54957.5. (a) Agendas of public meetings are disclosable public records under the California Public Records Act (Division 10 (commencing with Section 7920.000) of Title 1), and shall be made available upon request without delay and in compliance with Section 54954.2 or Section 54956, as applicable. However, this section shall not apply to a writing, or portion thereof, that is exempt from public disclosure.
(b) (1) If a writing is a public record related to an agenda item for an open session of a regular meeting of the legislative body of a local agency and is distributed to all, or a majority of all, of the members of a legislative body of a local agency by a person in connection with a matter subject to discussion or consideration at an open meeting of the body less than 72 hours before that meeting, the writing shall be made available for public inspection pursuant to paragraph (2) at the time the writing is distributed to all, or a majority of all, of the members of the body.
(2) (A) Except as provided in subparagraph (B), a local agency shall comply with both of the following requirements:
(i) A local agency shall make any writing described in paragraph (1) available for public inspection at a public office or location that the agency shall designate for this purpose.
(ii) A local agency shall list the address of the office or location designated pursuant to clause (i) on the agendas for all meetings of the legislative body of that agency.
(B) A local agency shall not be required to comply with the requirements of subparagraph (A) if all of the following requirements are met:
(i) An initial staff report or similar document containing an executive summary and the staff recommendation, if any, relating to that agenda item is made available for public inspection at the office or location designated pursuant to clause (i) of subparagraph (A) at least 72 hours before the meeting.
(ii) The local agency immediately posts any writing described in paragraph (1) on the local agency’s internet website in a position and manner that makes it clear that the writing relates to an agenda item for an upcoming meeting.
(iii) The local agency lists the web address of the local agency’s internet website on the agendas for all meetings of the legislative body of that agency.
(iv) (I) Subject to subclause (II), the local agency makes physical copies available for public inspection, beginning the next regular business hours for the local agency, at the office or location designated pursuant to clause (i) of subparagraph (A).
(II) This clause is satisfied only if the next regular business hours of the local agency commence at least 24 hours before that meeting.
(c) Writings that are public records described in subdivision (b) and distributed during a public meeting shall be made available for public inspection at the meeting if prepared by the local agency or a member of its legislative body, or after the meeting if prepared by some other person. These writings shall be made available in appropriate alternative formats upon request by a person 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.
(d) This chapter shall not be construed to prevent the legislative body of a local agency from charging a fee or deposit for a copy of a public record pursuant to Section 7922.530, except that a surcharge shall not be imposed on persons with disabilities in violation of 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.
(e) This section shall not be construed to limit or delay the public’s right to inspect or obtain a copy of any record required to be disclosed under the requirements of the California Public Records Act (Division 10 (commencing with Section 7920.000) of Title 1), including, but not limited to, the ability of the public to inspect public records pursuant to Section 7922.525 and obtain copies of public records pursuant to either subdivision (b) of Section 7922.530 or Section 7922.535. This chapter shall not be construed to require a legislative body of a local agency to place any paid advertisement or any other paid notice in any publication.
(Amended (as amended by Stats. 2021, Ch. 615, Sec. 208) by Stats. 2022, Ch. 971, Sec. 1. (AB 2647) Effective January 1, 2023.)