California Government Code 11123 – (a) All meetings of a state body shall be open and public and …
(a) All meetings of a state body shall be open and public and all persons shall be permitted to attend any meeting of a state body except as otherwise provided in this article.
(b) (1) This article does not prohibit a state body from holding an open or closed meeting by teleconference for the benefit of the public and state body. The meeting or proceeding held by teleconference shall otherwise comply with all applicable requirements or laws relating to a specific type of meeting or proceeding, including the following:
Terms Used In California Government Code 11123
- action taken: means a collective decision made by the members of a state body, a collective commitment or promise by the members of the state body to make a positive or negative decision or an actual vote by the members of a state body when sitting as a body or entity upon a motion, proposal, resolution, order or similar action. See California Government Code 11122
- meeting: includes any congregation of a majority of the members of a state body at the same time and place to hear, discuss, or deliberate upon any item that is within the subject matter jurisdiction of the state body to which it pertains. See California Government Code 11122.5
- State: means the State of California, unless applied to the different parts of the United States. See California Government Code 18
- state body: means each of the following:
California Government Code 11121
- Subdivision: means a subdivision of the section in which the term occurs unless some other section is expressly mentioned. See California Government Code 10
(A) The teleconferencing meeting shall comply with all requirements of this article applicable to other meetings.
(B) The portion of the teleconferenced meeting that is required to be open to the public shall be audible to the public at the location specified in the notice of the meeting.
(C) If the state body elects to conduct a meeting or proceeding by teleconference, it shall post agendas at all teleconference locations and conduct teleconference meetings in a manner that protects the rights of any party or member of the public appearing before the state body. Each teleconference location shall be identified in the notice and agenda of the meeting or proceeding, and each teleconference location shall be accessible to the public. The agenda shall provide an opportunity for members of the public to address the state body directly pursuant to Section 11125.7 at each teleconference location.
(D) All votes taken during a teleconferenced meeting shall be by rollcall.
(E) The portion of the teleconferenced meeting that is closed to the public may not include the consideration of any agenda item being heard pursuant to Section 11125.5.
(F) At least one member of the state body shall be physically present at the location specified in the notice of the meeting.
(2) For the purposes of this subdivision, “teleconference” means a meeting of a state body, the members of which are at different locations, connected by electronic means, through either audio or both audio and video. This section does not prohibit a state body from providing members of the public with additional locations in which the public may observe or address the state body by electronic means, through either audio or both audio and video.
(c) The state body shall publicly report any action taken and the vote or abstention on that action of each member present for the action.
(Amended by Stats. 2014, Ch. 510, Sec. 1. (AB 2720) Effective January 1, 2015.)