D. What constitutes a meeting subject to the law.

Under the Bagley-Keene Act meetings "include any congregation of a majority of the members of a state body at the same time and place to hear, discuss or deliberate upon any item that is within the subject matter jurisdiction of the state body to which it pertains." Cal. Gov't Code § 11122.5(a).

Similarly, the Brown Act defines "meetings" as "any congregation of a majority of the members of a legislative body at the same time and location, including teleconference locations as permitted by Section 54953, to hear, discuss, deliberate, or take action on any item that is within the subject matter jurisdiction of the legislative body." Cal. Gov't Code § 54952.2(a).

The Brown Act extends to a legislative body's "informal sessions or conferences," even if no vote is taken. Sacramento Newspaper Guild v. Sacramento County Bd. of Supervisors, 263 Cal. App. 2d 41, 51, 69 Cal. Rptr. 480 (1968)(superseded by statute on the issue of attorney-client privilege). The Brown Act includes "deliberation as well as action" because "deliberation and action [are] dual components of the collective decision-making process" and "the meeting concept cannot be split off and confined to one component only[.]" Id. at 47. The Court of Appeal held that when the Sacramento County Board of Supervisors attended an Elks Club luncheon and discussed a county workers' strike with staff members, labor leaders and staff attorneys, the Board held a "meeting" in violation of the action, even though it did not take any formal vote. Id. See also Frazer v. Dixon Unified School District, 18 Cal. App. 4th 781, 794, 22 Cal. Rptr. 2d 641 (1993) (a "meeting" under the Brown Act includes "not only collective decision making, but also the collective acquisition and exchange of facts preliminary to the ultimate decision). A pre-meeting briefing session held by a city council with the city manager, assistant city manager, city attorney and planning director is a "meeting" subject to the open meeting requirements. 42 Ops. Cal. Att'y Gen. 61 (1963).

However, the attendance of the majority of the members of a legislative body at the following gatherings does not constitute a meeting provided that a majority of the members do not discuss, other than as part of the scheduled program or meeting, business of a specific nature within the subject matter jurisdiction of the local agency: (1) individual contacts or conversations between members of a legislative body and any other person that do not violate other provisions, (2) a conference, (3) an open and publicized meeting organized to address a topic of local community concern, (4) an open and noticed meeting of another body of the local agency or of a legislative body at another local agency, (5) a purely social or ceremonial occasion, or (5) an open and noticed meeting of a standing committee of that body, as observers. Cal. Gov't Code § 54952.2(c). Attendance at a standing committee as observers means that majority members may not ask questions, make statements, or sit at the table with the committee members. 81 Ops. Cal. Att'y Gen. 156 (1998).