GAO committee recommends five litigation items to full Board after closed session

The Government Audit and Oversight Committee convened on Jan. 16, 2019, recessed into closed session to consider five litigation items and later reported a unanimous recommendation that those items be sent to the full Board of Supervisors for consideration on Jan. 29, 2019.

Aaron Peskin, chair of the Government Audit and Oversight Committee, opened the meeting and said the items on the agenda were litigation matters that should be discussed in closed session. Clerk John Carroll told the committee that "During the closed session, the committee acted unanimously to recommend agenda items 1 through 5 to the full board for January 29 consideration." The clerk also reminded attendees to submit speaker cards and documents and that items acted upon would appear on the Jan. 29 board agenda.

Chair Peskin asked for a motion to convene in closed session, referencing Supervisor Valley Brown as making the motion; the motion was taken "without objection" and the committee met in closed session. On returning to open session, the chair sought a motion on whether to disclose the closed-session deliberations; a motion not to disclose (moved as referenced by Supervisor Brown) was taken without objection and approved. The chair then adjourned the meeting.

No vote tallies by individual member name were recorded in the public record; the clerk described the committee's recommendation as unanimous. The record does not include public comment on the litigation items, and the committee's report to the full board is limited to the clerk's announcement of the unanimous recommendation.

Next step: the five litigation items were scheduled by the clerk to appear on the Board of Supervisors agenda for Jan. 29, 2019, for further consideration.