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...The introduction to the Brown Act describes its purpose and intent:[2]
In enacting this chapter, the Legislature finds and declares that the public commissions, boards and councils and the other public agencies in this State exist to aid in the conduct of the people's business. It is the intent of the law that their actions be taken openly and that their deliberations be conducted openly. The people of this State do not yield their sovereignty to the agencies which serve them. The people, in delegating authority, do not give their public servants the right to decide what is good for the people to know and what is not good for them to know. The people insist on remaining informed so that they may retain control over the instruments they have created.
This works in so many ways. Will USHPA follow it? no, they are in Colorado. Do our Regional Directors need to follow it?
Doug
This works in so many ways. Will USHPA follow it? no, they are in Colorado. Do our Regional Directors need to follow it?
Hi Doug,
I am a strong advocate of open government processes (like voting records for USHPA Directors). I believe this is generally consistent with the goals of the Brown Act. Unfortunately, I've seen cases where the some of the Brown Act provisions have been used to stifle open communication rather than foster it. But aside from those details, I would like to see USHPA adopting policies that make them more open.
As an aside, one of the things that really caused trouble when I was Director was a disagreement that I had with the USHPA Executive Committee (EC) regarding their monthly teleconferences. The EC (President, VP, Treas, Secty) hold that teleconference without typically inviting any other Directors to participate ... or even listen in. According to what I understand of the law, this is illegal because Directors are the elected representatives of the "effective owners" which are the members. So Directors cannot be excluded from any aspect of the corporation ... including monthly teleconferences by the Executive Committee. So I asserted my right to attend a monthly teleconference and I was denied. I consulted a laywer who ended up writing to USHPA's lawyer asserting my right to attend these meetings. USHPA refused to budge and my lawyer assured me that we were in the right. For better or worse, I decided not to pursue the matter further because I didn't want to drag things into court. So the USHPA EC still maintains that they can bar any selected Directors from their monthly teleconferences. This is not healthy for USHPA, and it's one of the things that I will work to correct if I am elected as Director.
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