Open Government Program: Supporting Legislation
Brown Act
The California State Legislature adopted the Ralph
M. Brown Act in 1953. By adopting the Act, the Legislature found and
declared that public commissions, boards, councils and other local public
agencies in the state exist to aid in the conduct of the people’s
business. The intent was that actions taken would be taken openly, and
that deliberations held would be held openly as well.
California Public Records Act
The California State Legislature adopted the Public
Records Act (click on California
Law, Government Code, Sections 6250 - 6277) in 1975 and included all
records of the state and local agencies written on or after January 6
of that year. The Public Records Act is designed to give the public access
to information in possession of public agencies. The Act also provides
that public records shall be open for inspection during regular office
hours of the agency. The public can inspect any record unless the record
is exempted from disclosure under the Act, and the agency bears the burden
of justifying why the records cannot be disclosed and is responsible for
required redactions.
GET THE FORM FOR REQUESTING PUBLIC RECORDS: go
>
Sunshine Ordinance
The Oakland City Council adopted the Sunshine
Ordinance (Title 2, Chapter 2.20) in 1997 as a declaration that it
is a government's duty to serve the public, and in reaching its decisions,
to accommodate those who wish to obtain information about or participate
in the process. The ordinance is intended to assure that the deliberations
of commissions, boards, councils, advisory bodies and other agencies of
the City and the City’s operations are open to the public. (Ord.
11957 § 00.1)
[View Oakland
Municipal Code link to OMC 2.20]
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