SECTIONS 4660-4669 - California Statutes

WELFARE AND INSTITUTIONS CODE

SECTION 4660-4669

4660. All meetings of the board of directors of each regional
center shall be scheduled, open, and public, and all persons shall be
permitted to attend any meeting, except as otherwise provided in
this section. Regional center board meetings shall be held in
accordance with all of the following provisions:
(a) Each regional center shall provide a copy of this article to
each member of the regional center governing board upon his or her
assumption of board membership.
(b) As used in this article, board meetings include meetings
conducted by any committee of the governing board which exercises
authority delegated to it by that governing board. However, board
meetings shall not be deemed to include board retreats planned solely
for educational purposes.
(c) At each regional center board meeting, time shall be allowed
for public input on all properly noticed agenda items prior to board
action on that item. Time shall be allowed for public input on any
issue not included on the agenda.
(d) Any person attending an open and public meeting of a regional
center shall have the right to record the proceedings on a tape
recorder, video recorder, or other sound, visual, or written
transcription recording device, in the absence of a reasonable
finding of the regional center governing board that such recording
constitutes, or would constitute, a disruption of the proceedings.

4661. (a) Regional centers shall mail notice of their meetings to
any person who requests notice in writing. Notice shall be mailed at
least seven days in advance of each meeting. The notice shall include
the date, time, and location of, and a specific agenda for, the
meeting, which shall include an identification of all substantive
topic areas to be discussed, and no item shall be added to the agenda
subsequent to the provision of this notice. The notice requirement
shall not preclude the regional center board from taking action on
any urgent request made by the department, not related to purchase of
service reductions, for which the board makes a specific finding
that notice could not have been provided at least seven days before
the meeting, or on new items brought before the board at meetings by
members of the public.
(b) The regional center shall maintain all recordings and written
comments submitted as testimony on agenda items for no less than two
years. These materials shall be made available for review by any
person, upon request.
(c) Any action taken by a board that is found by a court of
competent jurisdiction to have substantially violated any provision
of this article shall be deemed null and void.

4662. In the case of an emergency situation involving matters upon
which prompt action is necessary due to the disruption or threatened
disruption of regional center services, an emergency meeting may be
called without complying with the advanced notice requirement of
Section 4661. For the purposes of this article, "emergency situation"
means any activity which severely impairs public health, safety, or
both, as determined by a majority of the members of the regional
center board. In these situations, advance notice shall be provided
if practicable. In addition, the area board shall be notified by
telephone of each emergency meeting. The minutes of an emergency
meeting, including a description of any actions taken at the meeting,
shall be mailed immediately to those persons described in Section
4661.

4663. (a) The governing board of a regional center may hold a
closed meeting to discuss or consider one or more of the following:
(1) Real estate negotiations.
(2) The appointment, employment, evaluation of performance, or
dismissal of a regional center employee.
(3) Employee salaries and benefits.
(4) Labor contract negotiations.
(5) Pending litigation.
(b) Any matter specifically dealing with a particular regional
center client must be conducted in a closed session, except where it
is requested that the issue be discussed publicly by the client, the
client's conservator, or the client's parent or guardian where the
client is a minor. Minutes of closed sessions shall be kept by a
designated officer or employee of the regional center, but these
minutes shall not be considered public records. Prior to and directly
after holding any closed session, the regional center board shall
state the specific reason or reasons for the closed session. In the
closed session, the board may consider only those matters covered in
its statement.

4664. The governing board of a regional center may hold a closed
session regarding pending litigation when discussion in open session
concerning those matters would prejudice the position of the regional
center in the litigation. Litigation shall be considered pending
when any of the following circumstances exist:
(a) An adjudicatory proceeding to which the regional center is a
party has been initiated formally.
(b) A point has been reached where, based upon existing facts and
circumstances and the advice of legal counsel, it is determined that
there is a significant exposure to litigation against the regional
center.
(c) Based on existing facts and circumstances, the regional center
has decided to initiate or is deciding whether to initiate
litigation.
Prior to holding a closed session pursuant to this section, the
regional center governing board shall state publicly to which
subdivision it is pursuant.

4665. Agendas and other writings or materials distributed prior to
or during a regional center board meeting for discussion or action at
the meeting shall be considered public records, except those
materials distributed during, and directly related to, a closed
session authorized under Section 4663. Writings which are distributed
prior to commencement of a board meeting shall be made available for
public inspection upon request prior to commencement of the meeting.
Writings which are distributed during a board meeting shall be made
available for public inspection at the time of their discussion at
the meeting. A reasonable fee may be charged for a copy of a public
record distributed pursuant to this section.

4666. No regional center shall conduct any meeting, conference, or
other function in any facility that prohibits the admittance of any
person, or persons, on the basis of ancestry or any characteristic
listed or defined in Section 11135 of the Government Code.

4667. All regional center board meetings shall be held in
facilities accessible to persons with physical disabilities.

4668. (a) Any action taken by a regional center governing board in
violation of this article is null and void. Any interested person may
commence an action by mandamus, injunction, or declaratory relief
for the purpose of obtaining a judicial declaration that an action
taken in violation of this article is null and void.
(b) A court may award court costs and reasonable attorney's fees
to the plaintiff in an action brought pursuant to this section where
it is found that a regional center board has violated the provisions
of this article.
(c) This section does not prevent a regional center governing
board from curing or correcting an action challenged pursuant to this
section.

4669. The provisions of this article shall not apply to the
corporate affairs of the governing board of a regional center which
have no relationship to the role and responsibility of a regional
center set forth in this chapter.