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Department of Neighborhood Empowerment
DONE Newsletters 2008
June 5, 2008
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To: |
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Neighborhood Council Leaders |
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From: |
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BongHwan Kim, General Manager
....Department of Neighborhood Empowerment (DONE) |
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E-mail: |
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done@lacity.org |
Re: Amendment to the Brown Act
Please see the letter from the City Attorney below and / or the attached file for information regarding amendment to the Brown Act.
(NOTE: Becomes effective July 1, 2008.)
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OFFICE OF THE CITY ATTORNEY
ROCKARD J. DELGADILLO
CITY ATTORNEY
Telephone: (213) 978-8130
Facsimile: (213) 978-8222
May 7, 2008
VIA ELECTRONIC AND REGULAR MAIL
BongHwan Kim, Interim General Manager
Department of Neighborhood Empowerment
340 East Second Street, Suite 406
Los Angeles, California 90012
Re: Amendments to the Brown Act that affect the agenda and distribution of
writings to members of the public
Dear Mr. Kim:
We wish to bring to your attention a recent amendment to the Brown Act" that
takes effect on July 1, 2008, and impacts the wording of board agendas and also
impacts how the records, which are reviewed by board members in anticipation of a
meeting, are to be made available to the public. This letter is intended to provide you
with guidance in preparing the agendas for the Board of Neighborhood Commissioners
and should also be provided to the Neighborhood Councils.
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The pertinent amendment is contained in Government Code section 54957.5 paragraph (b) reads as follows:
"(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." |
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Typically, board members receive an agenda and written materials to review in
advance of a meeting (the "agenda packet"). Government Code section 54957.5
clarifies that once the writings or agenda packet are delivered to a majority of the
members on the board, the records, unless specifically protected from disclosure by the
Public Records Act, must be made immediately available upon request. If written
materials are submitted to the board after the posting of the agenda, then the agency
shall designate a location (and an optional website link) where the public may view the
records.
We recommend that the Department of Neighborhood Empowerment provide for
easy access to the records for the Board of Neighborhood Commissioners by making
them available on the website in addition to a physical location. Therefore, the Board of
Neighborhood Commissioners should add the following to their agendas:
"In compliance with Government Code section 54957.5, non-exempt
writings that are distributed to a majority or all of the Board of
Neighborhood Commissioners in advance of their meetings, may be
viewed at the offices of the Department of Neighborhood Empowerment,
located at 334..B East 2nd Street, Los Angeles, California 90012, by
clicking on the Department's website at http://www.lacityneighborhoods.com/page2.cfm?doc=staff reports or at
the Commission meeting. In addition, if you would like a copy of any
record related to an item on the agenda, please contact Bianca Vite,
Commission Executive Assistant, at (213) 847-7155 or e-mail: Bianca.Vite@lacity.org."
It will be important to insure that upon distribution of the agenda packet to a
majority or all of the board members, the documents are promptly placed in the correct
location and posted on the website.
The suggested addition to the agendas for Neighborhood Councils should read:
"In compliance with Government Code section 54957.5, non-exempt
writings that are distributed to a majority or all of the board in advance of a
meeting, may be viewed at [insert address], [optional: at our website by
clicking on the following link: _________________ ,] or at the scheduled meeting. In
addition, if you would like a copy of any record related to an item on the
agenda, please contact _________________ ."
Please feel free to contact me if you have any further questions regarding this
matter.
Very truly yours,
Darren R. Martinez
Deputy City Attorney |
cc: |
Bianca Vite, Commission Executive Assistant
Mark Lewis, Field Director of Operations |
DRM: |
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AN EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY -AFFIRMATIVE ACTION EMPLOYER
200 NORTH MAIN STREET, LOS ANGELES, CA 90012-4131 213.978.8100 213.978.8310 TDD
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Amendment to Brown Act
(pfd file)
Letter from City Attorney
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BongHwan Kim, General Manager
done@lacity.org
Department of Neighborhood Empowerment
334-B E. 2nd Street
Los Angeles, CA 90012
866 / LA HELPS
213 / 485-1360
213 / 485-4608 fax
done@mailbox.lacity.org
email
www.lacityneighborhoods.com
website
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