In budget-cutting’s name, state’s Open Meeting law takes a big hit

Among the $15.7 billion in cuts to the state budget signed into law at the end of June, here’s one that’s gone largely unnoticed. A key provision of the state’s Open Meeting Law, aka the Brown Act, has been suspended. The change: It’s now no longer mandatory that local government agencies tell the public beforehand that they’re planning to meet or what they’re going to discuss. A Vacaville Reporter opinion piece explains how it happened.