HomeMy WebLinkAboutCorrespondence - #25
Flores, Dora
From:Ginny LaRoe <glaroe@firstamendmentcoalition.org>
Sent:Tuesday, September 17, 2024 2:34 PM
To:eComment
Subject:Public comment: Agenda Item No. 25
Attachments:First Amendment Coalition Public Comment 9.17.24 Agenda Item No. 25 .pdf
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Dear City Clerk,
Please see the attached public comment in support of Agenda Item No. 25 of tonight's meeting.
Thank you for distributing this public comment to members of the council and including it in the record.
Ginny LaRoe
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Ginny LaRoe | Advocacy Director | First Amendment Coalition
glaroe@firstamendmentcoalition.org | 415-460-5060
Twitter: @FACoalition, @GinnyLaRoe
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Ginny LaRoe
Advocacy Director
glaroe@firstamendmentcoalition.org
September 17,2024
VIA ELECTRONIC MAIL
Santa Ana City Council
22 Civic Center Plaza
Santa Ana,CA 92701
Re:Support —Agenda Item No.25:
Members of the City Council:
I write on behalf of the First Amendment Coalition to support Agenda Item No.25 to rescind the
“Guidelines for filming,photography and recording of City Santa Ana public meetings.”The
policy interferes with the ability of the press to exercise editorial discretion in covering public
meetings and runs afoul of the Ralph M.Brown Act’s provisions guaranteeing the public’s ability
to record.
We urge you to immediately withdraw the policy and commit to adhering to the Brown Act and
respecting press rights.
The relevant portion of the Brown Act is clear:
Any person attending an open and public meeting of a legislative body of a local agency
shall have the right to record the proceedings with an audio or video recorder or a still or
motion picture camera in the absence of a reasonable finding by the legislative body of
the local agency that the recording cannot continue without noise,illumination,or
obstruction of view that constitute,a persistent disruption of the proceedings.Govt.Code
§54953.5(a).
The act thus guarantees the right to record city council meetings unless the city council makes a
reasonable finding that the recording cannot continue without persistent disruption of the
meeting.A minimal or fleeting disruption is not sufficient.
My organization,joined by a coalition of press groups,wrote to you in December to protest the
city’s restrictive policy on recording.The city attorney responded to say the policy would be
revised.However,as documented in the Voice of OC,the city instituted a revised policy,and
that policy is being used to interfere with photojournalists’ability to do their jobs.Voice of OC
Publisher Norberto Santana Jr.,rightfully questioned the purpose of the policy,writing that,“In
15 years of publishing news photos from all over Orange County –including cities,the county
government and special districts –I have never received a complaint from any public body –
including Santa Ana –about disruptive behavior from a photographer working with Voice of OC.”
He added:“Being confined to taking photos from staged areas or from audience seats is not
how photojournalism works.”
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Given the Brown Act gives the city council necessary tools for taking action against a person
who causes a persistent disruption,and given the First Amendment’s protections against
discriminating against members of the press who may at times photograph or record meetings,
the city should immediately move forward with abandoning its policy.
We urge all members of the council to support the proposal by Councilmembers Vazquez and
Lopez.
Thank you for your consideration.
FIRST AMENDMENT COALITION
Ginny LaRoe
Advocacy Director