Newsom signs bill clarifying how public officials can remove disruptive people from meetings
A bill intended to help clarify when officials can remove disruptive people from public meetings was signed into law Monday by Gov. Gavin Newsom.
Sen. Dave Cortese, D-San Jose, the bill’s sponsor, said the change was necessary because the state’s open meetings law didn’t offer local officials clear guidance on how to deal with the kinds of disruption that emerged during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The new rule allows a person overseeing a public meeting to remove someone who is disruptive. This includes those who disturb, impede, or render “infeasible the orderly conduct” of the gathering. That includes people who use force or threaten to use it.
Before the latest changes, officials could remove people who were interrupting meetings. But proponents of the bill said the Brown Act, enacted in 1953, did not explicitly state what should happen when a person is disruptive.
The new rule met some opposition over concerns it could be used to restrict the First Amendment rights of meeting attendees. It does require that individuals receive a warning that their behavior is disruptive and that they could be told to leave before a removal occurs.
“I’d like to thank Governor Newsom for recognizing the need for this bill and for ensuring public meetings can be safe places where important business can occur and where the public can participate, engage, and be heard,” Cortese said in a statement Monday.
This story was originally published August 23, 2022 at 5:00 AM.
