Open meetings: public criticism and comment.

The Ralph M. Brown Act requires, with specified exceptions, that all meetings of a legislative body of a local agency, as those terms are defined, be open and public and that all persons be permitted to attend and participate. The act requires an agenda for a regular meeting to provide an opportunity for members of the public to directly address the legislative body on any item of interest to the public, before or during the legislative body's consideration of the item, that is within the subject matter jurisdiction of the legislative body. The act excepts from this requirement an agenda item that has already been considered by a committee, composed exclusively of members of the legislative body, at a public meeting wherein all interested members of the public were afforded the opportunity to address the committee on the item, before or during the committee's consideration of the item, unless the item has been substantially changed, as specified. The act requires a notice for a special meeting to provide an opportunity for members of the public to directly address the legislative body concerning any item that has been described in the notice before or during consideration of that item. The act authorizes the legislative body to adopt reasonable regulations to ensure that the intent of these provisions is carried out. Existing law forbids the legislative body from prohibiting public criticism of the policies, procedures, programs, or services of the agency, or of the acts or omissions of the legislative body. This bill would instead require the agenda for a regular and special meeting to provide an opportunity for the public to directly address the legislative body on any item of interest to the public before and during the legislative body's consideration of the item, except as specified. This bill would expand the existing prohibition against a legislative body limiting public criticism to include criticism of the officers and employees of the legislative body, and specify other designated prohibited activities related to limiting public comment. This bill would, if a legislative body limits the time allocated for public testimony on a particular issue or for each individual speaker, prohibit a reduction in that allocated time by reason of the questioning or interruption of the speaker by the legislative body or its officers or employees, and the speaker's response to questioning. This bill would incorporate additional changes to Section 54954.3 of the Government Code proposed by AB 1330 that would become operative if this bill and AB 1330 are both chaptered and this bill is chaptered last.