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California


TIMES ACCUSES L.A. COUNTY SUPERVISORS OF VIOLATING OPEN-MEETING LAW

The Times accused the L.A. County supervisors of two Brown Act violations.
Above, the Kenneth Hahn Hall of Administration.
(Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)
By Rebecca EllisStaff Writer 
May 30, 2023 7:29 PM PT
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Los Angeles County supervisors met privately Tuesday to discuss demands by The
Times that they turn over transcripts of two recent meetings following alleged
violations of one of California’s bedrock open-government laws.

The discussion, held as part of Tuesday’s closed-session board meeting, came
after a lawyer representing The Times sent the supervisors a letter accusing
them of twice violating the Brown Act, which aims to ensure the public can watch
local government meetings.

Under the Brown Act, local agencies are allowed to discuss certain topics behind
closed doors. These topics can include litigation, performance evaluations of
employees or union negotiations. Local governments must specify the topic and
publicize it on an agenda in advance of the meeting.

“What you can’t do is use that as a guise to talk about policy-oriented
decisions that the public has a right to be a part of,” said attorney Kelly
Aviles, who wrote the April 21 letter on behalf of The Times.


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The Times alleged the county violated the Brown Act in closed sessions on March
24 and April 18 — meetings that came at a time of crisis for the county’s
Probation Department. The March 24 meeting was held the day after state
regulators warned county officials that the state would probably move to shut
down the county’s two juvenile halls.

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In both meetings, the county listed “department head performance evaluations” on
the agenda for the closed session. The Times alleges in its letter that the
board actually used the time for a broader discussion of the Probation
Department.

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The letter cites a statement that board Chair Janice Hahn provided saying the
March 24 closed session was held to “figure out a path forward to keep both the
young people in our halls and our staff safe and supported.”

Aviles argued in her letter that such a conversation would be considered a much
wider policy matter than what the Brown Act allows for.

“Furthermore, a preemptive discussion of the state of county juvenile halls or
their potential closures reaches far beyond the personnel exception,” the letter
states.

A spokesperson for Hahn declined to comment.

In addition to requesting the transcripts, the letter asks the county to “to
refrain from similar violations in the future.”

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Rebecca Ellis

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Rebecca Ellis covers Los Angeles County government for the Los Angeles Times.
Previously, she covered Portland city government for Oregon Public Broadcasting.
Before OPB, Ellis wrote for the Miami Herald, freelanced for the Providence
Journal and reported as a Kroc fellow at NPR in Washington, D.C. She graduated
from Brown University in 2018. She was named a finalist for the 2022 Livingston
Awards for her investigation into abuses within Portland’s private security
industry.


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