Streamline Blog

A bill that requires all independent special districts in California to have a website was signed into law by Governor Brown this month. State Sen. Mike McGuire’s SB 929 – the Special Districts Transparency Act – requires every independent special district in California to create and consistently maintain a website with specific and detailed information including meeting agendas, clear information on the district’s budget and expenditures, compensation reports, information on how to contact representatives of the district, and more.

There are a few formatting requirements that apply to local government agencies in California: Section 508 (for visitors with disabilities); AB 169 guidelines for anything considered “open data;” and AB 2257, which governs formatting and posting requirements for any agency’s main governing body’s agenda. In this article we’ll touch on the first two; to learn more about AB 2257 and home page agenda posting, check out this related article.

Special district websites must comply with federal and state mandates, but how do you keep up with changing requirements? The state doesn’t send you a letter after they’ve passed a new mandate, let alone give you a heads up beforehand. (And, how would you know Section 508 guidelines changed January 2018?)

The Ralph M. Brown Act is an act of the California State Legislature passed in 1953 that guarantees the public's right to attend and participate in meetings of local legislative bodies. It’s been updated multiple times since its original drafting, and now includes a website posting requirement for agendas. While it has always been required to physically post agendas a minimum of 72 hours before upcoming regular meetings, it now requires that those agendas also be posted on the agency’s website, if they have one.

From the CSDA Webinar on May 25, 2016 and the Streamline webinar June 29, 2016 – by Sloane Dell'Orto

SB-272, SECTION 6270.5 OF THE CALIFORNIA PUBLIC RECORDS ACT: LOCAL AGENCIES: INVENTORY. SB 272 requires local agencies (excluding school districts) to create catalogs of all enterprise systems that store information about the public, and to post this catalog on their websites, if they have websites. If they do not have a website, they are required to publish the catalog in a way that can be provided to anyone who asks. This law applies to all California special districts, cities and counties, and compliance is required by July 1, 2016.