County attorney briefs new commission on the Brown Act, remote attendance and conflicts of interest

David Silverman, assistant county attorney, provided a fast-paced training on California open-meeting law and conflicts of interest for the commission, emphasizing public access, agenda requirements and limits on communications among members.

Silverman told commissioners, “When you have a meeting, you need to tell the public in advance, by posting an agenda 72 hours in advance,” and added that the Brown Act applies to any gathering of four or more members of the seven-member commission that deals with commission business. “What is a meeting? … anytime any of you get together, in a group of 4, to do anything that has anything to do with the jurisdiction of this board, that is a meeting.”

He cautioned about serial and hub-and-spoke communications and social media: “You can follow each other on social media. You can all follow each other, that’s fine, but you cannot interact with each other on social media at all,” he said, and repeated a practical admonition: “The magic number is 4,” meaning a majority of the seven-member body creates Brown Act constraints.

On consequences and public records, Silverman observed that violating the Brown Act is a crime in theory and warned that violations are likely to generate public attention, though he noted no successful Brown Act criminal prosecutions since the law’s 1953 passage. He also noted that “anything you write could be considered a public record” and advised commissioners to assume written communications might be disclosed under the Public Records Act.

Silverman briefly reviewed remote-participation exceptions created during and after the pandemic: commissioners may call in for limited reasons (contagious illness, caregiving, temporary disability, official travel) and attend remotely in emergencies but the rules are narrow and typically require notice and, in some cases, a vote. He closed with conflict-of-interest guidance, urging commissioners who have questions about possible financial conflicts to consult the county attorney; he noted commissioners will be asked to file Form 700 as part of onboarding.

Commissioners asked clarifying questions about meeting procedures, social-media limits and how staff will support agendas and public-comment processes. Silverman and county staff said further one-on-one or small-group training is available if commissioners want deeper instruction.