SECTIONS 9027-9031 - California Statutes

GOVERNMENT CODE

SECTION 9027-9031

9027. Except as otherwise provided in this article, all meetings of
a house of the Legislature or a committee thereof shall be open and
public, and all persons shall be permitted to attend the meetings. As
used in this article, "meeting" means a gathering of a quorum of the
members of a house or committee in one place for the purpose of
discussing legislative or other official matters within the
jurisdiction of the house or committee. As used in this article,
"committee" includes a standing committee, joint committee,
conference committee, subcommittee, select committee, special
committee, research committee, or any similar body.

9028. Any meeting that is required to be open and public pursuant
to this article, including any closed session held pursuant to
subdivision (a) of Section 9029, shall be held only after full and
timely notice to the public as provided by the Joint Rules of the
Assembly and Senate.

9029. (a) A house of the Legislature or a committee thereof may
hold a closed session solely for any of the following purposes:
(1) To consider the appointment, employment, evaluation of
performance, or dismissal of a public officer or employee, to
consider or hear complaints or charges brought against a Member of
the Legislature or other public officer or employee, or to establish
the classification or compensation of an employee of the Legislature.
(2) To consider matters affecting the safety and security of
Members of the Legislature or its employees or the safety and
security of any buildings and grounds used by the Legislature.
(3) To confer with, or receive advice from, its legal counsel
regarding pending or reasonably anticipated, or whether to initiate,
litigation when discussion in open session would not protect the
interests of the house or committee regarding the litigation.
(b) A caucus of the Members of the Senate, the Members of the
Assembly, or the Members of both houses, which is composed of members
of the same political party, may meet in closed session.

9029.5. (a) A closed session may be held pursuant to paragraph (3)
of subdivision (a) of Section 9029 under any of the following
circumstances:
(1) An adjudicatory proceeding before a court, administrative body
exercising its adjudicatory authority, hearing officer, or
arbitrator, to which a house of the Legislature or a committee,
Member, or employee thereof is a party, has been initiated formally.
(2) Based on existing facts and circumstances, a point has been
reached where, in the opinion of a house of the Legislature or a
committee thereof, on the advice of its legal counsel, litigation
against the house or a committee, Member, or employee thereof is
reasonably anticipated.
(3) Based on existing facts and circumstances, a house of the
Legislature or a committee thereof has decided to initiate or is
deciding whether to initiate litigation.
(4) To confer with, or receive advice from, its legal counsel and
negotiator prior to the purchase, sale, exchange, or lease of real
property by or for the house or committee regarding the price and
terms of payment for the purchase, sale, exchange, or lease.
(b) Prior to holding a closed session pursuant to paragraph (3) of
subdivision (a) Section 9029 and this section, the presiding officer
of the house or the chair of the committee shall state publicly
which paragraph of subdivision (a) is applicable. If the closed
session is held pursuant to paragraph (1) of subdivision (a), the
presiding officer or chair shall state the title of or otherwise
specifically identify the litigation to be discussed, unless the
presiding officer or chair states that to do so would jeopardize the
ability to effectuate service of process upon one or more unserved
parties, or that to do so would jeopardize the ability of the house
or the committee to conclude existing settlement negotiations to its
advantage. If the closed session is held pursuant to paragraph (4) of
subdivision (a), the notice of the closed session shall identify the
real property which the negotiations may concern and the person with
whom the negotiations may take place.
(c) The legal counsel of the house or the committee shall prepare
and submit to the house or the committee a memorandum stating the
specific reasons and legal authority for the closed session. If the
closed session is held pursuant to paragraph (1) of subdivision (a),
the memorandum shall include the title of or other identification of
the litigation. If the closed session is held pursuant to paragraph
(2) or (3) of subdivision (a), the memorandum shall set forth the
existing facts and circumstances on which the closed session is
based. The legal counsel shall submit the memorandum to the house or
the committee prior to the closed session, if feasible, or, in any
case, not later than one week after the closed session. The
memorandum shall be exempt from disclosure under the Legislative Open
Records Act (Article 3.5 (commencing with Section 9070) of Chapter
1.5 of Part 1 of Division 2 of Title 2).
(d) For purposes of paragraph (3) of subdivision (a) of Section
9029 and this section, "litigation" includes any adjudicatory
proceeding, including eminent domain, before a court, administrative
body exercising its adjudicatory authority, hearing officer, or
arbitrator.
(e) For purposes of this article, all expressions of the
lawyer-client privilege other than those provided in this section are
hereby abrogated. This section is the exclusive expression of the
lawyer-client privilege for the purposes of conducting closed-session
meetings pursuant to this article.
(f) Disclosure of a memorandum required under this section shall
not be deemed a waiver of the lawyer-client privilege provided for
under Article 3 (commencing with Section 950) of Chapter 4 of
Division 8 of the Evidence Code.

9030. Each Member of the Legislature who attends a meeting of the
Assembly, the Senate, or any committee or subcommittee thereof, where
action is taken in violation of Section 9027, with knowledge of the
fact that the meeting is in violation thereof, is guilty of a
misdemeanor.

9031. Any interested person may commence an action by mandamus,
injunction, or declaratory relief for the purpose of stopping or
preventing violations or threatened violations of this article by
Members of the Legislature or to determine the applicability of this
article to actions or threatened future action of a house of the
Legislature or a committee thereof.