LA Supes Face Lawsuit over Brown Act Violation; Legislation Sought for Exemption

We relayed recently that the Los Angeles Board of Supervisors is seeking state legislation that would amend the Ralph M. Brown Act so that the board could be exempt from the requirements of the law when it comes to executive sessions, i.e. meetings with the governor or president. LA Supervisors are being sued by the nonprofit watchdog organization Californians Aware for violating the Brown Act when a closed meeting was held with Gov. Jerry Brown last fall.

In an update, a video of Supervisor Michael Antonovich has been circulating that shows the official urging the passage of state legislation that would allow the board to hold such private meetings without violating the Brown Act. You can view the video here:

County officials have claimed from the beginning that the meeting with the governor needed to be closed to the public due to public safety concerns. The meeting was to discuss realignment.

On Tuesday, February 22, the Board is scheduled to discuss the lawsuit during a closed session. CityWatch reports that “Apparently State Superior Court Judge Ann I Jones has not yet recognized the same urgency as the Board of Supervisors, because she has scheduled the first conference hearing on the lawsuit for July 6, 2012. Although the County of Los Angeles is a party to this case, and Judge Jones has admitted receiving double benefits from the County of Los Angeles on top of her State salary and benefits, she has not recused herself from sitting on the case.”