Gridley Municipal Code Ch. 2.32 Closed Session Council Meetings

It shall be unlawful for any present or former member of the City Council of the City of Gridley to disclose or otherwise discuss with any person, any fact or other matter which was discussed or which occurred in a closed session meeting of the City Council of the City of Gridley. The prohibition of disclosure contained in this section shall not apply to a communication to any person who was present during the closed session.

(Ord. 562 § 1, 1990)

It shall be unlawful for any present or former member of the City Council of the City of Gridley to disclose to any person that any fact or other matter was considered in closed session of the City Council of the City of Gridley even though such fact or matter was not actually discussed by the City Council in closed session. This section shall be read in conjunction with Section 2.32.010 so as to prohibit disclosure of both facts and matters actually discussed and considered by the City Council in closed session and to prohibit disclosure of false and untrue statements regarding facts or other matters considered by the City Council in closed session.

(Ord. 562 § 1, 1990)

A. Any person violating any of the provisions of Section 2.32.010 or Section 2.32.020, or both, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor pursuant to the provisions of Sections 1.08.010 and 1.08.030 of this code. Any person who was previously convicted or pled guilty or nolo contendre in reference to a prior violation of Section 2.32.010 or Section 2.32.020, or both, shall be prosecuted for a misdemeanor violation on a second or a subsequent violation and cannot be charged with an infraction of such violation.

B. Notwithstanding the foregoing, it shall not be a violation of this Section 2.32.030 if, prior to disclosure of information proscribed by this chapter, the Council Member or former Council Member obtains, from the City Council of the City of Gridley, by the affirmative vote of at least 3 of the Council Members, permission to make the disclosure of information otherwise prohibited by this chapter.

(Ord. 562 § 1, 1990)

Notwithstanding whether a person has been criminally charged pursuant to Section 2.32.020 of this chapter, any person who makes the disclosures prohibited in Sections 2.32.010 and 2.32.020, or both, shall be liable to the City of Gridley for all damages which the city establishes were proximately caused by the unauthorized disclosures, said damages to be established in the same manner as obligations upon a contract are determined. The liability called for in this section shall not apply if the person who makes the disclosures prohibited by this chapter first obtains permission from the City Council of the City of Gridley consisting of the affirmative vote of not less than 3 members of the City Council. Nothing in this Chapter 2.32 or in this Section shall be construed to limit any liability to the City of Gridley for which a person might otherwise be responsible, notwithstanding the provisions of this Chapter.

(Ord. 562 § 1, 1990)

As used in this Chapter, "closed session" shall refer to any meeting of the City Council of the City of Gridley, or of some of its members which are not open and public, but rather closed sessions pursuant to any then applicable provision of the Ralph M. Brown Act (Government Code 54590 et. seq.). It shall not be a defense to a violation specified in Section 2.32.030 or to a claim for damages under Section 2.32.040 that the particular closed session was improper or not authorized pursuant to the Ralph M. Brown Act provided that the City Council met in closed session ostensibly under the auspices of the Ralph M. Brown Act, whether or not such session was properly a "closed session” under the Act, unless it is first established through appropriate legal proceedings that a particular closed session was improper and not authorized pursuant to the Ralph M. Brown Act (i.e., a defense will not exist unless the validity of the particular closed session is legally established prior to any disclosures concerning that particular closed session).

(Ord. 562 § 1, 1990)

A. It is the intent of the City Council of the City of Gridley that the provisions of this Chapter 2.32 be read in conjunction with existing law insofar as any proceedings under which a person is legally obligated and required to give testimony may do so without a violation of this Chapter. Specifically, Government Code § 54953.1 provides that the provisions of the Ralph M. Brown Act shall not be construed to prohibit members of the legislative body of a local agency from giving testimony in private, before a grand jury, either as individuals or as a body. To the extent that this or any similar provision of law requires the testimony of a person affected by this Chapter, a person may give such testimony and not be in violation of the provisions of this Chapter.

B. Furthermore, this Chapter 2.32 shall be interpreted and construed so as to preserve the Civil Rights of those affected by this Chapter, particularly the rights of freedom of association, and freedom of speech, provided that the topics and information concerning closed sessions of the City Council of the City of Gridley in which such information would only be imparted in closed session and would not otherwise be information generally available to a person charged with violation of this Chapter. In that regard, violations under this Chapter shall be interpreted in a fashion similar to the statutory framework with reference to the commission on teacher credentialing wherein the meetings of the commission are normally open to members of the public under Education Code 44231, however, under Education Code 44245, meetings and hearings of the commission to consider the suspension or revocation of credentials shall be held in executive and closed session and under Education Code 44248 (a), any member of the commission who releases or gives out information at a meeting held pursuant to 44245 is guilty of a misdemeanor. That is to say that the interpretation of this Chapter 2.32 shall be construed to place limitations upon present and former members of the Gridley City Council similar to those limitations placed upon members of the commission on teacher credentialing insofar as the law requires confidentiality with respect to executive sessions of the commission.

C. Additionally, this Chapter 2.32 shall be interpreted in such a fashion that there will be no violation deemed in those instances when the City Council has, by the affirmative vote of three or more of its members, determined that an issue previously the topic of discussion in closed session has reached a stage where public disclosure and discussion is warranted and appropriate. Additionally, this chapter shall be construed and interpreted to permit discussion of matters known generally from independent public sources of information even though those matters might have been discussed in closed session, so long as any discussion shall not in any way suggest or assert that such public matters were discussed in closed session.

(Ord. 562 § 1, 1990)