4660-4669
WELFARE AND INSTITUTIONS CODE
SECTION 4660-4669
4660. All meetings of the board of directors of each regional center shall be scheduled, open, and public, and all persons shall be permitted to attend any meeting, except as otherwise provided in this section. Regional center board meetings shall be held in accordance with all of the following provisions: (a) Each regional center shall provide a copy of this article to each member of the regional center governing board upon his or her assumption of board membership. (b) As used in this article, board meetings include meetings conducted by any committee of the governing board which exercises authority delegated to it by that governing board. However, board meetings shall not be deemed to include board retreats planned solely for educational purposes. (c) At each regional center board meeting, time shall be allowed for public input on all properly noticed agenda items prior to board action on that item. Time shall be allowed for public input on any issue not included on the agenda. (d) Any person attending an open and public meeting of a regional center shall have the right to record the proceedings on a tape recorder, video recorder, or other sound, visual, or written transcription recording device, in the absence of a reasonable finding of the regional center governing board that such recording constitutes, or would constitute, a disruption of the proceedings. 4661. (a) Regional centers shall mail notice of their meetings to any person who requests notice in writing. Notice shall be mailed at least seven days in advance of each meeting. The notice shall include the date, time, and location of, and a specific agenda for, the meeting, which shall include an identification of all substantive topic areas to be discussed, and no item shall be added to the agenda subsequent to the provision of this notice. The notice requirement shall not preclude the regional center board from taking action on any urgent request made by the department, not related to purchase of service reductions, for which the board makes a specific finding that notice could not have been provided at least seven days before the meeting, or on new items brought before the board at meetings by members of the public. (b) The regional center shall maintain all recordings and written comments submitted as testimony on agenda items for no less than two years. These materials shall be made available for review by any person, upon request. (c) Any action taken by a board that is found by a court of competent jurisdiction to have substantially violated any provision of this article shall be deemed null and void. 4662. In the case of an emergency situation involving matters upon which prompt action is necessary due to the disruption or threatened disruption of regional center services, an emergency meeting may be called without complying with the advanced notice requirement of Section 4661. For the purposes of this article, "emergency situation" means any activity which severely impairs public health, safety, or both, as determined by a majority of the members of the regional center board. In these situations, advance notice shall be provided if practicable. In addition, the area board shall be notified by telephone of each emergency meeting. The minutes of an emergency meeting, including a description of any actions taken at the meeting, shall be mailed immediately to those persons described in Section 4661. 4663. (a) The governing board of a regional center may hold a closed meeting to discuss or consider one or more of the following: (1) Real estate negotiations. (2) The appointment, employment, evaluation of performance, or dismissal of a regional center employee. (3) Employee salaries and benefits. (4) Labor contract negotiations. (5) Pending litigation. (b) Any matter specifically dealing with a particular regional center client must be conducted in a closed session, except where it is requested that the issue be discussed publicly by the client, the client's conservator, or the client's parent or guardian where the client is a minor. Minutes of closed sessions shall be kept by a designated officer or employee of the regional center, but these minutes shall not be considered public records. Prior to and directly after holding any closed session, the regional center board shall state the specific reason or reasons for the closed session. In the closed session, the board may consider only those matters covered in its statement. 4664. The governing board of a regional center may hold a closed session regarding pending litigation when discussion in open session concerning those matters would prejudice the position of the regional center in the litigation. Litigation shall be considered pending when any of the following circumstances exist: (a) An adjudicatory proceeding to which the regional center is a party has been initiated formally. (b) A point has been reached where, based upon existing facts and circumstances and the advice of legal counsel, it is determined that there is a significant exposure to litigation against the regional center. (c) Based on existing facts and circumstances, the regional center has decided to initiate or is deciding whether to initiate litigation. Prior to holding a closed session pursuant to this section, the regional center governing board shall state publicly to which subdivision it is pursuant. 4665. Agendas and other writings or materials distributed prior to or during a regional center board meeting for discussion or action at the meeting shall be considered public records, except those materials distributed during, and directly related to, a closed session authorized under Section 4663. Writings which are distributed prior to commencement of a board meeting shall be made available for public inspection upon request prior to commencement of the meeting. Writings which are distributed during a board meeting shall be made available for public inspection at the time of their discussion at the meeting. A reasonable fee may be charged for a copy of a public record distributed pursuant to this section. 4666. No regional center shall conduct any meeting, conference, or other function in any facility that prohibits the admittance of any person, or persons, on the basis of ancestry or any characteristic listed or defined in Section 11135 of the Government Code. 4667. All regional center board meetings shall be held in facilities accessible to persons with physical disabilities. 4668. (a) Any action taken by a regional center governing board in violation of this article is null and void. Any interested person may commence an action by mandamus, injunction, or declaratory relief for the purpose of obtaining a judicial declaration that an action taken in violation of this article is null and void. (b) A court may award court costs and reasonable attorney's fees to the plaintiff in an action brought pursuant to this section where it is found that a regional center board has violated the provisions of this article. (c) This section does not prevent a regional center governing board from curing or correcting an action challenged pursuant to this section. 4669. The provisions of this article shall not apply to the corporate affairs of the governing board of a regional center which have no relationship to the role and responsibility of a regional center set forth in this chapter.