Attorney General Concludes That Attendance of a Majority of City Council Members at Chamber of Commerce Event at Which the Mayor Delivers a “State of the City” Breakfast Address Would Violate the Brown Act

05.28.2024

On April 18, 2024, the Office of the California Attorney General issued an opinion on whether the Brown Act would apply to a public gathering attended by members of a local legislative body. In question was a breakfast sponsored by a private organization, the Ventura Chamber of Commerce, which featured a State of the City address delivered by the mayor of the City of Ventura, and which was open to members of the public who had purchased tickets to the event. The Attorney General concluded that the Brown Act would prohibit a majority of members of the city council from attending this event without it being noticed as a “meeting” under the Brown Act.

Definition of a “meeting”

The Brown Act, under Government Code section 54942.2, defines a “meeting” of a legislative body as “any congregation of a majority of the members of a legislative body at the same time and location” to “hear, discuss, deliberate, or take action” on any item within its subject matter jurisdiction. Because the State of the City address directly concerned the business of the city council, attendance by a majority of members of the city council at the event to hear the information would constitute a meeting unless an exception applied.

The “public conferences” exception does not apply.

Government Code section 54952.2(c)(2) is an exception to the Brown Act which allows a majority of the members of a legislative body to attend “a conference or similar gathering open to the public that involves discussion of general interest to the public or to public agencies of the type represented by the legislative body.” A conference that charges for admission may still be considered “open to the public” so long as admission sales are available to all members of the public.

The Opinion concludes that conferences within the meaning of this exception include “broadly faceted professional events involving multiple presentations for the purpose of exchanging views.” Conferences do not include narrowly focused gatherings like the Ventura Chamber of Commerce’s breakfast event. The Opinion notes that the mayor’s State of the City address was not a “discussion of issues of general interest to the public.” This is consistent with past advice of the California Department of Justice which stated that a conference is not exempt if it only focuses on the laws or issues of a particular body. Accordingly, the public conferences exception to the Brown Act did not apply here.

The “community meetings” exception does not apply.

Government Code section 54952.2(c)(3) provides an exception to the Brown Act for “an open and publicized meeting organized to address a topic of local community concern by a person or organization other than the local agency.” The Attorney General concluded that this exception does not apply if attendees are charged for admission. The Opinion noted that although the State of the City address was to be made available to the public free of charge on the Internet, this was only after the event was over. Accordingly, because admission was charged for in person attendance the community meetings exception to the Brown Act did not apply.

The “social or ceremonial occasion” exception does not apply.

The Opinion also considered the exception under Government Code section 54952.2(c)(5) allowing a majority of members of a legislative body to attend a “purely social or ceremonial occasion” so long as they do not discuss specific business within their subject matter jurisdiction. The Opinion observed that the terms “social” and “ceremonial” suggest that this exception applies to events that are for the purpose of enjoyment and which have “no real power or influence.” For an event to be purely social or ceremonial there can be no pursuit of official business. In this case, the State of the City breakfast address was deemed to involve sufficient official business of the city such that this exception would not apply.

This Opinion demonstrates the broad applicability of the Brown Act. Members of local legislative bodies should exercise caution and consult with legal counsel before attending a public gathering if a majority of its members will be present at the event. Please do not hesitate to contact the authors of this alert or your AALRR counsel for clarification and guidance.