Title
Report to City Council on Issues Arising from Implementation of the Sunshine Ordinance
Body
Prepared by the Open Government Commission (OGC) Sub-Committee on Practical and Problems Encountered on Administration of the Sunshine Ordinance (Commissioners Rasheed Shabazz and Serena Chen)
Summary of OGC Recommendations
To address procedural issues regarding the duties and responsibilities of the OGC:
1. For City Council: To task the OGC with developing goals and a timeline to address short-term and long-term "fixes" to ensure practical and timely implementation of the Sunshine Ordinance.
2. For the City Attorney's Office (CAO): To provide a clear understanding of when recusals are required and what constitutes a "conflict of interest" for the OGC and all "legislative bodies" in the city.
To address issues that arose adjudicating complaints over non-compliance with Brown Act/Sunshine Ordinance:
3. For the City Council: To publish its Legislative Agenda and the specific bills lobbied for and their disposition at the end of the legislative session.
4. For the City Council: To ask that the CAO define "ad hoc" committees and define what types of committees are NOT "legislative bodies" subject to the Brown Act.
To address issues that arose adjudicating complaints over non-compliance with the Public Records Act (PRA)
5. For the City Council: To ask that the CAO staff clarify and publish its PRA policy on the City website.
6. For the City Council: Ensure CAO staff attendance/participation in a Public Records Act training.
7. For the City Council: To include in the Sunshine Ordinance a requirement that a supplemental Public Records Act (PRA) report in included as part of the Annual Report
8. For the City Council: To direct staff to conduct a report on PRAs, modeled after City of Oakland's Public Ethics Commission May 2021 "Spotlight on Oakland's Public Records System: A Data-Driven Review of City Agency Performance and Opportunities for Improvement." Follow link...
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