DATE: January 6, 2026
TO: Board of Supervisors
SUBMITTED BY: Bernice E. Seidel, Clerk of the Board of Supervisors
SUBJECT: Receive copy of the Ralph M. Brown Act
RECOMMENDED ACTION(S):
TITLE
Receive a copy of Chapter 9 of Title 5, Division 2, Part 1 of the California Government Code, also known as the Ralph M. Brown Act, per Government Code Section 54952.7.
REPORT
With the passage of California State Senate Bill (SB) 707, Government Code Section 54952.7 now requires members of the Board of Supervisors to be provided with a copy of the Ralph M. Brown Act (Brown Act).
ALTERNATIVE ACTION(S):
There are no viable alternative actions. A copy of the Brown Act must be provided to members of the Board of Supervisors to comply with Government Code Section 54952.7, as amended by SB 707.
FISCAL IMPACT:
Other than staff time and nominal printing costs, there is no Net County Cost (NCC) associated with the recommended action.
DISCUSSION:
The Brown Act was enacted in 1953, providing guidelines for how local agencies must hold public meetings. SB 707, authored by State Senator Mar?a Elena Durazo, provides extensive amendments to the Brown Act, including to Government Code Section 54952.7. The bill was passed by the Legislature on September 13, 2025, and approved by Governor Newsom on October 3, 2025.
Previously, the law did not require members of legislative bodies to receive a copy of the Brown Act, only that legislative bodies "may require" it. SB 707 removes this flexibility, and, effective January 1, 2026, local agencies must now provide a copy of the Brown Act "to any person elected or appointed to serve as a member of a legislative body of the local agency."
Moving forward, the Department of Human Resources will incorporate this new requirement in their onboarding process of newly elected or appointed members of the Board of Supervisors, who will be required to acknowledge receipt of the Brown Act.
ATTACHMENTS INCLUDED AND/OR ON FILE:
The Ralph M. Brown Ac...
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