Carmel-by-the-Sea commission receives training on Brown Act and Public Records Act; social media, teleconferencing, and personal-device rules highlighted

Tom Brown, an attorney with Burke, Williams & Sorensen, told the Community Activities Commission on Aug. 7 that California’s open‑meeting law "the Brown Act says that all meetings of a legislative body of a local agency must be open in public." He led a training session also covering the California Public Records Act, and answered questions about teleconferencing rules, social media use by officials and how records on private devices can be subject to disclosure.

Brown told commissioners the Brown Act requires posted agendas and public comment rights for regular meetings, and described timeline requirements: "regular meetings" require 72 hours’ notice, special meetings 24 hours, and emergency meetings may be noticed as little as one hour for narrowly defined emergencies. He said public‑comment time limits are permissible so long as they apply equally to all speakers.

The training emphasized limits on gatherings and communications that can constitute a meeting. Brown warned against "serial meetings," including…