California Codes

Cal. Government Code § 54954.2 (2026)

✓ current as of May 2026

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(a)(1)At least 72 hours before a regular meeting, the legislative body of the local agency, or its designee, shall post an agenda that meets all of the following requirements:

(A)The agenda shall contain a brief general description of each item of business to be transacted or discussed at the meeting, including items to be discussed in closed session. A brief general description of an item generally need not exceed 20 words.

(B)The agenda shall specify the time and location of the regular meeting and shall be posted in a location that is freely accessible to members of the public and on the local agency’s internet website, if the local agency has one.

(C)(i)If requested, the agenda shall be made available in appropriate alternative formats to persons with a disability, as required by Section 202 of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. Sec. 12132), and the federal rules and regulations adopted in implementation thereof.

(ii)The agenda shall include information regarding how, to whom, and when a request for disability-related modification or accommodation, including auxiliary aids or services, may be made by a person with a disability who requires a modification or accommodation in order to participate in the public meeting.

(2)For a meeting occurring on and after January 1, 2019, of a legislative body of a city, county, city and county, special district, school district, or political subdivision established by the state that has an internet website, the following provisions shall apply:

(A)An online posting of an agenda shall be posted on the primary internet website home page of a city, county, city and county, special district, school district, or political subdivision established by the state that is accessible through a prominent, direct link to the current agenda. The direct link to the agenda shall not be in a contextual menu; however, a link in addition to the direct link to the agenda may be accessible through a contextual menu.

(B)An online posting of an agenda, including, but not limited to, an agenda posted in an integrated agenda management platform, shall be posted in an open format that meets all of the following requirements:

(i)Retrievable, downloadable, indexable, and electronically searchable by commonly used internet search applications.

(ii)Platform independent and machine readable.

(iii)Available to the public free of charge and without any restriction that would impede the reuse or redistribution of the agenda.

(C)A legislative body of a city, county, city and county, special district, school district, or political subdivision established by the state that has an internet website and an integrated agenda management platform shall not be required to comply with subparagraph (A) if all of the following are met:

(i)A direct link to the integrated agenda management platform shall be posted on the primary internet website home page of a city, county, city and county, special district, school district, or political subdivision established by the state. The direct link to the integrated agenda management platform shall not be in a contextual menu. When a person clicks on the direct link to the integrated agenda management platform, the direct link shall take the person directly to an internet website with the agendas of the legislative body of a city, county, city and county, special district, school district, or political subdivision established by the state.

(ii)The integrated agenda management platform may contain the prior agendas of a legislative body of a city, county, city and county, special district, school district, or political subdivision established by the state for all meetings occurring on or after January 1, 2019.

(iii)The current agenda of the legislative body of a city, county, city and county, special district, school district, or political subdivision established by the state shall be the first agenda available at the top of the integrated agenda management platform.

(iv)All agendas posted in the integrated agenda management platform shall comply with the requirements in clauses (i), (ii), and (iii) of subparagraph (B).

(D)The provisions of this paragraph shall not apply to a political subdivision of a local agency that was established by the legislative body of the city, county, city and county, special district, school district, or political subdivision established by the state.

(E)For purposes of this paragraph, both of the following definitions apply:

(1)“Integrated agenda management platform” means an internet website of a city, county, city and county, special district, school district, or political subdivision established by the state dedicated to providing the entirety of the agenda information for the legislative body of the city, county, city and county, special district, school district, or political subdivision established by the state to the public.

(2)“Legislative body” means a legislative body that meets the definition of subdivision (a) of Section 54952.

(3)No action or discussion shall be undertaken on any item not appearing on the posted agenda, except that members of a legislative body or its staff may briefly respond to statements made or questions posed by persons exercising their public testimony rights under Section 54954.3. In addition, on their own initiative or in response to questions posed by the public, a member of a legislative body or its staff may ask a question for clarification, make a brief announcement, or make a brief report on their own activities. Furthermore, a member of a legislative body, or the body itself, subject to rules or procedures of the legislative body, may provide a reference to staff or other resources for factual information, request staff to report back to the body at a subsequent meeting concerning any matter, or take action to direct staff to place a matter of business on a future agenda.

(b)Notwithstanding subdivision (a), the legislative body may take action on items of business not appearing on the posted agenda under any of the conditions stated below. Prior to discussing any item pursuant to this subdivision, the legislative body shall publicly identify the item.

(1)Upon a determination by a majority vote of the legislative body that an emergency situation exists, as defined in Section 54956.5.

(2)Upon a determination by a two-thirds vote of the members of the legislative body present at the meeting, or, if less than two-thirds of the members are present, a unanimous vote of those members present, that there is a need to take immediate action and that the need for action came to the attention of the local agency subsequent to the agenda being posted as specified in subdivision (a).

(3)The item was posted pursuant to subdivision (a) for a prior meeting of the legislative body occurring not more than five calendar days prior to the date action is taken on the item, and at the prior meeting the item was continued to the meeting at which action is being taken.

(c)This section is necessary to implement and reasonably within the scope of paragraph (1) of subdivision (b) of Section 3 of Article I of the California Constitution.

(d)For purposes of subdivision (a), the requirement that the agenda be posted on the local agency’s internet website, if the local agency has one, shall only apply to a legislative body that meets either of the following standards:

(1)A legislative body as that term is defined by subdivision (a) of Section 54952.

(2)A legislative body as that term is defined by subdivision (b) of Section 54952, if the members of the legislative body are compensated for their appearance, and if one or more of the members of the legislative body are also members of a legislative body as that term is defined by subdivision (a) of Section 54952.

Notes of Decisions

Cited in 32 cases (13 in the last 5 years), 1994–2026 · leading case: Kavanaugh v. West Sonoma Cnty. Union High Sch. Dist., 62 P.3d 54 (Cal. 2003).

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Kavanaugh v. West Sonoma Cnty. Union High Sch. Dist., 62 P.3d 54 (Cal. 2003). · cites it 2× “), [11] which requires an agenda to be posted at least 72 hours before a regular meeting and at least 24 hours before a special meeting (Gov.Code, §§ 54954.2, subd. (a), 54956); and (d) "[s]etting aside practical and logistical concerns, school district governing boards simply…”

Cruz v. City of Culver City, 2 Cal. App. 5th 239 (Cal. Ct. App. 2016). · cites it 4× “The Brown Act The Brown Act requires that most meetings of a local agency’s legislative body be open to the public for attendance by all. (Gov. Code, § 54953, subd.”

Moreno v. City of King, 22 I.E.R. Cas. (BNA) 1018 (Cal. Ct. App. 2005). · cites it 3× “” (Gov. Code, § 54954.2, subd. (a), italics added.”

Cmty. Youth Athletic Ctr. v. City of Nat'l City, 220 Cal. App. 4th 1385 (Cal. Ct. App. 2013). · cites it 2× “(Gov. Code, § 54954.2, subd. (a).) In June 2007, the City published three weekly notices in local newspapers to give notice of the upcoming June 19, 2007 public hearing.”

TransparentGov Novato v. City of Novato, 246 Cal. Rptr. 3d 17 (Cal. Ct. App. 5th 2019). “) Among its provisions, the Brown Act requires that an agenda be posted at least 72 hours before a regular meeting and forbids *147 action on any items not on that agenda.”

Golightly v. Molina, 229 Cal. App. 4th 1501 (Cal. Ct. App. 2014). “(Gov. Code, § 54954.2, subd. (a); Cohan v.”

Serv. Employees Int'l Union, Local 99 v. Options—A Child Care & Human Servs. Agency, 200 Cal. App. 4th 869 (Cal. Ct. App. 2011). “(Gov. Code, §§ 54954.2, subd. (a)(1), 54954.”

California Sch. Boards Assn. v. State, 171 Cal. App. 4th 1183 (Cal. Ct. App. 2009). “72, §§ 12, 14; Gov. Code, § 54954.2, subd. (c); see Gov.”

Cohan v. City of Thousand Oaks, 94 Cal. Daily Op. Serv. 9030 (Cal. Ct. App. 1994). “Brown Act (Brown Act) (Gov. Code, § 54954.2) 1 and add the appeal matter to the agenda pursuant to section 54954.”

Prime Healthcare Mgmt., Inc. v. Valley Health Sys. (In Re Valley Health Sys.), 429 B.R. 692 (Bankr. C.D. Cal. 2010). “Cal. Gov't Code § 54954.2 (a). The Brown Act also provides that a special meeting may be called at any time upon 24 hours notice specifying the time and place of the special meeting and the business to be transacted or discussed.”

Bridges v. Mt. San Jacinto Cmty. Coll. Dist., 221 Cal. Rptr. 3d 336 (Cal. Ct. App. 5th 2017). “) As relevant here, the Brown Act requires the college to post meeting agendas at least 72 hours in advance in a publicly accessible location, which includes the college's website.”

Prof'l Towing, LLC v. The City of Orange (C.D. Cal. 2023). · cites it 3× “11 Cal. Govt. Code § 54954.2 (a)(1). “The agenda … shall be posted in a location that 12 is freely accessible to members of the public and on the local agency’s Internet 13 Web site, if the local agency has one.”

Show all 32 citing cases →

— Cal. Government Code § 54954.2(a)(1) — 1 case

Prof'l Towing, LLC v. The City of Orange (C.D. Cal. 2023). “11 Cal. Govt. Code § 54954.2 (a)(1). “The agenda … shall be posted in a location that 12 is freely accessible to members of the public and on the local agency’s Internet 13 Web site, if the local agency has one.”

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