meeting concerning any matter, or take action to direct staff to place a mater of business on a future agenda. 4. Council Members will address the public and staff in a courteous manner. Council Members shall not make hostile remarks or engage in debate with a member of the public or staff at a Council meeting, since these types of debates seldom resolve concerns and many times inflame feelings. If a speaker from the public personally attacks or "pushes the buttons" of a Council Member, the presiding officer may ask the staff for input, if appropriate. If a speaker from the public makes inflammatory or erroneous statements, after the conclusion of the public input, the presiding officer will then provide each Council Member with the opportunity to briefly respond. Harsh words stir up anger; a gentle answer turns away wrath. 5. Council Members shall keep open minds on all issues prior to deliberation immediately prior to a vote. Council Members shall base their decisions in quasi-judicial matters upon the evidence, including testimony presented at the public hearing. 6. There will be no "grandstanding" on any issue. "Grandstanding" refers to the misuse of the grandstand, or Council dais. It is the use of individual Council seat on the Council dais in a disrespectful and inappropriate manner to state a point of view in a negative manner. Negative manner includes: personally attacking another Council Member, staff or member of the public, walking off the Council dais or leaving any meeting in anger or disgust; emphasizing a political point of view solely for the purpose of playing to the audience unrelated to the issue before the Council; using the dais for a strictly personal purpose; addressing the media for political purposes rather than addressing the Council as a body, or purposely misstating the facts of an issue for political purposes. 7. The City Council respects the decision of the City Council is made by the majority and not by an individual City Council Member. Members who are in the minority on an issue will respect the authority of the majority. Members who are in the majority will respect the right of the minority to express 11 of 17 (100 -03) Redline Version 2. Motion to Enforce. If the presiding officer fails to enforce the rules of decorum set forth herein, any Council Member may move to require the presiding officer to do so, and an affirmative vote of majority of the Council shall require the presiding officer to do so. If the pr siding officer fails to carry out the majority of the Council in this matter, the m��ority may designate another Council Member to acct as presiding officer for th limited purpose of enforcing the rules of decorum established herein. 3. Cleafrng the Room. P 54957.9, in the event th � any meeting i groups of persons so as to ender the order and order cannot be restor by the remo, interrupting the meeting, by a m'C may be ordered cleared r Representatives of the press o� the disturbance, shall be allo Government Code Section 549 Council from readmitting an in disturbing the orderly conduct of 4. Violation of without authority of law, willfully misdemeanor and may be pr disturbing a public meeting. d the urspant to Government Code Section s willfully interrupted by a person or I�iconduct of such meeting unfeasible val of the individuals who are willfully of the City Council, the meeting room eeting shall continue in session. other Ows media, except those participating in qed attend any session pursuant to the 57.9. Nothing in this section shall prohibit the vid.0 1 or individuals not responsible for willfully -, - -- - - - ifornia Penal Code. Any person who, or breaks up any meeting, is guilty of a . under Penal Code Section 403 for 13 of 17 (100 -03) Redline Version disagreement with the majority after making his /her position known for the record, must respect the decision of the majority. G. Comments regarding city employees. Council Members shall not make comments regarding personnel matters related to the performance of any City employee, nor make any slanderous, libelous, personal, or profane remarks about any City employee during a City Council meeting. H. Consent Calendar. During consideration of approval of the agenda: 1. A Council Member may remove items listed on the Consent Calendar for individual consideration. 2. Upon request by the City Manager, City Attorney or member of the public, the presiding officer may remove items listed on the Consent Calendar for individual consideration. I. Employees. Members of the City staff and employees shall observe the same rules of order and decorum applicable to the City Council. Members of the City staff may leave their seats during a meeting without first obtaining the permission of the presiding officer. J. Enforcement of Decorum. The Chief of Police, or such member of the police department as he /she may designate, shall be Sergeant at Arms of the City Council and shall carry out all orders given by the presiding officer for the purpose of maintaining order and decorum at the Council meetings. A Council Member may move to require the presiding officer to enforce the rules and the affirmative vote of a majority of the Council shall require him /her to do so. K. Violation of the Rules of Decorum. Upon violation of the rules of decorum, the established procedure to enforce the rules shall be as follows: 1. Warning. Any person making impertinent, slanderous, libelous, personal or profane remarks or who becomes boisterous during a City Council meeting shall be called to order by the presiding officer. The presiding officer shall first request that a person who is violating the rules cease such conduct. If, after receiving a request from the presiding officer, the person persists in violating the rules, the presiding officer shall order a recess. Any representative of law enforcement who is present at the meeting when any violations occur shall be authorized to warn the person that his /her conduct is violating the rules and that he /she is requested to cease such conduct. If upon resumption of the meeting the violation persists, the presiding officer shall order another recess, whereupon the presiding officer shall have the authority to ask the law enforcement personnel to remove the person from the meeting and /or to cite the person as being in violation of Penal Code Section 403. 12 of 17 (100 -03) Redline Version 2. Motion to Enforce. If the presiding officer fails to enforce the rules of decorum set forth herein, any Council Member may move to require the presiding officer to do so, and an affirmative vote of a majority of the Council shall require the presiding officer to do so. If the presiding officer fails to carry out the majority of the Council in this matter, the majority may designate another Council Member to act as presiding officer for the limited purpose of enforcing the rules of decorum established herein. 3. Clearing the Room. Pursuant to Government Code Section 54957.9, in the event that any meeting is willfully interrupted by a person or groups of persons so as to render the orderly conduct of such meeting unfeasible and order cannot be restored by the removal of the individuals who are willfully interrupting the meeting, by a majority vote of the City Council, the meeting room may be ordered cleared and the meeting shall continue in session. Representatives of the press or other news media, except those participating in the disturbance, shall be allowed to attend any session pursuant to the Government Code Section 54957.9. Nothing in this section shall prohibit the Council from readmitting an individual or individuals not responsible for willfully disturbing the orderly conduct of the meeting. 4. Violation of the California Penal Code. Any person who, without authority of law, willfully disturbs or breaks up any meeting, is guilty of a misdemeanor and may be prosecuted under Penal Code Section 403 for disturbing a public meeting. .._ .. , te^- -*e. - e - WA 13 of 17 (100 -03) In ONEMMMOr- ., .. -- -- 07 .. -10 .._ .. , te^- -*e. - e - WA 13 of 17 (100 -03) Redline Version 8. VOTING A. Failure to Vote. Every Council Member present shall vote unless he disqualifies himself by reason of conflict of interest. An abstention is an indication that a Council Member does not wish his /her position to become known, or he /she has no preference of position on the issue. For purposes of action of the Council, an abstention shall neither be counted for the majority nor for the minority and shall therefore have the effect in result of the vote when counted, as though no vote were cast. The recorded and published vote, however, shall show the abstention. B. Tie Vote. Tie votes shall be lost motions and may be reconsidered. C. Changing Vote. A member may change his vote only if he makes a timely request to do so immediately following the announcement of the vote by the City Clerk and prior to the time that the next item in the order of business is taken up. A Council Member who publicly announces that he is abstaining from voting on a particular matter may not subsequently withdraw his abstention. 9. COUNCIL MEETING TIME LIMITS A. Establishing Meeting Time Limit. The City Council shall not consider any new agenda item after 11:00 p.m. at any meeting. No later than 10:45 p.m. the City Council shall determine by a vote thereof to continue the meeting until the remaining agenda items are resolved, or reschedule the remaining items to a date certain prior to, the next meeting, or continue the items until the next meeting. B. Final Adjournment Hour. The City Council shall adjourn any meeting no later than 11:59 p.m. on the date of said meeting. C. Waiver of Adjournment Time. The Council may waive these time limits by majority vote. 14 of 17 (100 -03) Redline Version 10. CITY COUNCIL RELATIONSHIP WITH CITY STAFF A. Article III of the City Charter provides that the City of Seal Beach operates under the Council- Manager form of government; Article VI of the City Charter defines the duties of the City Manager. Section 406 of the City Charter says that neither the City Council nor any of its members shall interfere with the execution by the City Manager of his /her duties. B. THE City Council is the City's policy- making body and the City Manager administers the Council's policies. The Council holds the City Manager responsible for the administration of the City departments. The overall internal administration by the City Manager is necessary in order to assure efficient and economic operations of the various departments pursuant to the Council's direction. The practices of each department are subject to review and approval by the City Manager. C. Except for purposes of inquiry, the City Council and its members shall deal with the administrative service solely through the City Manager and shall not give orders to any subordinate of the City Manager, either publicly or privately. D. All Council Member requests for written reports or research shall be addressed to the City Manager. The City Manager shall inform all Council Members a Council Member has requested informational material. Any Council Member may request a copy of any written material provided to the requesting Council Member. City Council Members should contact the City Manager as early as possible if they desire to have any additional written material prior to a City Council meeting. If a Council Member has questions, needs clarification, or needs additional material, he or she will advise the City Manager as early as possible before a City Council meeting so the staff can meet his or her needs. E. Council shall not attempt to coerce or direct staff in the performance of their duties. F. City Council agenda reports should be provided to the City Council as early as possible before a meeting but no later than the Friday before that City Council meeting. Staff reports will give professional input on the issue, including areas of potential controversy and concern, will try to present all sides of an issue, and will recommend areas for discussion and decision by the City Council. G. Once a decision is made by the Council, it will be fully supported, accepted and implemented by staff. 15 of 17 (100 -03) Redline Version H. Any concerns by a Council Member over the performance of a City employee should be discussed privately with the City Manager. City Council Members shall refrain from engaging in personal attacks on staff at any time. 11. INDIVIDUAL COUNCIL MEMBER'S REQUESTS OF CITY STAFF A. Any project requested by an individual Council Member must be authorized by the City Manager. If the City Manager deems the project to be outside the bounds of Council's work program, the Council Member making the request may bring the request to the full Council for modification of the work program. Staff responses to requests for written information from one Council Member shall be copied to all Council Members. B. The Council shall recognize that the primary functions of City staff are to execute Council policy, and to keep the Council informed. C. Council Members may make routine requests for information through the appropriate department head. Complex or comprehensive requests shall be made through the City Manager. D. Council Members may make requests for work to be done through the City Manager. E. Council Members shall not attempt to pressure or influence staff decisions, recommendations, workloads, schedules or department priorities without the prior knowledge and approval of the Council majority. F. Council Members as well as the Council as a whole shall be permitted complete freedom of access to any information requested of staff, and shall receive the full cooperation and candor of staff in being provided with any requested information. Council Members shall make routine requests for information through the appropriate department head. G. An exception to the above guidelines may be staff work required in support of a Council Member designated by the City Council to represent the City in an intergovernmental role (e.g., membership on Joint Powers Authority), or relative to a special assignment (e .g., a special task force) 12. TIMELY RESPONSE City staff will make every effort to respond in a timely and professional manner to all requests made by individual Council Members for information or assistance, provided that, in the judgment of the City Manager the request is not of a magnitude, either in terms of workload or policy, which would require that it more 16 of 17 (100 -03) Redline Version appropriately be assigned to staff through the collective direction of the City Council. In terms of making this judgment, the following guidelines should be considered: The request should be specific and limited in scope so that staff can respond without altering other priorities and with only minimal delay to other assignments; the request should only impose a "one- time" work requirement, as opposed to an on -going work requirement; the response to the request should not require a significant allocation of staff resources (generally defined as consisting of more than one staff person, or a single staff person working on the issue in excess of 1 -2 hours). 13. DIRECTION FROM COUNCIL Staff is obligated to take guidance and direction only from the Council as a whole or from the appropriate management superiors as may be the case. Staff is directed to reject any attempts by individual members of the Council to unduly influence or otherwise pressure them into making, changing or otherwise suppressing staff decisions or recommendations, or changing departmental work schedules and priorities. Staff shall report such attempts to influence them in confidence to the City Manager, who may inform the Council as a whole of such attempts. 17 of 17 (100 -03) Attachment Comments Submitted for Council consideration Comments and concerns by Councilman Miller regarding Draft Council Policy 100 -03: 0 Prefer old policy - not as complicated 0 Public can pull consent calendar items 0 Less limits on public and council 0 Insulation mechanism for city manager 0 Dates are confusing 0 Wants copy of Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised Wants copy of Government Code sections (Brown Act) ® 4 C - Council placing agenda items vs. Mayor can place vs. council majority can place items on agenda 0 Definitions are ambiguous 0 Will questions under debate take away from council time? 0 Why is there a 15 minute clock on the council? 0 People cannot speak ® What does "personal attacks" mean? 0 Why under decorum misstating facts • Decorum defends council's right to criticize and evaluate publicly performance of the city manager o What is libelous? Item 10 is inappropriate because there are issues going on right now - not in current policy and not related to meetings. 0 Has had issues pending with the city manager for more than one year. 0 Can minutes only be corrected by the Mayor? Recommendations for Changes to Council Rules of Procedure Sec 3, p. 1 Add "Newly Revised" after "Robert's Rules of Order" at the end of this section Sec 4, Subsec B, p. 2 Substitute "a majority vote" for "the subsequent approval" in the last line of this subsection. Sec 6, Subsec C, Subsubsec 2, p. 4 Strike "In certain matters, the Chair may limit remarks to 3 minutes." Or, give specific instances where it might be desirable for the Chair to limit remarks to 3 minutes. As written this is not consistent with the rest of the document in allowing public discourse balanced with completing the meeting within certain time limits. Sec 6, Subsec C, Subsubsec 2, p. 5 Further explanation and guidance is needed for the last two sentences of this subsubsection. Primarily, I have in mind consideration and guidance as to what effect asking questions would have on the time allotted for the speaker, or if there should be a limitation on the response time by council members or staff. Sec 6, Subsec C, Subsubsec 6, p. 5 Substitute "encourage" for "request" on line 4 of this subsubsection. When /first read this portion it seemed to be opposed to the intention of facilitating deliberation. I>trst read the word "request" as "order" and l could not imagine any group of persons wanting their opportunity to speak to be ordered and limited. After studying this it appears the word encourage is better for the intent of this passage. I am assuming the group of persons can decline the request or encouragement, otherwise it is not consistent with the intention of the Brown Act. However, 1 do think the council currently practices this and perhaps with further delineation can produce acceptance on a greater number of occasions. The council uses this section when other agencies or groups are presenting information and /or requests to the council. Most often, though not always, these are accompanied by powerpoint, slide or poster presentations along with articles and draft language when there is a request of action by the council. Additionally, some groups are allowed to use the council meeting to present community awards (10K Run, Save Our Beach, SBTV -3, etc.) l will refer to these groups as informational /request groups. Sometimes these groups are placed in the Public Recognition portion of the council meeting and sometimes in oral communications. The question is how to provide them adequate time for presentations and requests, but reserve ample time to conduct all business for the evening. Council should look at this to see if any improvement needs to be made. To my knowledge, the council has not used this section with groups I would classify as persuasive groups. (These are groups seeking to persuade city council members to vote to a certain position on the issues /actions before the council. These include Seal Beach for 2 Stories, Save Our Seal Beach, Chamber of Commerce, etc.). These groups might be encouraged on occasions to select a spokesman if the spokesman was given additional time and set a fixed number of additional speakers from the group. A procedure for the spokesperson to speak for 10 minutes and when opposing positions have been presented to give a rebuttal limited to 5 minutes might encourage persuasive groups to accept the encouragement of having only some members of their group to speak. Some groups like the neighborhood organizations in CPE and CPW sometimes come to the council as on informational /request group and sometimes as a persuasive group. Section 7, subsec G, Subsubsec 2, p. 8 Add "or member of the public" after "any Council Member" on line 2 of this subsubsection. Section 7 enjoins everyone attending a council meeting to be vigilant in observing rules of decorum. Robert's Rules of Order permits every member in a deliberative meeting to call for a point of order and to maintain decorum. By adding this language here you acknowledge and invite everyone attending to have the presiding officer be mindful of the rules of procedure and rule of decorum. Eldon Alexander Resident — 8th Street RECEIVED Seal Beach SEP 2 5 2009 Cilur managler oft-cp September 28, 2009 SENT BY EMAIL The Honorable Members of the Seal Beach City Council 211 Eighth Street Seal Beach, California 90740 Subject: Proposed Council Rules of Procedure Dear Members of the Council, I am concerned about the proposed Council Rules of Procedure. It appears to me that several of the sections are content -based regulations of speech, rather than time, place and manner regulations which are permissible under the Brown Act. In some cases, the proposed rules do not comport with the Brown Act's specific exemptions from the general rule of open meetings, or create potential conflicts with existing law. Finally, there appear to be a number of rules that allocate exclusive authority to the City Manager and insulate him from public criticism or challenge. My observations and concerns follow in the order that the rules appear: 5A Closed Sessions: "Examples of business that may be conducted in closed session include personnel evaluations, threats to public safety, labor negotiations, pending litigation, real estate negotiations, and consideration of a response to an audit report." Theoretically, "consideration of a response to an audit report" may be permissible, but in the absence of any specific exclusion to the open meeting law, the only potentially applicable closed session exception would be anticipated litigation. Not all audits or responses to audit reports would meet that exception. Consequently, it appears that the rule attempts to legislate something that the State, through the Brown Act, has already legislated. A local agency cannot carve out additional exceptions to the Brown Act, though it may certainly adopt more liberal policies regarding public comment, or greater notice periods than are prescribed by law. 5B and 5D Rule of Confidentiality The Brown Act requires confidentiality regarding those matters properly and legally considered in closed session. The proposed rule, as drafted, says that any material or discussion that is received or distributed in closed session is confidential, absent permission of the Council. This directly contradicts state law. There is no confidentiality for matters that are not properly considered, distributed or received in closed session. If, for instance, a council member distributed a document regarding a proposed revision of the chain of command within city government during a closed session because they want to reallocate the authority of different department heads, that document is NOT confidential because it does not fall within one of the specifically articulated exceptions for closed session consideration. The proposed rule would prohibit a council member from bringing this illegal consideration to the attention of authorities (and the public) simply because of when and where the document was presented. This runs far afoul of the letter and the spirit of the Brown Act. 6C2 "All remarks shall be addressed to the Council as a body, and not to any member thereof. ... No person other than the speaker and the member of the Council having the floor shall be permitted to enter into the discussion without the permission of the Presiding Officer." First, directing members of the public to address their comments to the Council as a body is a regulation of content, which is illegal absent a compelling interest. Second, the rule assumes that "discussions" between members of the public and council members will occur. The Brown Act does not create a right to dialog between members of the public and the members of a legislative body. Government Code Section 54954.2 specifically says "..members of a legislative body or its staff may briefly respond to statements made or questions posed by persons exercising their public testimony rights under Section 54954.3. In addition, on their own initiative or in response to questions posed by the public a member of a legislative body or its staff may ask a question for clarification, make a brief announcement, or make a brief report on his or her own activities. Furthermore, a member of a legislative body, or the body itself, subject to rules or procedures of the legislative body, may provide a reference to staff or other resources for factual information, request staff to report back to the body at a subsequent meeting concerning any matter or take action to direct staff to place a matter of business on a future agenda." The frequent use of the word "brief' describing permissible responses by members of the legislative body, given its plain meaning, demonstrates the legislative intent. The Brown Act does not create a right to dialog between the public and members of the legislative body; it creates a right to open and transparent meetings, to public input before or during consideration of any item under consideration or discussion by the legislative body, and requires that the agency permit public comment on any matter within the subject matter jurisdiction of the agency. This does not create a right or obligation to engage in debates or long- winded discussions; in fact, the very language of the statute that permits "brief' responses militates against such discourse at meetings, and is consistent with the notion that public agencies must balance the rights of the public to participate against the need for agencies created to do the public's business to accomplish that necessary goal and get the business of the city done. 6.C.3. "Speakers shall refrain from attacking character or motives of any person." This is a clear example of content based regulation that is simply impermissible. "The legislative body of a local agency shall not prohibit public criticism of the policies, procedures, programs or services of the agency or the acts or omission of the legislative PA body. Nothing in this subdivision shall confer any privilege or protection for expression beyond that otherwise provided by law." This rule prohibits criticism because it prohibits comment regarding the character (truth or veracity are character traits) or motives of any person. The rule would mean that a member of the public could not call anyone a liar. There is simply no legal authority which permits the City of Seal Beach to curtail this kind of speech when state and federal law protect it. If a person becomes disruptive, then they can be removed from the hearing, and they can be prevented from speaking at meetings because of their poor behavior. Such regulations are proper because they are "time, place and manner" rules. In my view, this regulation is overly broad, and is not narrowly tailored to a compelling governmental interest. 7. Relevancy There is no legal authority that permits an agency to decide what is relevant when it comes to public comment. The Brown Act permits public comment on any matter within the subject matter jurisdiction of the agency. If the matter about which someone wants to comment is within the subject matter jurisdiction of the City of Seal Beach, then it is permissible, even if it is wholly irrelevant. It may be that this rule was designed to limit public comment about specific agenda items to that item. The language of this rule, however, is exceptionally broad and confers an enormous amount of discretion to the Presiding officer as the arbiter of what is relevant. Lawyers and judges have enormous difficulty reaching consensus on what is relevant, as defined in the Evidence Code. The opportunity for censorship, whether well intentioned or not, is enormous under this rule, and in complete contradiction to the purpose of the Brown Act and the underpinnings of democratic governance. In our form of open democratic government, inclusion trumps efficiency. Representative government and open meetings are NOT the most efficient way to run an agency, but they are the most fair means by which to ensure public confidence in the decision making process and a fundamental precept of democracy. The Brown Act provides the regulation of this kind of concern sufficiently. This section, like many others, does nothing to illuminate what those rules are, and in some senses, seeks to expand restrictions beyond the already established limits. D.3. My comments regarding rule C.2. above, are applicable and need not be repeated. D.7. This rule seeks to restrict criticism of personnel. More troubling is what appears to be an attempt to completely insulate the City Manager from criticism or observation. What, if any, legal authority supports this rule? The notion that a member of the Council, who is elected to represent an identified constituency, cannot convey concerns or comments regarding "any personnel matter related to the performance of any City Employee" is simply unsupported by law. If I call my city councilmember to complain that an employee or a group of employees were rude, or weren't there, or didn't do their jobs, or that I waited in line for half an hour with no one ahead of me, then that is something that I expect they will address, and if there are repeated problems with a department, then I expect the council will consider the issues raised thereby. When a City Manager works for a Council, that City Manager's performance is a matter of public interest. Performance issues occur on a daily basis, and there is a clear difference between daily performance and a performance evaluation that may, permissibly, be addressed in closed session. What if I want to complain that I think it is wrong to have the City Manager speaking as the City's voice on the voicemail service? What if my council member presents my complaint at a meeting? The matter clearly does NOT fall within the personnel exception of Section 54957. It is not something that would be protect able in the City Manager's personnel file. There simply is no legal authority that insulates the City Manager, or any other City employee or Department Head from public criticism. Nor is there any public policy reason that I can think of that supports this "hands off' rule. The City Manager works for the City Council. The City Council works for the citizens that elect them. It's important to keep in mind the preamble of the Brown Act , Government Code Section 54950, that says: "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." (Emphasis added). 7.G.3. Clearing the Room There is no legal authority of which I am aware, that permits clearing a room and reconvening a non - public meeting. Inclusion of the press is admirable, but the fact remains that the Brown Act does not permit exclusion of persons who were not disruptive. Other larger agencies have dealt with the problem of planned disruption by dissident groups, and have found solutions that do not violate the rights of the non- participating attendees. Section 54953(a) requires that "(A)11 meetings of the legislative body of a local agency shall be open and public and all persons shall be permitted to attend any meeting of the legislative body of a local agency, except as otherwise provided in this chapter." (Emphasis added). 0 Notably, there are reasonable alternatives to clearing the room, including adjournment and reconvening at a session where those who disrupted have been removed from the room. As set forth in the proposal, the language of the rule violates the letter and the spirit of the Brown Act. 10D. Requests for information by Council members are governed by the Public Records Act and recently were the subject of legislation carried by Senator Gloria Romero about equal access to public records for all officials. This rule should mirror the state law already in place. With regard to this rule, there is no apparent requirement that the City Manager respond to a request. If the City Manager elects not to respond, then what recourse is there? Suppose I ask my representative to make an inquiry, but the Manager does not respond. What recourse is there for my representative? If the City Manager does not respond, what, if any, recourse is there? What procedure is in place to review the City Manager's lack of response? What possible public purpose does it serve to make the City Manager the lone gatekeeper of information? Since no one could criticize the City Manager at a public meeting if the earlier discussed rule is adopted, what recourse would any citizen or city council member have to address the lack of response? 10E. This appears to confer unfettered discretion to the City Manager to determine whether or not to permit a council member's request to be forwarded to the applicable city employee. I understand the need to prioritize limited resources, but this rule, like others in this proposal, essentially confers all authority to the City Manager. Section 54954.3 permits the agency to create rules or procedures: "(f)urthermore, a member of a legislative body, or the body itself, subject to rules or procedures of the legislative body, may provide a reference to staff or other resources for factual information, request staff to report back to the body at a subsequent meeting concerning any matter or take action to direct staff to place a matter of business on a future agenda" But the rule as proposed is very broad, and appears to vitiate any authority or direction by the council members over any staff member. More troubling is the fact that this section reinforces the role of City Manager as the gate keeper, which is exacerbated by the rule that criticism of the City Manager cannot be aired at public meetings. We elect council members, and the democratic process permits us to make a change by voting someone out of office. The public does not have that authority when it comes to a City Manager. When the rules as proposed tilt the balance of power in favor of the City Manager, who really is no more than a person employed by a council, and whose actions (or inactions) cannot be criticized or commented on publicly, one has to wonder how this 5 serves the public's interest. It may be more efficient. It is, however, far less inclusive, and that violates the letter and the spirit of democracy itself. These observations are offered after careful consideration of the prospects of the rules proposed. I hope you will give some thought to the matters raised herein. Meetings for your agency, as well as for most in the state, are difficult to manage and often provide a soapbox for some who seem to pride themselves on talking the longest or the loudest. But that is the price of democracy and it is a difficult balance that faces every agency that would like to function with the efficiency of a private business, but is required to permit public input that sometimes seems to have little to do with the issues you must face. However, the opportunity for public input is an integral component in maintaining public confidence in the decision making process, and public confidence is vital to effective governance. The Brown Act has been in place for more than 50 years. Its provisions have been the subject of opinions by the courts of California as well as the Attorney General, providing legal guidance and clarity to the issues that face legislative bodies like the Seal Beach City Council. While I have no doubt that the intent behind the proposed rules is beyond reproach, in practice, the proposed rules could easily result in confusion, abuse and potential litigation that the city can ill afford. Your job is not easy, and I appreciate all you do to ensure that our wonderful community remains stable and responsive to the needs of our citizens. Sincerely, JENNIFER LENTZ SNYDER, Resident 4449 Hazelnut Ave c: City Attorney Z Attachment E Government Code Section 54950 -54963 (known as the Ralph M. Brown Act) Penal Code Section 403 Seal Beach City Charter Section 406 54950. 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. This chapter shall be known as the Ralph M. Brown Act. 54951. 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. 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, decisionmaking 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 that 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, ordinance, resolution, or formal action of a legislative body are legislative bodies for purposes of this chapter. (c) (1) A board, commission, committee, or other multimember body that governs a private corporation, limited liability company, or other entity that either: (A) Is created by the elected legislative body in order to exercise authority that may lawfully be delegated by the elected governing body to a private corporation, limited liability company, or other entity. (B) Receives funds from a local agency and the membership of whose governing body includes a member of the legislative body of the local agency appointed to that governing body as a full voting member by the legislative body of the local agency. (2) Notwithstanding subparagraph (B) of paragraph (1), no board, commission, committee, or other multimember body that governs a private corporation, limited liability company, or other entity that receives funds from a local agency and, as of February 9, 1996, has a member of the legislative body of the local agency as a full voting member of the governing body of that private corporation, limited liability company, or other entity shall be relieved from the public meeting requirements of this chapter by virtue of a change in status of the full voting member to a nonvoting member. (d) The lessee of any hospital the whole or part of which is first leased pursuant to subdivision (p) of Section 32121 of the Health and Safety Code after January 1, 1994, where the lessee exercises any material authority of a legislative body of a local agency delegated to it by that legislative body whether the lessee is organized and operated by the local agency or by a delegated authority. 54952.1. Any person elected to serve as a member of a legislative body who has not yet assumed the duties of office shall conform his or her conduct to the requirements of this chapter and shall be treated for purposes of enforcement of this chapter as if he or she has already assumed office. 54952.2. (a) As used in this chapter, "meeting" means any congregation of a majority of the members of a legislative body at the same time and location, including teleconference location as permitted by Section 54953, to hear, discuss, deliberate, or take action on any item that is within the subject matter jurisdiction of the legislative body. (b) (1) A majority of the members of a legislative body shall not, outside a meeting authorized by this chapter, use a series of communications of any kind, directly or through intermediaries, to discuss, deliberate, or take action on any item of business that is within the subject matter jurisdiction of the legislative body. (2) Paragraph (1) shall not be construed as preventing an employee or official of a local agency, from engaging in separate conversations or communications outside of a meeting authorized by this chapter with members of a legislative body in order to answer questions or provide information regarding a matter that is within the subject matter jurisdiction of the local agency, if that person does not communicate to members of the legislative body the comments or position of any other member or members of the legislative body. (c) Nothing in this section shall impose the requirements of this chapter upon any of the following: (1) Individual contacts or conversations between a member of a legislative body and any other person that do not violate subdivision (b). (2) The attendance of a majority of the members of a legislative body at a conference or similar gathering open to the public that involves a discussion of issues of general interest to the public or to public agencies of the type represented by the legislative body, provided that a majority of the members do not discuss among themselves, other than as part of the scheduled program, business of a specified nature that is within the subject matter jurisdiction of the local agency. Nothing in this paragraph is intended to allow members of the public free admission to a conference or similar gathering at which the organizers have required other participants or registrants to pay fees or charges as a condition of attendance. (3) The attendance of a majority of the members of a legislative body at an open and publicized meeting organized to address a topic of local community concern by a person or organization other than the local agency, provided that a majority of the members do not discuss among themselves, other than as part of the scheduled program, business of a specific nature that is within the subject matter jurisdiction of the legislative body of the local agency. (4) The attendance of a majority of the members of a legislative body '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 that a majority of the members do not discuss among themselves, other than as part of the scheduled meeting, business of a specific nature that is within the subject matter jurisdiction of the legislative body of the local agency. (5) The attendance of a majority of the members of a legislative body at a purely social or ceremonial occasion, provided that a majority of the members do not discuss among themselves business of a specific nature that is within the subject matter jurisdiction of the legislative body of the local agency. (6) The attendance of a majority of the members of a legislative body at an open and noticed meeting of a standing committee of that body, provided that the members of the legislative body who are not members of the standing committee attend only as observers. 54952.6. As used in this chapter, "action taken" means a collective decision made by a majority of the members of a legislative body, a collective commitment or promise by a majority of the members of a legislative body to make a positive or a negative decision, or an actual vote by a majority of the members of a legislative body when sitting as a body or entity, upon a motion, proposal, resolution, order or ordinance. 54952.7. A legislative body of a local agency may require that a copy of this chapter be given to each member of the legislative body and any person elected to serve as a member of the legislative body who has not assumed the duties of office. An elected legislative body of a local agency may require that a copy of this chapter be given to each member of each legislative body all or a majority of whose members are appointed by or under the authority of the elected legislative body. 54953. (a) All meetings of the legislative body of a local agency shall be open and public, and all persons shall be permitted to attend any meeting of the legislative body of a local agency, except as otherwise provided in this chapter. (b) (1) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the legislative body of a local agency may use teleconferencing for the benefit of the public and the legislative body of a local agency in connection with any meeting or proceeding authorized by law. The teleconferenced meeting or proceeding shall comply with all requirements of this chapter and all otherwise applicable provisions of law relating to a specific type of meeting or proceeding. (2) Teleconferencing, as authorized by this section, may be used for all purposes in connection with any meeting within the subject matter jurisdiction of the legislative body. All votes taken during a teleconferenced meeting shall be by rollcall. (3) If the legislative body of a local agency elects to use teleconferencing, it shall post agendas at all teleconference locations and conduct teleconference meetings in a manner that protects the statutory and constitutional rights of the parties or the public appearing before the legislative body of a local agency. Each teleconference location shall be identified in the notice and agenda of the meeting or proceeding, and each teleconference location shall be accessible to the public. During the teleconference, at least a quorum of the members of the legislative body shall participate from locations within the boundaries of the territory over which the local agency exercises jurisdiction, except as provided in subdivision (d). The agenda shall provide an opportunity for members of the public to address the legislative body directly pursuant to Section 54954.3 at each teleconference location. (4) For the purposes of this section, "teleconference" means a meeting of a legislative body, the members of which are in different locations, connected by electronic means, through either audio or video, or both. Nothing in this section shall prohibit a local agency from providing the public with additional teleconference locations. (c) No legislative body shall take action by secret ballot, whether preliminary or final. (d) (1) Notwithstanding the provisions relating to a quorum in paragraph (3) of subdivision (b), when a health authority conducts a teleconference meeting, members who are outside the jurisdiction of the authority may be counted toward the establishment of a quorum when participating in the teleconference if at least 50 percent of the number of members that would establish a quorum are present within the boundaries of the territory over which the authority exercises jurisdiction, and the health authority provides a teleconference number, and associated access codes, if any, that allows any person to call in to participate in the meeting and that number and access codes are identified in the notice and agenda of the meeting. (2) Nothing in this subdivision shall be construed as discouraging health authority members from regularly meeting at a common physical site within the jurisdiction of the authority or from using teleconference locations within or near the jurisdiction of the authority. A teleconference meeting for which a quorum is established pursuant to this subdivision shall be subject to all other requirements of this section. (3) For purposes of this subdivision, a health authority means any entity created pursuant to Sections 14018.7, 14087.31, 14087.35, 14087.36, 14087.38, and 14087.9605 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, any joint powers authority created pursuant to Article 1 (commencing with Section 6500) of Chapter 5 of Division 7 for the purpose of contracting pursuant to Section 14087.3 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, and any advisory committee to a county sponsored health plan licensed pursuant to Chapter 2.2 (commencing with Section 1340) of Division 2 of the Health and Safety Code if the advisory committee has 12 or more members. (4) This subdivision shall remain in effect only until January 1, 2009. 54953.1. The provisions of this chapter shall not be construed to prohibit the members of the legislative body of a local agency from giving testimony in private before a grand jury, either as individuals or as a body. 54953.2. All meetings of a legislative body of a local agency that are open and public shall meet the protections and prohibitions contained in Section 202 of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. Sec. 12132), and the federal rules and regulations adopted in implementation thereof. 54953.3. A member of the public shall not be required, as a condition to attendance at a meeting of a legislative body of a local agency, to register his or her name, to provide other information, to complete a questionnaire, or otherwise to fulfill any condition precedent to his or her attendance. If an attendance list, register, questionnaire, or other similar document is posted at or near the entrance to the room where the meeting is to be held, or is circulated to the persons present during the meeting, it shall state clearly that the signing, registering, or completion of the document is voluntary, and that all persons may attend the meeting regardless of whether a person signs, registers, or completes the document. 54953.5. (a) Any person attending an open and public meeting of a legislative body of a local agency shall have the right to record the proceedings with an audio or video tape recorder or a still or motion picture camera in the absence of a reasonable finding by the legislative body of the local agency that the recording cannot continue without noise, illumination, or obstruction of view that constitutes, or would constitute, a persistent disruption of the proceedings. (b) Any tape or film record of an open and public meeting made for whatever purpose by or at the direction of the local agency shall be subject to inspection pursuant to the California Public Records Act (Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 6250) of Division 7 of Title 1), but, notwithstanding Section 34090, may be erased or destroyed 30 days after the taping or recording. Any inspection of a video or tape recording shall be provided without charge on a video or tape player made available by the local agency. 54953.6. No legislative body of a local agency shall prohibit or otherwise restrict the broadcast of its open and public meetings in the absence of a reasonable finding that the broadcast cannot be accomplished without noise, illumination, or obstruction of view that would constitute a persistent disruption of the proceedings. 54953.7. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, legislative bodies of local agencies may impose requirements upon themselves which allow greater access to their meetings than prescribed by the minimal standards set forth in this chapter. In addition thereto, an elected legislative body of a local agency may impose such requirements on those appointed legislative bodies of the local agency of which all or a majority of the members are appointed by or under the authority of the elected legislative body. 54954. (a) Each legislative body of a local agency, except for advisory committees or standing committees, shall provide, by ordinance, resolution, bylaws, or by whatever other rule is required for the conduct of business by that body, the time and place for holding regular meetings. Meetings of advisory committees or standing committees, for which an agenda is posted at least 72 hours in advance of the meeting pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section 54954.2, shall be considered for purposes of this chapter as regular meetings of the legislative body. (b) Regular and special meetings of the legislative body shall be held within the boundaries of the territory over which the local agency exercises jurisdiction, except to do any of the following: (1) Comply with state or federal law or court order, or attend a judicial or administrative proceeding to which the local agency is a party. (2) Inspect real or personal property which cannot be conveniently brought within the boundaries of the territory over which the local agency exercises jurisdiction provided that the topic of the meeting is limited to items directly related to the real or personal property. (3) Participate in meetings or discussions of multiagency significance that are outside the boundaries of a local agency's jurisdiction. However, any meeting or discussion held pursuant to this subdivision shall take place within the jurisdiction of one of the participating local agencies and be noticed by all participating agencies as provided for in this chapter. (4) Meet in the closest meeting facility if the local agency has no meeting facility within the boundaries of the territory over which the local agency exercises jurisdiction, or at the principal office of the local agency if that office is located outside the territory over which the agency exercises jurisdiction. (5) Meet outside their immediate jurisdiction with elected or appointed officials of the United States or the State of California when a local meeting would be impractical, solely to discuss a legislative or regulatory issue affecting the local agency and over which the federal or state officials have jurisdiction. (6) Meet outside their immediate jurisdiction if the meeting takes place in or nearby a facility owned by the agency, provided that the topic of the meeting is limited to items directly related to the facility. (7) Visit the office of the local agency's legal counsel for a closed session on pending litigation held pursuant to Section 54956.9, when to do so would reduce legal fees or costs. (c) Meetings of the governing board of a school district shall be held within the district, except under the circumstances enumerated in subdivision (b), or to do any of the following: (1) Attend a conference on nonadversarial collective bargaining techniques. (2) Interview members of the public residing in another district with reference to the trustees' potential employment of an applicant for the position of the superintendent of the district. (3) Interview a potential employee from another district. (d) Meetings of a joint powers authority shall occur within the territory of at least one of its member agencies, or as provided in subdivision (b). However, a joint powers authority which has members throughout the state may meet at any facility in the state which complies with the requirements of Section 54961. (e) If, by reason of fire, flood, earthquake, or other emergency, it shall be unsafe to meet in the place designated, the meetings shall be held for the duration of the emergency at the place designated by the presiding officer of the legislative body or his or her designee in a notice to the local media that have requested notice pursuant to Section 54956, by the most rapid means of communication available at the time. 54954.1. Any person may request that a copy of the agenda, or a copy of all the documents constituting the agenda packet, of any meeting of a legislative body be mailed to that person. If requested, the agenda and documents in the agenda packet shall be made available in appropriate alternative formats to persons with a disability, as required by Section 202 of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. Sec. 12132), and the federal rules and regulations adopted in implementation thereof. Upon receipt of the written request, the legislative body or its designee shall cause the requested materials to be mailed at the time the agenda is posted pursuant to Section 54954.2 and 54956 or upon distribution to all, or a majority of all, of the members of a legislative body, whichever occurs first. Any request for mailed copies of agendas or agenda packets shall be valid for the calendar year in which it is filed, and must be renewed following January 1 of each year. The legislative body may establish a fee for mailing the agenda or agenda packet, which fee shall not exceed the cost of providing the service. Failure of the requesting person to receive the agenda or agenda packet pursuant to this section shall not constitute grounds for invalidation of the actions of the legislative body taken at the meeting for which the agenda or agenda packet was not received. 54954.2. (a) (1) At least 72 hours before a regular meeting, the legislative body of the local agency, or its designee, shall post an agenda containing a brief general description of each item of business to be transacted or discussed at the meeting, including items to be discussed in closed session. A brief general description of an item generally need not exceed 20 words. The agenda shall specify the time and location of the regular meeting and shall be posted in a location that is freely accessible to members of the public. If requested, the agenda shall be made available in appropriate alternative formats to persons with a disability, as required by Section 202 of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. Sec. 12132), and the federal rules and regulations adopted in implementation thereof. The agenda shall include information regarding how, to whom, and when a request for disability related modification or accommodation, including auxiliary aids or services may be made by a person with a disability who requires a modification or accommodation in order to participate in the public meeting. (2) No action or discussion shall be undertaken on any item not appearing on the posted agenda, except that members of a legislative body or its staff may briefly respond to statements made or questions posed by persons exercising their public testimony rights under Section 54954.3. In addition, on their own initiative or in response to questions posed by the public, a member of a legislative body or its staff may ask a question for clarification, make a brief announcement, or make a brief report on his or her own activities. Furthermore, a member of a legislative body, or the body itself, subject to rules or procedures of the legislative body, may provide a reference to staff or other resources for factual information, request staff to report back to the body at a subsequent meeting concerning any matter, or take action to direct staff to place a matter of business on a future agenda. (b) Notwithstanding subdivision (a), the legislative body may take action on items of business not appearing on the posted agenda under any of the conditions stated below. Prior to discussing any item pursuant to this subdivision, the legislative body shall publicly identify the item. (1) Upon a determination by a majority vote of the legislative body that an emergency situation exists, as defined in Section 54956.5. (2) Upon a determination by a two - thirds vote of the members of the legislative body present at the meeting, or, if less than two - thirds of the members are present, a unanimous vote of those members present, that there is a need to take immediate action and that the need for action came to the attention of the local agency subsequent to the agenda being posted as specified in subdivision (a). (3) The item was posted pursuant to subdivision (a) for a prior meeting of the legislative body occurring not more than five calendar days prior to the date action is taken on the item, and at the prior meeting the item was continued to the meeting at which action is being taken. (c) This section is necessary to implement and reasonably within the scope of paragraph (1) of subdivision (b) of Section 3 of Article I of the California Constitution. 54954.3. (a) Every agenda for regular meetings shall provide an opportunity for members of the public to directly address the legislative body on any item of interest to the public, before or during the legislative body's consideration of the item, that is within the subject matter jurisdiction of the legislative body, provided that no action shall be taken on any item not appearing on the agenda unless the action is otherwise authorized by subdivision (b) of Section 54954.2. However, the agenda need not provide an opportunity for members of the public to address the legislative body on any item that has already been considered by a committee, composed exclusively of members of the legislative body, at a public meeting wherein all interested members of the public were afforded the opportunity to address the committee on the item, before or during the committee's consideration of the item, unless the item has been substantially changed since the committee heard the item, as determined by the legislative body. Every notice for a special meeting shall provide an opportunity for members of the public to directly address the legislative body concerning any item that has been described in the notice for the meeting before or during consideration of that item. (b) The legislative body of a local agency may adopt reasonable regulations to ensure that the intent of subdivision (a) is carried out, including, but not limited to, regulations limiting the total amount of time' allocated for public testimony on particular issues and for each individual speaker. (c) The legislative body of a local agency shall not prohibit public criticism of the policies, procedures, programs, or services of the agency, or of the acts or omissions of the legislative body. Nothing in this subdivision shall confer any privilege or protection for expression beyond that otherwise provided by law. 54954.4. (a) The Legislature hereby finds and declares that Section 12 of Chapter 641 of the Statutes of 1986, authorizing reimbursement to local agencies and school districts for costs mandated by the state pursuant to that act, shall be interpreted strictly. The intent of the Legislature is to provide reimbursement for only those costs which are clearly and unequivocally incurred as the direct and necessary result of compliance with Chapter 641 of the Statutes of 1986. (b) In this regard, the Legislature directs all state employees and officials involved in reviewing or authorizing claims for reimbursement, or otherwise participating in the reimbursement process, to rigorously review each claim and authorize only those claims, or parts thereof, which represent costs which are clearly and unequivocally incurred as the direct and necessary result of compliance with Chapter 641 of the Statutes of 1986 and for which complete documentation exists. For purposes of Section 54954.2, costs eligible for reimbursement shall only include the actual cost to post a single agenda for any one meeting. (c) The Legislature hereby finds and declares that complete, faithful, and uninterrupted compliance with the Ralph M. Brown Act (Chapter 9 (commencing with Section 54950) of Part 1 of Division 2 of Title 5 of the Government Code) is a matter of overriding public importance. Unless specifically stated, no future Budget Act, or related budget enactments, shall, in any manner, be interpreted to suspend, eliminate, or otherwise modify the legal obligation and duty of local agencies to fully comply with Chapter 641 of the Statutes of 1986 in a complete, faithful, and uninterrupted manner. 54954.5. For purposes of describing closed session items pursuant to Section 54954.2, the agenda may describe closed sessions as provided below. No legislative body or elected official shall be in violation of Section 54954.2 or 54956 if the closed session items were described in substantial compliance with this section. Substantial compliance is satisfied by including the information provided below, irrespective of its format. (a) With respect to a closed session held pursuant to Section 54956.7: LICENSE /PERMIT DETERMINATION Applicant(s): (Specify number of applicants) (b) With respect to every item of business to be discussed in closed session pursuant to Section 54956.8: CONFERENCE WITH REAL PROPERTY NEGOTIATORS Property: (Specify street address, or if no street address, the parcel number or other unique reference, of the real property under negotiation) Agency negotiator: (Specify names of negotiators attending the closed session) (If circumstances necessitate the absence of a specified negotiator, an agent or designee may participate in place of the absent negotiator so long as the name of the agent or designee is announced at an open session held prior to the closed session.) Negotiating parties: (Specify name of party (not agent)) Under negotiation: (Specify whether instruction to negotiator will concern price, terms of payment, or both) (c) With respect to every item of business to be discussed in closed session pursuant to Section 54956.9: CONFERENCE WITH LEGAL COUNSEL- - EXISTING LITIGATION (Subdivision (a) of Section 54956.9) Name of case: (Specify by reference to claimant's name, names of parties, case or claim numbers) or Case name unspecified: (Specify whether disclosure would jeopardize service of process or existing settlement negotiations) CONFERENCE WITH LEGAL COUNSEL -- ANTICIPATED LITIGATION Significant exposure to litigation pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 54956.9: (Specify number of potential cases) (In addition to the information noticed above, the agency may be required to provide additional information on the agenda or in an oral statement prior to the closed session pursuant to subparagraphs (B) to (E), inclusive, of paragraph (3) of subdivision (b) of Section 54956.9.) Initiation of litigation pursuant to subdivision (c) of Section 54956.9: (Specify number of potential cases) (d) With respect to every item of business to be discussed in closed session pursuant to Section 54956.95: LIABILITY CLAIMS Claimant: (Specify name unless unspecified pursuant to Section 54961) Agency claimed against: (Specify name) (e) With respect to every item of business to be discussed in closed session pursuant to Section 54957: THREAT TO PUBLIC SERVICES OR FACILITIES Consultation with: (Specify name of law enforcement agency and title of officer, or name of applicable agency representative and title) PUBLIC EMPLOYEE APPOINTMENT Title: (Specify description of position to be filled) PUBLIC EMPLOYMENT Title: (Specify description of position to be filled) PUBLIC EMPLOYEE PERFORMANCE EVALUATION Title: (Specify position title of employee being reviewed) PUBLIC EMPLOYEE DISCIPLINE / DISMISSAL / RELEASE (No additional information is required in connection with a closed session to consider discipline, dismissal, or release of a public employee. Discipline includes potential reduction of compensation.) (f) With respect to every item of business to be discussed in closed session pursuant to Section 54957.6: CONFERENCE WITH LABOR NEGOTIATORS Agency designated representatives: (Specify names of designated representatives attending the closed session) (If circumstances necessitate the absence of a specified designated representative, an agent or designee may participate in place of the absent representative so long as the name of the agent or designee is announced at an open session held prior to the closed session.) Employee organization: (Specify name of organization representing employee or employees in question) or Unrepresented employee: (Specify position title of unrepresented employee who is the subject of the negotiations) (g) With respect to closed sessions called pursuant to Section 54957.8: CASE REVIEW /PLANNING (No additional information is required in connection with a closed session to consider case review or planning.) (h) With respect to every item of business to be discussed in closed session pursuant to Sections 1461, 32106, and 32155 of the Health and Safety Code or Sections 37606 and 37624.3 of the Government Code: REPORT INVOLVING TRADE SECRET Discussion will concern: (Specify whether discussion will concern proposed new service, program, or facility) Estimated date of public disclosure: (Specify month and year) HEARINGS Subject matter: (Specify whether testimony /deliberation will concern staff privileges, report of medical audit committee, or report of quality assurance committee) (i) With respect to every item of business to be discussed in closed session pursuant to Section 54956.86: CHARGE OR COMPLAINT INVOLVING INFORMATION PROTECTED BY FEDERAL LAW (No additional information is required in connection with a closed session to discuss a charge or complaint pursuant to Section 54956.86.) (j) With respect to every item of business to be discussed in closed session pursuant to Section 54956.96: CONFERENCE INVOLVING A JOINT POWERS AGENCY (Specify by name) Discussion will concern: (Specify closed session description used by the joint powers agency) Name of local agency representative on joint powers agency board: (Specify name) (Additional information listing the names of agencies or titles of representatives attending the closed session as consultants or other representatives.) (k) With respect to every item of business to be discussed in closed session pursuant to Section 54956.75: AUDIT BY BUREAU OF STATE AUDITS 54954.6. (a) (1) Before adopting any new or increased general tax or any new or increased assessment, the legislative body of a local agency shall conduct at least one public meeting at which local officials shall allow public testimony regarding the proposed new or increased general tax or new or increased assessment in addition to the noticed public hearing at which the legislative body proposes to enact or increase the general tax or assessment. For purposes of this section, the term "new or increased assessment" does not include any of the following: (A) A fee that does not exceed the reasonable cost of providing the services, facilities, or regulatory activity for which the fee is charged. (B) A service charge, rate, or charge, unless a special district's principal act requires the service charge, rate, or charge to conform to the requirements of this section. (C) An ongoing annual assessment if it is imposed at the same or lower amount as any previous year. (D) An assessment that does not exceed an assessment formula or range of assessments previously specified in the notice given to the public pursuant to subparagraph (G) of paragraph (2) of subdivision (c) and that was previously adopted by the agency or approved by the voters in the area where the assessment is imposed. (E) Standby or immediate availability charges. (2) The legislative body shall provide at least 45 days' public notice of the public hearing at which the legislative body proposes to enact or increase the general tax or assessment. The legislative body shall provide notice for the public meeting at the same time and in the same document as the notice for the public hearing, but the meeting shall occur prior to the hearing. (b) (1) The joint notice of both the public meeting and the public hearing required by subdivision (a) with respect to a proposal for a new or increased general tax shall be accomplished by placing a display advertisement of at least one - eighth page in a newspaper of general circulation for three weeks pursuant to Section 6063 and by a first -class mailing to those interested parties who have filed a written request with the local agency for mailed notice of public meetings or hearings on new or increased general taxes. The public meeting pursuant to subdivision (a) shall take place no earlier than 10 days after the first publication of the joint notice pursuant to this subdivision. The public hearing shall take place no earlier than seven days after the public meeting pursuant to this subdivision. Notwithstanding paragraph (2) of subdivision (a), the joint notice need not include notice of the public meeting after the meeting has taken place. The public hearing pursuant to subdivision (a) shall take place no earlier than 45 days after the first publication of the joint notice pursuant to this subdivision. Any written request for mailed notices shall be effective for one year from the date on which it is filed unless a renewal request is filed. Renewal requests for mailed notices shall be filed on or before April 1 of each year. The legislative body may establish a reasonable annual charge for sending notices based on the estimated cost of providing the service. (2) The notice required by paragraph (1) of this subdivision shall include, but not be limited to, the following: (A) The amount or rate of the tax. If the tax is proposed to be increased from any previous year, the joint notice shall separately state both the existing tax rate and the proposed tax rate increase. (B) The activity to be taxed. (C) The estimated amount of revenue to be raised by the tax annually. (D) The method and frequency for collecting the tax. (E) The dates, times, and locations of the public meeting and hearing described in subdivision (a). (F) The phone number and address of an individual, office, or organization that interested persons may contact to receive additional information about the tax. (c) (1) The joint notice of both the public meeting and the public hearing required by subdivision (a) with respect to a proposal for a new or increased assessment on real property shall be accomplished through a mailing, postage prepaid, in the United States mail and shall be deemed given when so deposited. The public meeting pursuant to subdivision (a) shall take place no earlier than 10 days after the joint mailing pursuant to this subdivision. The public hearing shall take place no earlier than seven days after the public meeting pursuant to this subdivision. The envelope or the cover of the mailing shall include the name of the local agency and the return address of the sender. This mailed notice shall be in at least 10 -point type and shall be given to all property owners proposed to be subject to the new or increased assessment by a mailing by name to those persons whose names and addresses appear on the last equalized county assessment roll or the State Board of Equalization assessment roll, as the case may be. (2) The joint notice required by paragraph (1) of this subdivision shall include, but not be limited to, the following: (A) The estimated amount of the assessment per parcel. If the assessment is proposed to be increased from any previous year, the joint notice shall separately state both the amount of the existing assessment and the proposed assessment increase. (B) A general description of the purpose or improvements that the assessment will fund. (C) The address to which property owners may mail a protest against the assessment. (D) The phone number and address of an individual, office, or organization that interested persons may contact to receive additional information about the assessment. (E) A statement that a majority protest will cause the assessment to be abandoned if the assessment act used to levy the assessment so provides. Notice shall also state the percentage of protests required to trigger an election, if applicable. (F) The dates, times, and locations of the public meeting and hearing described in subdivision (a). (G) A proposed assessment formula or range as described in subparagraph (D) of paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) if applicable and that is noticed pursuant to this section. (3) Notwithstanding paragraph (1), in the case of an assessment that is proposed exclusively for operation and maintenance expenses imposed throughout the entire local agency, or exclusively for operation and maintenance assessments proposed to be levied on 50,000 parcels or more, notice may be provided pursuant to this subdivision or pursuant to paragraph (1) of subdivision (b) and shall include the estimated amount of the assessment of various types, amounts, or uses of property and the information required by subparagraphs (B) to (G), inclusive, of paragraph (2) of subdivision (c). (4) Notwithstanding paragraph (1), in the case of an assessment proposed to be levied pursuant to Part 2 (commencing with Section 22500) of Division 2 of the Streets and Highways Code by a regional park district, regional park and open -space district, or regional open -space district formed pursuant to Article 3 (commencing with Section 5500) of Chapter 3 of Division 5 of, or pursuant to Division 26 (commencing with Section 35100) of, the Public Resources Code, notice may be provided pursuant to paragraph (1) of subdivision (b). (d) The notice requirements imposed by this section shall be construed as additional to, and not to supersede, existing provisions of law, and shall be applied concurrently with the existing provisions so as to not delay or prolong the governmental decisionmaking process. (e) This section shall not apply to any new or increased general tax or any new or increased assessment that requires an election of either of the following: (1) The property owners subject to the assessment. (2) The voters within the local agency imposing the tax or assessment. (f) Nothing in this section shall prohibit a local agency from holding a consolidated meeting or hearing at which the legislative body discusses multiple tax or assessment proposals. (g) The local agency may recover the reasonable costs of public meetings, public hearings, and notice required by this section from the proceeds of the tax or assessment. The costs recovered for these purposes, whether recovered pursuant to this subdivision or any other provision of law, shall not exceed the reasonable costs of the public meetings, public hearings, and notice. (h) Any new or increased assessment that is subject to the notice and hearing provisions of Article XIIIC or MID of the California Constitution is not subject to the notice and hearing requirements of this section. 54955. The legislative body of a local agency may adjourn any regular, adjourned regular, special or adjourned special meeting to a time and place specified in the order of adjournment. Less than a quorum may so adjourn from time to time. If all members are absent from any regular or adjourned regular meeting the clerk or secretary of the legislative body may declare the meeting adjourned to a stated time and place and he shall cause a written notice of the adjournment to be given in the same manner as provided in Section 54956 for special meetings, unless such notice is waived as provided for special meetings. A copy of the order or notice of adjournment shall be conspicuously posted on or near the door of the place where the regular, adjourned regular, special or adjourned special meeting was held within 24 hours after the time of the adjournment. When a regular or adjourned regular meeting is adjourned as provided in this section, the resulting adjourned regular meeting is a regular meeting for all purposes. When an order of adjournment of any meeting fails to state the hour at which the adjourned meeting is to be held, it shall be held at the hour specified for regular meetings by ordinance, resolution, bylaw, or other rule. 54955.1. Any hearing being held, or noticed or ordered to be held, by a legislative body of a local agency at any meeting may by order or notice of continuance be continued or recontinued to any subsequent meeting of the legislative body in the same manner and to the same extent set forth in Section 54955 for the adjournment of meetings; provided, that if the hearing is continued to a time less than 24 hours after the time specified in the order or notice of hearing, a copy of the order or notice of continuance of hearing shall be posted immediately following the meeting at which the order or declaration of continuance was adopted or made. 54956. A special meeting may be called at any time by the presiding officer of the legislative body of a local agency, or by a majority of the members of the legislative body, by delivering written notice to each member of the legislative body and to each local newspaper of general circulation and radio or television station requesting notice in writing. The notice shall be delivered personally or by any other means and shall be received at least 24 hours before the time of the meeting as specified in the notice. The call and notice shall specify the time and place of the special meeting and the business to be transacted or discussed. No other business shall be considered at these meetings by the legislative body. The written notice may be dispensed with as to any member who at or prior to the time the meeting convenes files with the clerk or secretary of the legislative body a written waiver of notice. The waiver may be given by telegram. The written notice may also be dispensed with as to any member who is actually present at the meeting at the time it convenes. The call and notice shall be posted at least 24 hours prior to the special meeting in a location that is freely accessible to members of the public. 54956.5. (a) For purposes of this section, "emergency situation" means both of the following: (1) An emergency, which shall be defined as a work stoppage, crippling activity, or other activity that severely impairs public health, safety, or both, as determined by a majority of the members of the legislative body. (2) A dire emergency, which shall be defined as a crippling disaster, mass destruction, terrorist act, or threatened terrorist activity that poses peril so immediate and significant that requiring a legislative body to provide one -hour notice before holding an emergency meeting under this section may endanger the public health, safety, or both, as determined by a majority of the members of the legislative body. (b) (1) Subject to paragraph (2), in the case of an emergency situation involving matters upon which prompt action is necessary due to the disruption or threatened disruption of public facilities, a legislative body may hold an emergency meeting without complying with either the 24 -hour notice requirement or the 24 -hour posting requirement of Section 54956 or both of the notice and posting requirements. (2) Each local newspaper of general circulation and radio or television station that has requested notice of special meetings pursuant to Section 54956 shall be notified by the presiding officer of the legislative body, or designee thereof, one hour prior to the emergency meeting, or, in the case of a dire emergency, at or near the time that the presiding officer or designee notifies the members of the legislative body of the emergency meeting. This notice shall be given by telephone and all telephone numbers provided in the most recent request of a newspaper or station for notification of special meetings shall be exhausted. In the event that telephone services are not functioning, the notice requirements of this section shall be deemed waived, and the legislative body, or designee of the legislative body, shall notify those newspapers, radio stations, or television stations of the fact of the holding of the emergency meeting, the purpose of the meeting, and any action taken at the meeting as soon after the meeting as possible. (c) During a meeting held pursuant to this section, the legislative body may meet in closed session pursuant to Section 54957 if agreed to by a two - thirds vote of the members of the legislative body present, or, if less than two - thirds of the members are present, by a unanimous vote of the members present. (d) All special meeting requirements, as prescribed in Section 54956 shall be applicable to a meeting called pursuant to this section, with the exception of the 24 -hour notice requirement. (e) The minutes of a meeting called pursuant to this section, a list of persons who the presiding officer of the legislative body, or designee of the legislative body, notified or attempted to notify, a copy of the rollcall vote, and any actions taken at the meeting shall be posted for a minimum of 10 days in a public place as soon after the meeting as possible. 54956.6. No fees may be charged by the legislative body of a local agency for carrying out any provision of this chapter, except as specifically authorized by this chapter. 54956.7. Whenever a legislative body of a local agency determines that it is necessary to discuss and determine whether an applicant for a license or license renewal, who has a criminal record, is sufficiently rehabilitated to obtain the license, the legislative body may hold a closed session with the applicant and the applicant's attorney, if any, for the purpose of holding the discussion and making the determination. If the legislative body determines, as a result of the closed session, that the issuance or renewal of the license should be denied, the applicant shall be offered the opportunity to withdraw the application. If the applicant withdraws the application, no record shall be kept of the discussions or decisions made at the closed session and all matters relating to the closed session shall be confidential. If the applicant does not withdraw the application, the legislative body shall take action at the public meeting during which the closed session is held or at its next public meeting denying the application for the license but all matters relating to the closed session are confidential and shall not be disclosed without the consent of the applicant, except in an action by an applicant who has been denied a license challenging the denial of the license. 54956.75. (a) Nothing contained in this chapter shall be construed to prevent the legislative body of a local agency that has received a confidential final draft audit report from the Bureau of State Audits from holding closed sessions to discuss its response to that report. (b) After the public release of an audit report by the Bureau of State Audits, if a legislative body of a local agency meets to discuss the audit report, it shall do so in an open session unless exempted from that requirement by some other provision of law. 54956.8. Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, a legislative body of a local agency may hold a closed session with its negotiator prior to the purchase, sale, exchange, or lease of real property by or for the local agency to grant authority to its negotiator regarding the price and terms of payment for the purchase, sale, exchange, or lease. However, prior to the closed session, the legislative body of the local agency shall hold an open and public session in which it identifies its negotiators, the real property or real properties which the negotiations may concern, and the person or persons with whom its negotiators may negotiate. For purposes of this section, negotiators may be members of the legislative body of the local agency. For purposes of this section, "lease" includes renewal or renegotiation of a lease. Nothing in this section shall preclude a local agency from holding a closed session for discussions regarding eminent domain proceedings pursuant to Section 54956.9. 54956.81. Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, a legislative body of a local agency that invests pension funds may hold a closed session to consider the purchase or sale of particular, specific pension fund investments. All investment transaction decisions made during the closed session shall be made by rollcall vote entered into the minutes of the closed session as provided in subdivision (a) of Section 54957.2. 54956.86. Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, a legislative body of a local agency which provides services pursuant to Section 14087.3 of the Welfare and Institutions Code may hold a closed session to hear a charge or complaint from a member enrolled in its health plan if the member does not wish to have his or her name, medical status, or other information that is protected by federal law publicly disclosed. Prior to holding a closed session pursuant to this section, the legislative body shall inform the member, in writing, of his or her right to have the charge or complaint heard in an open session rather than a closed session. 54956.87. (a) Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, the records of a health plan that is licensed pursuant to the Knox -Keene Health Care Service Plan Act of 1975 (Chapter 2.2 (commencing with Section 1340) of Division 2 of the Health and Safety Code) and that is governed by a county board of supervisors, whether paper records, records maintained in the management information system, or records in any other form, that relate to provider rate or payment determinations, allocation or distribution methodologies for provider payments, formulas or calculations for these payments, and contract negotiations with providers of health care for alternative rates are exempt from disclosure for a period of three years after the contract is fully executed. The transmission of the records, or the information contained therein in an alternative form, to the board of supervisors shall not constitute a waiver of exemption from disclosure, and the records and information once transmitted to the board of supervisors shall be subject to this same exemption. (b) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the governing board of a health plan that is licensed pursuant to the Knox -Keene Health Care Service Plan Act of 1975 (Chapter 2.2 (commencing with Section 1340) of Division 2 of the Health and Safety Code) and that is governed by a county board of supervisors may order that a meeting held solely for the purpose of discussion or taking action on health plan trade secrets, as defined in subdivision (f), shall be held in closed session. The requirements of making a public report of action taken in closed session, and the vote or abstention of every member present, may be limited to a brief general description without the information constituting the trade secret. (c) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the governing board of a health plan may meet in closed session to consider and take action on matters pertaining to contracts and contract negotiations by the health plan with providers of health care services concerning all matters related to rates of payment. The governing board may delete the portion or portions containing trade secrets from any documents that were finally approved in the closed session held pursuant to subdivision (b) that are provided to persons who have made the timely or standing request. (d) Nothing in this section shall be construed as preventing the governing board from meeting in closed session as otherwise provided by law. (e) The provisions of this section shall not prevent access to any records by the Joint Legislative Audit Committee in the exercise of its powers pursuant to Article 1 (commencing with Section 10500) of Chapter 4 of Part 2 of Division 2 of Title 2. The provisions of this section also shall not prevent access to any records by the Department of Corporations in the exercise of its powers pursuant to Article 1 (commencing with Section 1340) of Chapter 2.2 of Division 2 of the Health and Safety Code. (f) For purposes of this section, "health plan trade secret" means a trade secret, as defined in subdivision (d) of Section 3426.1 of the Civil Code, that also meets both of the following criteria: (1) The secrecy of the information is necessary for the health plan to initiate a new service, program, marketing strategy, business plan, or technology, or to add a benefit or product. (2) Premature disclosure of the trade secret would create a substantial probability of depriving the health plan of a substantial economic benefit or opportunity. 54956.9. Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to prevent a legislative body of a local agency, based on advice of its legal counsel, from holding a closed session to confer with, or receive advice from, its legal counsel regarding pending litigation when discussion in open 'session concerning those matters would prejudice the position of the local agency in the litigation. For purposes of this chapter, all expressions of the lawyer - client privilege other than those provided in this section are hereby abrogated. This section is the exclusive expression of the lawyer - client privilege for purposes of conducting closed - session meetings pursuant to this chapter. For purposes of this section, "litigation" includes any adjudicatory proceeding, including eminent domain, before a court, administrative body exercising its adjudicatory authority, hearing officer, or arbitrator. For purposes of this section, litigation shall be considered pending when any of the following circumstances exist: (a) Litigation, to which the local agency is a party, has been initiated formally. (b) (1) A point has been reached where, in the opinion of the legislative body of the local agency on the advice of its legal counsel, based on existing facts and circumstances, there is a significant exposure to litigation against the local agency. (2) Based on existing facts and circumstances, the legislative body of the local agency is meeting only to decide whether a closed session is authorized pursuant to paragraph (1) of this subdivision. (3) For purposes of paragraphs (1) and (2), "existing facts and circumstances" shall consist only of one of the following: (A) Facts and circumstances that might result in litigation against the local agency but which the local agency believes are not yet known to a potential plaintiff or plaintiffs, which facts and circumstances need not be disclosed. (B) Facts and circumstances, including, but not limited to, an accident, disaster, incident, or transactional occurrence that might result in litigation against the agency and that are known to a potential plaintiff or plaintiffs, which facts or circumstances shall be publicly stated on the agenda or announced. (C) The receipt of a claim pursuant to the Tort Claims Act or some other written communication from a potential plaintiff threatening litigation, which claim or communication shall be available for public inspection pursuant to Section 54957.5. (D) A statement made by a person in an open and public meeting threatening litigation on a specific matter within the responsibility of the legislative body. (E) A statement threatening litigation made by a person outside an open and public meeting on a specific matter within the responsibility of the legislative body so long as the official or employee of the local agency receiving knowledge of the threat makes a contemporaneous or other record of the statement prior to the meeting, which record shall be available for public inspection pursuant to Section 54957.5. The records so created need not identify the alleged victim of unlawful or tortious sexual conduct or anyone making the threat on their behalf, or identify a public employee who is the alleged perpetrator of any unlawful or tortuous conduct upon which a threat of litigation is based, unless the identity of the person has been publicly disclosed. (F) Nothing in this section shall require disclosure of written communications that are privileged and not subject to disclosure pursuant to the California Public Records Act (Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 6250) of Division 7 of Title 1). (c) Based on existing facts and circumstances, the legislative body of the local agency has decided to initiate or is deciding whether to initiate litigation. Prior to holding a closed session pursuant to this section, the legislative body of the local agency shall state on the agenda or publicly announce the subdivision of this section that authorizes the closed session. If the session is closed pursuant to subdivision (a), the body shall state the title of or otherwise specifically identify the litigation to be discussed, unless the body states that to do so would jeopardize the agency's ability to effectuate service of process upon one or more unserved parties, or that to do so would jeopardize its ability to conclude existing settlement negotiations to its advantage. A local agency shall be considered to be a "party" or to have a "significant exposure to litigation" if an officer or employee of the local agency is a party or has significant exposure to litigation concerning prior or prospective activities or alleged activities during the course and scope of that office or employment, including litigation in which it is an issue whether an activity is outside the course and scope of the office or employment. 54956.95. (a) Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to prevent a joint powers agency formed pursuant to Article 1 (commencing with Section 6500) of Chapter 5 of Division 7 of Title 1, for purposes of insurance pooling, or a local agency member of the joint powers agency, from holding a closed session to discuss a claim for the payment of tort liability losses, public liability losses, or workers' compensation liability incurred by the joint powers agency or a local agency member of the joint powers agency. (b) Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to prevent the Local Agency Self - Insurance Authority formed pursuant to Chapter 5.5 (commencing with Section 6599.01) of Division 7 of Title 1, or a local agency member of the authority, from holding a closed session to discuss a claim for the payment of tort liability losses, public liability losses, or workers' compensation liability incurred by the authority or a local agency member of the authority. (c) Nothing in this section shall be construed to affect Section 54956.9 with respect to any other local agency. 54956.96. (a) Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to prevent the legislative body of a joint powers agency formed pursuant to Article 1 (commencing with Section 6500) of Chapter 5 of Division 7 of Title 1, from adopting a policy or a bylaw or including in its joint powers agreement provisions that authorize either or both of the following: (1) All information received by the legislative body of the local agency member in a closed session related to the information presented to the joint powers agency in closed session shall be confidential. However, a member of the legislative body of a member local agency may disclose information obtained in a closed session that has direct financial - or liability implications for that local agency to the following individuals: (A) Legal counsel of that member local agency for purposes of obtaining advice on whether the matter has direct financial or liability implications for that member local agency. (B) Other members of the legislative body of the local agency present in a closed session of that member local agency. (2) Any designated alternate member of the legislative body of the joint powers agency who is also a member of the legislative body of a local agency member and who is attending a properly noticed meeting of the joint powers agency in lieu of a local agency member's regularly appointed member to attend closed sessions of the joint powers agency. (b) If the legislative body of a joint powers agency adopts a policy or a bylaw or includes provisions in its joint powers agreement pursuant to subdivision (a), then the legislative body of the local agency member, upon the advice of its legal counsel, may conduct a closed session in order to receive, discuss, and take action concerning information obtained in a closed session of the joint powers agency pursuant to paragraph (1) of subdivision (a). 54957. (a) Nothing contained in this chapter shall be construed to prevent the legislative body of a local agency from holding closed sessions with the Attorney General, district attorney, agency counsel, sheriff, or chief of police, or their respective deputies, or a security consultant or a security operations manager, on matters posing a threat to the security of public buildings, a threat to the security of essential public services, including water, drinking water, wastewater treatment, natural gas service, and electric service, or a threat to the public's right of access to public services or public facilities. (b) (1) Subject to paragraph (2), nothing contained in this chapter shall be construed to prevent the legislative body of a local agency from holding closed sessions during a regular or special meeting to consider the appointment, employment, evaluation of performance, discipline, or dismissal of a public employee or to hear complaints or charges brought against the employee by another person or employee unless the employee requests a public session. (2) As a condition to holding a closed session on specific complaints or charges brought against an employee by another person or employee, the employee shall be given written notice of his or her right to have the complaints or charges heard in an open session rather than a closed session, which notice shall be delivered to the employee personally or by mail at least 24 hours before the time for holding the session. If notice is not given, any disciplinary or other action taken by the legislative body against the employee based on the specific complaints or charges in the closed session shall be null and void. (3) The legislative body also may exclude from the public or closed meeting, during the examination of a witness, any or all other witnesses in the matter being investigated by the legislative body. (4) For the purposes of this subdivision, the term "employee" shall include an officer or an independent contractor who functions as an officer or an employee but shall not include any elected official, member of a legislative body or other independent contractors. Nothing in this subdivision shall limit local officials' ability to hold closed session meetings pursuant to Sections 1461, 32106, and 32155 of the Health and Safety Code or Sections 37606 and 37624.3 of the Government Code. Closed sessions held pursuant to this subdivision shall not include discussion or action on proposed compensation except for a reduction of compensation that results from the imposition of discipline. 54957.1. (a) The legislative body of any local agency shall publicly report any action taken in closed session and the vote or abstention on that action of every member present, as follows: (1) Approval of an agreement concluding real estate negotiations pursuant to Section 54956.8 shall be reported after the agreement is final, as follows: (A) If its own approval renders the agreement final, the body shall report that approval and the substance of the agreement in open session at the public meeting during which the closed session is held. (B) If final approval rests with the other party to the negotiations, the local agency shall disclose the fact of that approval and the substance of the agreement upon inquiry by any person, as soon as the other party or its agent has informed the local agency of its approval. (2) Approval given to its legal counsel to defend, or seek or refrain from seeking appellate review or relief, or to enter as an amicus curiae in any form of litigation as the result of a consultation under Section 54956.9 shall be reported in open session at the public meeting during which the closed session is held. The report shall identify, if known, the adverse party or parties and the substance of the litigation. In the case of approval given to initiate or intervene in an action, the announcement need not identify the action, the defendants, or other particulars, but shall specify that the direction to initiate or intervene in an action has been given and that the action, the defendants, and the other particulars shall, once formally commenced, be disclosed to any person upon inquiry, unless to do so would jeopardize the agency's ability to effectuate service of process on one or more unserved parties, or that to do so would jeopardize its ability to conclude existing settlement negotiations to its advantage. (3) Approval given to its legal counsel of a settlement of pending litigation, as defined in Section 54956.9, at any stage prior to or during a judicial or quasi - judicial proceeding shall be reported after the settlement is final, as follows: (A) If the legislative body accepts a settlement offer signed by the opposing party, the body shall report its acceptance and identify the substance of the agreement in open session at the public meeting during which the closed session is held. (B) If final approval rests with some other party to the litigation or with the court, then as soon as the settlement becomes final, and upon inquiry by any person, the local agency shall disclose the fact of that approval, and identify the substance of the agreement. (4) Disposition reached as to claims discussed in closed session pursuant to Section 54956.95 shall be reported as soon as reached in a manner that identifies the name of the claimant, the name of the local agency claimed against, the substance of the claim, and any monetary amount approved for payment and agreed upon by the claimant. (5) Action taken to appoint, employ, dismiss, accept the resignation of, or otherwise affect the employment. status of a public employee in closed session pursuant to Section 54957 shall be reported at the public meeting during which the closed session is held. Any report required by this paragraph shall identify the title of the position. The general requirement of this paragraph notwithstanding, the report of a dismissal or of the nonrenewal of an employment contract shall be deferred until the first public meeting following the exhaustion of administrative remedies, if any. (6) Approval of an agreement concluding labor negotiations with represented employees pursuant to Section 54957.6 shall be reported after the agreement is final and has been accepted or ratified by the other party. The report shall identify the item approved and the other party or parties to the negotiation. (7) Pension fund investment transaction decisions made pursuant to Section 54956.81 shall be disclosed at the first open meeting of the legislative body held after the earlier of the close of the investment transaction or the transfer of pension fund assets for the investment transaction. (b) Reports that are required to be made pursuant to this section may be made orally or in writing. The legislative body shall provide to any person who has submitted a written request to the legislative body within 24 hours of the posting of the agenda, or to any person who has made a standing request for all documentation as part of a request for notice of meetings pursuant to Section 54954.1 or 54956, if the requester is present at the time the closed session ends, copies of any contracts, settlement agreements, or other documents that were finally approved or adopted in the closed session. If the action taken results in one or more substantive amendments to the related documents requiring retyping, the documents need not be released until the retyping is completed during normal business hours, provided that the presiding officer of the legislative body or his or her designee orally summarizes the substance of the amendments for the benefit of the document requester or any other person present and requesting the information. (c) The documentation referred to in subdivision (b) shall be available to any person on the next business day following the meeting in which the action referred to is taken or, in the case of substantial amendments, when any necessary retyping is complete. (d) Nothing in this section shall be construed to require that the legislative body approve actions not otherwise subject to legislative body approval. (e) No action for injury to a reputational, liberty, or other personal interest may be commenced by or on behalf of any employee or former employee with respect to whom a disclosure is made by a legislative body in an effort to comply with this section. (f) This section is necessary to implement, and reasonably within the scope of, paragraph (1) of subdivision (b) of Section 3 of Article I of the California Constitution. 54957.2. (a) The legislative body of a local agency may, by ordinance or resolution, designate a clerk or other officer or employee of the local agency who shall then attend each closed session of the legislative body and keep and enter in a minute book a record of topics discussed and decisions made- at the meeting. The minute book made pursuant to this section is not a public record subject to inspection pursuant to the California Public Records Act (Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 6250) of Division 7 of Title 1), and shall be kept confidential. The minute book shall be available only to members of the legislative body or, if a violation of this chapter is alleged to have occurred at a closed session, to a court of general jurisdiction wherein the local agency lies. Such minute book may, but need not, consist of a recording of the closed session. (b) An elected legislative body of a local agency may require that each legislative body all or a majority of whose members are appointed by or under the authority of the elected legislative body keep a minute book as prescribed under subdivision (a). 54957.5. (a) Notwithstanding Section 6255 or any other provisions of law, agendas of public meetings and any other writings, when distributed to all, or a majority of all, of the members of a legislative body of a local agency by any person in connection with a matter subject to discussion or consideration at an open meeting of the body, are disclosable public records under the California Public Records Act (Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 6250) of Division 7 of Title 1), and shall be made available upon request without delay. However, this section shall not include any writing exempt from public disclosure under Section 6253.5, 6254, 6254.3, 6254.7, 6254.15, 6254.16, or 6254.22. (b) (1) If a writing that is a public record under subdivision (a), and that relates to an agenda item for an open session of a regular meeting of the legislative body of a local agency, is distributed less than 72 hours prior to that meeting, the writing shall be made available for public inspection pursuant to paragraph (2) at the time the writing is distributed to all, or a majority of all, of the members of the body. (2) A local agency shall make any writing described in paragraph (1) available for public inspection at a public office or location that the agency shall designate for this purpose. Each local agency shall list the address of this office or location on the agendas for all meetings of the legislative body of that agency. The local agency also may post the writing on the local agency's Internet Web site in a position and manner that makes it clear that the writing relates to an agenda item for an upcoming meeting. (3) This subdivision shall become operative on July 1, 2008. (c) Writings that are public records under subdivision (a) and that are distributed during a public meeting shall be made available for public inspection at the meeting if prepared by the local agency or a member of its legislative body, or after the meeting if prepared by some other person. These writings shall be made available in appropriate alternative formats upon request by a person with a disability, as required by Section 202 of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. Sec. 12132), and the federal rules and regulations adopted in implementation thereof. (d) Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to prevent the legislative body of a local agency from charging a fee or deposit for a copy of a public record pursuant to Section 6253, except that no surcharge shall be imposed on persons with disabilities in violation of Section 202 of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. Sec. 12132), and the federal rules and regulations adopted in implementation thereof. (e) This section shall not be construed to limit or delay the public's right to inspect or obtain a copy of any record required to be disclosed under the requirements of the California Public Records Act (Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 6250) of Division 7 of Title 1). Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to require a legislative body of a local agency to place any paid advertisement or any other paid notice in any publication. 54957.6. (a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a legislative body of a local agency may hold closed sessions with the local agency's designated representatives regarding the salaries, salary schedules, or compensation paid in the form of fringe benefits of its represented and unrepresented employees, and, for represented employees, any other matter within the statutorily provided scope of representation. However, prior to the closed session, the legislative body of the local agency shall hold an open and public session in which it identifies its designated representatives. Closed sessions of a legislative body of a local agency, as permitted in this section, shall be for the purpose of reviewing its position and instructing the local agency's designated representatives. Closed sessions, as permitted in this section, may take place prior to and during consultations and discussions with representatives of employee organizations and unrepresented employees. Closed sessions with the local agency's designated representative regarding the salaries, salary schedules, or compensation paid in the form of fringe benefits may include discussion of an agency's available funds and funding priorities, but only insofar as these discussions relate to providing instructions to the local agency's designated representative. Closed sessions held pursuant to this section shall not include final action on the proposed compensation of one or more unrepresented employees. For the purposes enumerated in this section, a legislative body of a local agency may also meet with a state conciliator who has intervened in the proceedings. (b) For the purposes of this section, the term "employee" shall include an officer or an independent contractor who functions as an officer or an employee, but shall not include any elected official, member of a legislative body, or other independent contractors. 54957.7. (a) Prior to holding any closed session, the legislative body of the local agency shall disclose, in an open meeting, the item or items to be discussed in the closed session. The disclosure may take the form of a reference to the item or items as they are listed by number or letter on the agenda. In the closed session, the legislative body may consider only those matters covered in its statement. Nothing in this section shall require or authorize a disclosure of information prohibited by state or federal law. (b) After any closed session, the legislative body shall reconvene into open session prior to adjournment and shall make any disclosures required by Section 54957.1 of action taken in the closed session. (c) The announcements required to be made in open session pursuant to this section may be made at the location announced in the agenda for the closed session, as long as the public is allowed to be present at that location for the purpose of hearing the announcements. 54957.8. (a) For purposes of this section, "multijurisdictional law enforcement agency" means a joint powers entity formed pursuant to Article 1 (commencing with Section 6500) of Chapter 5 of Division 7 of Title 1 that provides law enforcement services for the parties to the joint powers agreement for the purpose of investigating criminal activity involving drugs; gangs; sex crimes; firearms trafficking or felony possession of a firearm; high technology, computer, or identity theft; human trafficking; or vehicle theft. (b) Nothing contained in this chapter shall be construed to prevent the legislative body of a multijurisdictional law enforcement agency, or an advisory body of a multijurisdictional law enforcement agency, from holding closed sessions to discuss the case records of any ongoing criminal investigation of the multijurisdictional law enforcement agency or of any party to the joint powers agreement, to hear testimony from persons involved in the investigation, and to discuss courses of action in particular cases. 54957.9. In the event that any meeting is willfully interrupted by a group or groups of persons so as to render the orderly conduct of such meeting unfeasible and order cannot be restored by the removal of individuals who are willfully interrupting the meeting, the members of the legislative body conducting the meeting may order the meeting room cleared and continue in session. Only matters appearing on the agenda may be considered in such a session. Representatives of the press or other news media, except those participating in the disturbance, shall be allowed to attend any session held pursuant to this section. Nothing in this section shall prohibit the legislative body from establishing a procedure for readmitting an individual or individuals not responsible for willfully disturbing the orderly conduct of the meeting. 54957.10. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a legislative body of a local agency may hold closed sessions to discuss a local agency employee's application for early withdrawal of funds in a deferred compensation plan when the application is based on financial hardship arising from an unforeseeable emergency due to illness, accident, casualty, or other extraordinary event, as specified in the deferred compensation plan. 54958. The provisions of this chapter shall apply to the legislative body of every local agency notwithstanding the conflicting provisions of any other state law. 54959. Each member of a legislative body who attends a meeting of that legislative body where action is taken in violation of any provision of this chapter, and where the member intends to deprive the public of information to which the member knows or has reason to know the public is entitled under this chapter, is guilty of a misdemeanor. 54960. (a) The district attorney or any interested person may commence an action by mandamus, injunction or declaratory relief for the purpose of stopping or preventing violations or threatened violations of this chapter by members of the legislative body of a local agency or to determine the applicability of this chapter to actions or threatened future action of the legislative body, or to determine whether any rule or action by the legislative body to penalize or otherwise discourage the expression of one or more of its members is valid or invalid under the laws of this state or of the United States, or to compel the legislative body to tape record its closed sessions as hereinafter provided. (b) The court in its discretion may, upon a judgment of a violation of Section 54956.7, 54956.8, 54956.9, 54956.95, 54957, or 54957.6, order the legislative body to tape record its closed sessions and preserve the tape recordings for the period and under the terms of security and confidentiality the court deems appropriate. (c) (1) Each recording so kept shall be immediately labeled with the date of the closed session recorded and the title of the clerk or other officer who shall be custodian of the recording. (2) The tapes shall be subject to the following discovery procedures: (A) In any case in which discovery or disclosure of the tape is sought by either the district attorney or the plaintiff in a civil action pursuant to Section 54959, 54960, or 54960.1 alleging that a violation of this chapter has occurred in a closed session which has been recorded pursuant to this section, the party seeking discovery or disclosure shall file a written notice of motion with the appropriate court with notice to the governmental agency which has custody and control of the tape recording. The notice shall be given pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 1005 of the Code of Civil Procedure. (B) The notice shall include, in addition to the items required by Section 1010 of the Code of Civil Procedure, all of the following: (i) Identification of the proceeding in which discovery or disclosure is sought, the party seeking discovery or disclosure, the date and time of the meeting recorded, and the governmental agency which has custody and control of the recording. (ii) An affidavit which contains specific facts indicating that a violation of the act occurred in the closed session. (3) If the court, following a review of the motion, finds that there'is good cause to believe that a violation has occurred, the court may review, in camera, the recording of that portion of the closed session alleged to have violated the act. (4) If, following the in camera review, the court concludes that disclosure of a portion of the recording would be likely to materially assist in the resolution of the litigation alleging violation of this chapter, the court shall, in its discretion, make a certified transcript of the portion of the recording a public exhibit in the proceeding. (5) Nothing in this section shall permit discovery of communications which are protected by the attorney - client privilege. 54960.1. (a) The district attorney or any interested person may commence an action by mandamus or injunction for the purpose of obtaining a judicial determination that an action taken by a legislative body of a local agency in violation of Section 54953, 54954.2, 54954.5, 54954.6, 54956, or 54956.5 is null and void under this section. Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to prevent a legislative body from curing or correcting an action challenged pursuant to this section. (b) Prior to any action being commenced pursuant to subdivision (a), the district attorney or interested person shall make a demand of the legislative body to cure or correct the action alleged to have been taken in violation of Section 54953, 54954.2, 54954.5, 54954.6, 54956, or 54956.5. The demand shall be in writing and clearly describe the challenged action of the legislative body and nature of the alleged violation. (c) (1) The written demand shall be made within 90 days from the date the action was taken unless the action was taken in an open session but in violation of Section 54954.2, in which case the written demand shall be made within 30 days from the date the action was taken. (2) Within 30 days of receipt of the demand, the legislative body shall cure or correct the challenged action and inform the demanding party in writing of its actions to cure or correct or inform the demanding party in writing of its decision not to cure or correct the challenged action. (3) If the legislative body takes no action within the 30 -day period, the inaction shall be deemed a decision not to cure or correct the challenged action, and the 15 -day period to commence the action described in subdivision (a) shall commence to run the day after the 30 -day period to cure or correct expires. (4) Within 15 days of receipt of the written notice of the legislative body's decision to cure or correct, or not to cure or correct, or within 15 days of the expiration of the 30 -day period to cure or correct, whichever is earlier, the demanding party shall be required to commence the action pursuant to subdivision (a) or thereafter be barred from commencing the action. (d) An action taken that is alleged to have been taken in violation of Section 54953, 54954.2, 54954.5, 54954.6, 54956, or 54956.5 shall not be determined to be null and void if any of the following conditions exist: (1) The action taken was in substantial compliance with Sections 54953, 54954.2, 54954.5, 54954.6, 54956, and 54956.5. (2) The action taken was in connection with the'sale or issuance of notes, bonds, or other evidences of indebtedness or any contract, instrument, or agreement thereto. (3) The action taken gave rise to a contractual obligation, including a contract let by competitive bid other than compensation for services in the form of salary or fees for professional services, upon which a party has, in good faith and without notice of a challenge to the validity of the action, detrimentally relied. (4) The action taken was in connection with the collection of any tax. (5) Any person, city, city and county, county, district, or any agency or subdivision of the state alleging noncompliance with subdivision (a) of Section 54954.2, Section 54956, or Section 54956.5, because of any defect, error, irregularity, or omission in the notice given pursuant to those provisions, had actual notice of the item of business at least 72 hours prior to the meeting at which the action was taken, if the meeting was noticed pursuant to Section 54954.2, or 24 hours prior to the meeting at which the action was taken if the meeting was noticed pursuant to Section 54956, or prior to the meeting at which the action was taken if the meeting is held pursuant to Section 54956.5. (e) During any action seeking a judicial determination pursuant to subdivision (a) if the court determines, pursuant to a showing by the legislative body that an action alleged to have been taken in violation of Section 54953, 54954.2, 54954.5, 54954.6, 54956, or 54956.5 has been cured or corrected by a subsequent action of the legislative body, the action filed pursuant to subdivision (a) shall be dismissed with prejudice. (f) The fact that a legislative body takes a subsequent action to cure or correct an action taken pursuant to this section shall not be construed or admissible as evidence of a violation of this chapter. 54960.5. A court may award court costs and reasonable attorney fees to the plaintiff in an action brought pursuant to Section 54960 or 54960.1 where it is found that a legislative body of the local agency has violated this chapter. The costs and fees shall be paid by the local agency and shall not become a personal liability of any public officer or employee of the local agency. A court may award court costs and reasonable attorney fees to a defendant in any action brought pursuant to Section 54960 or 54960.1 where the defendant has prevailed in a final determination of such action and the court finds that the action was clearly frivolous and totally lacking in merit. 54961. (a) No legislative body of a local agency shall conduct any meeting in any facility that prohibits the admittance of any person, or persons, on the basis of ancestry or any characteristic listed or defined in Section 11135, or which is inaccessible to disabled persons, or where members of the public may not be present without making a payment or purchase. This section shall apply to every local agency as defined in Section 54951. (b) No notice, agenda, announcement, or report required under this chapter need identify any victim or alleged victim of tortuous sexual conduct or child abuse unless the identity of the person has been publicly disclosed. 54962. Except as expressly authorized by this chapter, or by Sections 1461, 1462, 32106, and 32155 of the Health and Safety Code, or by Sections 37606, 37606.1, and 37624.3 of the Government Code as they apply to hospitals, or by any provision of the Education Code pertaining to school districts and community college districts, no closed session may be held by any legislative body of any local agency. 54963. (a) A person may not disclose confidential information that has been acquired by being present in a closed session authorized by Section 54956.7, 54956.8, 54956.86, 54956.87, 54956.9, 54957, 54957.6, 54957.8, or 54957.10 to a person not entitled to receive it, unless the legislative body authorizes disclosure of that confidential information. (b) For purposes of this section, "confidential information" means a communication made in a closed session that is specifically related to the basis for the legislative body of a local agency to meet lawfully in closed session under this chapter. (c) Violation of this section may be addressed by the use of such remedies as are currently available by law, including, but not limited to: (1) Injunctive relief to prevent the disclosure of confidential information prohibited by this section. (2) Disciplinary action against an employee who has willfully disclosed confidential information in violation of this section. (3) Referral of a member of a legislative body who has willfully disclosed confidential information in violation of this section to the grandjury. (d) Disciplinary action pursuant to paragraph (2) of subdivision (c) shall require that the employee in question has either received training as to the requirements of this section or otherwise has been given notice of the requirements of this section. (e) A local agency may not take any action authorized by subdivision (c) against a person, nor shall it be deemed a violation of this section, for doing any of the following: (1) Making a confidential inquiry or complaint to a district attorney or grand jury concerning a perceived violation of law, including disclosing facts to a district attorney or grand jury that are necessary to establish the illegality of an action taken by a legislative body of a local agency or the potential illegality of an action that has been the subject of deliberation at a closed session if that action were to be taken by a legislative body of a local agency. (2) Expressing an opinion concerning the propriety or legality of 'actions taken by a legislative body of a local agency in closed session, including disclosure of the nature and extent of the illegal or potentially illegal action. (3) Disclosing information acquired by being present in a closed session under this chapter that is not confidential information. (f) Nothing in this section shall be construed to prohibit disclosures under the whistleblower statutes contained in Section 1102.5 of the Labor Code or Article 4.5 (commencing with Section 53296) of Chapter 2 of this code. W A" t Rjff 'j. J �' 403. Every person who, without authority of law, willfully disturbs or breaks up any assembly or meeting that is not unlawful in its character, other than an assembly or meeting referred to in Section 302 of the Penal Code or Section 18340 of the Elections Code, is guilty of a misdemeanor. SECTION 406. Interference in Administrative Service. Neither the City Council nor any of its members shall interfere with the execution by the City Manager of his /her powers and duties; or order, directly or indirectly, the appointment by the City Manager or by any of the department heads in the administrative service of the City, of any person to an office or employment or removal therefrom. Except for the purpose of inquiry, the City Council and its members shall deal with the administrative service under the City Manager solely through the City Manager and neither the City Council nor any member thereof shall give orders to any subordinate of the City Manager, either publicly or privately.