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COG legal counsel advises caution on meeting invocation; board will consider options later
Kern Council of Governments Transportation Planning Policy Committee (TPPC) · July 28, 2025
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Summary
Legal counsel advised the Kern COG board that invitations to open meetings with a prayer or invocation raise First Amendment issues and litigation risk and recommended any invocation be nonsectarian; board members expressed mixed views and staff said it would return with agendized options.
Legal counsel told the Kern Council of Governments board that adopting an invocation or prayer to begin meetings implicates First Amendment law and can produce civil‑rights litigation costs if not carefully implemented.
"The biggest thing that…
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