Public agencies: joint power authorities: meetings.

The Joint Exercise of Powers Act authorizes two or more public agencies, if each is authorized by their respective legislative bodies, to enter into an agreement to jointly exercise any power common to those two agencies. The Ralph M. Brown Act requires that meetings of the legislative body of a local agency, including a joint powers authority, be open and public, with specified exceptions authorizing closed sessions for specified purposes. Existing law permits a joint powers agency to include in its joint powers agreement provisions authorizing (1) any member of the legislative body of a member local agency to disclose information obtained during a closed session of the joint powers agency that has direct financial or liability implications for that member local agency to that agency's legal counsel or to other members of that agency's legislative body, as specified, or (2) any designated alternate member of the legislative body of the joint powers agency that is also a member of the legislative body of a member local agency, who is attending in lieu of that agency's regularly appointed member, to attend closed sessions of the joint powers agency, as specified. This bill would repeal and recast those provisions to additionally authorize a joint powers agency to include in its joint powers agreement provisions authorizing (1) any designated alternate member who is attending in lieu of the appointed member to attend closed sessions of the joint powers authority, or (2) any appointed or designated alternate member of the local agency to disclose information obtained during a closed session of the joint powers authority that has direct financial or liability implications for that member local agency to that agency's legal counsel, or to those persons who are present in a closed session of that member local agency. This bill would also make various, nonsubstantive, conforming changes.