Brown Act

The Ralph M. Brown Act is a so-called sunshine law created by the state of California in 1953. The law governs public access to records and the public's right to speak at meetings of certain local level deliberative bodies. It is also supposed to limit governmental secrecy.

However, enforcement of the law has always been a problem, as this Wikipedia entry explains. So, it wasn't surprising to see that not much happened when writer Will Bigham at the Daily Bulletin recently observed that the Claremont City Council may violated the Brown Act in a June meeting.

Claremont had no worries, right? Who the heck cares about the Brown Act? No one enforces it. There's no Brown Act Police, other than the gadflies buzzing around City Hall, and the Claremont 400 is there to swat those pests

But wait! In today's San Gabriel Valley Tribune comes news involving the Los Angeles District Attorney's Public Integrity Unit. Yes, Claremonsters, there is such a thing; and, no it's not an oxymoron. The DA's office has sued the City of Covina over a possible Brown Act violation.

Thanks to the reader who forwarded this story.