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City attorney reviews Brown Act rules and upcoming changes, warns against off‑record coordination
Summary
City Attorney Craig Cornwell told the Recreation and Parks Commission that the Brown Act bars serial off‑line decision‑making, warned against substantive 'reply all' email threads, and said amendments effective July 1 will expand virtual public comment and require certain agenda translations.
The city attorney delivered an overview of the Brown Act and emphasized that commissioners must avoid off‑meeting coordination that can amount to an illegal 'serial meeting.'
"The local agency has to do business in the open," Craig Cornwell, city attorney, told the Recreation and Parks Commission, tracing the law’s origin to 1950s reporting on behind‑closed‑doors decision making and describing the Brown Act as a set of 'sunshine' requirements that protect the public's right to observe deliberations.
Cornwell explained that a 'meeting' occurs when a majority of a governing body convenes to discuss matters…
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