L.A. Supervisors Accused of Brown Act Violations

Los Angeles County supervisors have been asked to provide transcripts of two closed-door meetings to the Los Angeles Times. The media outlet has accused the board of violating the Brown Act, California’s sacrosanct open meetings law.

The meetings took place on March 24 and April 18. They were agendized as “department head performance evaluations.” But a statement from Board Chair Janice Hahn suggested the March 24 meeting included a broader policy discussion about “a path forward” for the troubled juvenile justice system.

“…A preemptive discussion of the state of county juvenile halls or their potential closures reaches far beyond the [Brown Act’s] personnel exception,” wrote Kelly Aviles, an attorney representing the Times, in an April letter to the board.  

Performance evaluations cannot be used as “a guise to talk about policy-oriented decisions that the public has a right to be a part of,” she added.

In addition to transcripts of the meetings, Aviles’ letter demands supervisors refrain from such violations in the future.