Bill > SB1187

This bill, by adding Section 54952.65 to the Government Code, clarifies the definition of "majority" for the purposes of the Ralph M. Brown Act, which governs open meetings for local government agencies in California. The Ralph M. Brown Act generally requires that meetings of legislative bodies, such as city councils or county boards of supervisors, be open to the public. A "meeting" under this act is defined as a gathering of a majority of the members of a legislative body to discuss or act on official business. This bill explicitly defines "majority" as the number of members that is more than half of the total number of seats on the legislative body, and importantly, it specifies that even if a seat is vacant, it still counts towards the total number of seats when determining a majority. This clarification aims to ensure that actions taken by legislative bodies always have the support of a substantial portion of their members, thereby promoting public scrutiny of government decisions. The bill also includes legislative findings to satisfy constitutional requirements for statutes that may limit public access to government meetings.

https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billStatusClient.xhtml?bill_id=202520260SB1187