Brown Act Requires Online Posting of Agendas for Meetings Occurring on or After January 1, 2019 (AB 2257) (CCD)

Assembly Bill (“AB 2257”), signed by Governor Brown on September 9, 2016, amended Section 54952.2 of the Ralph M. Brown Act to require local governing bodies, including boards of trustees (such as those for community college districts), to post current board meeting agendas online for all board meetings occurring on and after January 1, 2019. A copy of Government Code section 54954.2 is provided as an attachment to this Legal Update.

LEGAL UPDATE

April 5, 2017

To:  Superintendents/Presidents/Chancellors, Member Community College Districts

From: Ellie R. Austin, Schools Legal Counsel

Subject: Brown Act Requires Online Posting of Agendas for Meetings Occurring on or After January 1, 2019 (AB 2257)

Memo No. 09-2017 (CC)

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Assembly Bill (“AB 2257”), signed by Governor Brown on September 9, 2016, amended Section 54952.2 of the Ralph M. Brown Act[1] to require local governing bodies, including boards of trustees (such as those for community college districts), to post current board meeting agendas online for all board meetings occurring on and after January 1, 2019. A copy of Government Code section 54954.2 is provided as an attachment to this Legal Update.

Under current law, an agency must post its legislative body’s regular and special meeting agendas on the agency’s website, if one exists. AB 2257 adds to this requirement by specifying the location, platform, and methods by which the agenda must be accessible on the agency’s website.

Agencies have two options for providing the agendas online.

Option 1: Providing a Direct Link to the Agenda

The first method by which an agency can provide the current board meeting agenda online is by providing a link to the agenda. 

Under this option, if an agency maintains a website, it must post a direct link to the current board meeting agenda on its website homepage.[2] The link must provide direct access to the agenda, rather than access through a contextual (e.g., drop down or other) menu.[3] The agenda must be retrievable, downloadable, indexable, and electronically searchable by commonly-used internet search applications, and must be available free of charge.[4]

In addition, the platform must be independent and machine readable.[5] We interpret this to mean that the agenda must be accessible on commonly-used platforms (i.e., operating systems, such as Windows, Mac, or Linux) and readable (i.e., displayable) on commonly-used web browsers (e.g., Firefox, Safari, Internet Explorer, and/or Google Chrome).  The agenda must not contain any restriction that impedes its reuse or redistribution.[6]

Option 2: Providing an Integrated Agenda Management Platform

The second method by which an agency can provide the current board meeting agenda online is by implementing an integrated agenda management platform. An integrated agenda management platform under the Brown Act means that the agency maintains a webpage dedicated to providing the entirety of the board meeting agenda information online.[7]

If an agency chooses this option, it is not required to post a link on the homepage to the current board meeting agenda; however, it is required to post a link on the homepage to the integrated agenda management platform (i.e., webpage) containing the current board agenda information.[8] Again, the link may not be in a contextual menu, but must be listed directly on the agency’s homepage.[9] When a person clicks on the direct link to the integrated agenda management platform, the direct link must take the person directly to a website containing the board agendas.[10]

The integrated agenda management platform may contain prior agendas, but the current agenda must be the first agenda available at the top of the integrated agenda management platform.[11]

As with the direct link option, agenda information posted on an integrated agenda management platform must be retrievable, downloadable, indexable, and electronically searchable by commonly used Internet search applications, and must be available free of charge.[12] The platform must be independent and machine readable, and must not contain any restrictions that would impede its reuse or redistribution.[13]

Recommendation

For all board meetings occurring on or after January 1, 2019, community college districts must post the agenda online in accordance with the new requirements of Government Code 54952.2.  Districts should work with their technology support staff to ensure that the online agenda postings will comply with all requirements outlined herein.

As a reminder, community college districts must ensure that new, newly added, and modified online content is accessible to individuals with disabilities, and must remove current barriers to accessibility. See Legal Update 06-2017(CCD) for more information regarding the legal requirements for website accessibility.

Please contact our office with questions regarding this Legal Update or any other legal matter.

 

The information in this Legal Update is provided as a summary of law and is not intended as legal advice.  Application of the law may vary depending on the particular facts and circumstances at issue.  We, therefore, recommend that you consult legal counsel to advise you on how the law applies to your specific situation.

© 2017 School and College Legal Services of California

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