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<ns0:ActionText>INTRODUCED</ns0:ActionText>
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<ns0:AuthorText authorType="LEAD_AUTHOR">Introduced by Assembly Member Chen</ns0:AuthorText>
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<ns0:Legislator>
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<ns0:Name>Chen</ns0:Name>
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<ns0:Title> An act to amend Section 54952.2 of the Government Code, relating to local government. </ns0:Title>
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<ns0:Subject>Local government: open meetings.</ns0:Subject>
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<html:p>Existing law, the Ralph M. Brown Act, requires that all meetings of a legislative body be open and public and that all persons be permitted to attend except as otherwise permitted by its provisions. The act defines a meeting for the purposes of its provisions and excepts certain interactions from its provisions.</html:p>
<html:p>This bill would make nonsubstantive changes to those provisions.</html:p>
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<ns0:Preamble>The people of the State of California do enact as follows:</ns0:Preamble>
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<ns0:Num>SECTION 1.</ns0:Num>
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Section 54952.2 of the
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is amended to read:
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<ns0:Num>54952.2.</ns0:Num>
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(a)
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As used in this chapter, “meeting” means any congregation of a majority of the members of a legislative body at the same time and location, including teleconference location as permitted by Section 54953, to hear, discuss, deliberate, or take action on any item that is within the subject matter jurisdiction of the legislative body.
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(b)
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(1)
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A majority of the members of a legislative body shall not, outside a meeting authorized by this chapter, use a series of communications of any kind, directly or through intermediaries, to discuss, deliberate, or take action on any item of business that is within the subject matter jurisdiction of the legislative body.
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(2)
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Paragraph (1)
does not prevent an employee or official of a local agency, from engaging in separate conversations or communications outside of a meeting authorized by this chapter with members of a legislative body in order to answer questions or provide information regarding a matter that is within the subject matter jurisdiction of the local agency, if that person does not communicate to members of the legislative body the comments or position of any other member or members of the legislative body.
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(3)
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(A)
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Paragraph (1) does not prevent a member of the legislative body from engaging in separate conversations or communications on an internet-based social media platform to answer
questions, provide information to the public, or to solicit information from the public regarding a matter that is within the subject matter jurisdiction of the legislative body provided that a majority of the members of the legislative body do not use the internet-based social media platform to discuss among themselves business of a specific nature that is within the subject matter jurisdiction of the legislative body. A member of the legislative body shall not respond directly to any communication on an internet-based social media platform regarding a matter that is within the subject matter jurisdiction of the legislative body that is made, posted, or shared by any other member of the legislative body.
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(B)
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For purposes of this paragraph, all of the following definitions shall apply:
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(i)
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“Discuss among themselves” means communications made, posted, or shared on an internet-based
social media platform between members of a legislative body, including comments or use of digital icons that express reactions to communications made by other members of the legislative body.
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(ii)
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“Internet-based social media platform” means an online service that is open and accessible to the public.
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(iii)
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“Open and accessible to the public” means that members of the general public have the ability to access and participate, free of charge, in the social media platform without the approval by the social media platform or a person or entity other than the social media platform, including any forum and chatroom, and cannot be blocked from doing so, except when the internet-based social media platform determines that an individual violated its protocols or rules.
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(c)
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This
section does not impose the requirements of this chapter upon any of the following:
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(1)
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Individual contacts or conversations between a member of a legislative body and any other person that do not violate subdivision (b).
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(2)
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The attendance of a majority of the members of a legislative body at a conference or similar gathering open to the public that involves a discussion of issues of general interest to the public or to public agencies of the type represented by the legislative body, provided that a majority of the members do not discuss among themselves, other than as part of the scheduled program, business of a specified nature that is within the subject matter jurisdiction of the local agency.
This paragraph is not
intended to allow members of the public free admission to a conference or similar gathering at which the organizers have required other participants or registrants to pay fees or charges as a condition of attendance.
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(3)
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The attendance of a majority of the members of a legislative body at an open and publicized meeting organized to address a topic of local community concern by a person or organization other than the local agency, provided that a majority of the members do not discuss among themselves, other than as part of the scheduled program, business of a specific nature that is within the subject matter jurisdiction of the legislative body of the local agency.
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(4)
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The attendance of a majority of the members of a legislative body at an open and noticed meeting of another body of the local agency, or at an open and noticed meeting of a legislative body of another
local agency, provided that a majority of the members do not discuss among themselves, other than as part of the scheduled meeting, business of a specific nature that is within the subject matter jurisdiction of the legislative body of the local agency.
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(5)
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The attendance of a majority of the members of a legislative body at a purely social or ceremonial occasion, provided that a majority of the members do not discuss among themselves business of a specific nature that is within the subject matter jurisdiction of the legislative body of the local agency.
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(6)
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The attendance of a majority of the members of a legislative body at an open and noticed meeting of a standing committee of that body, provided that the members of the legislative body who are not members of the standing committee attend only as observers.
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