Legal Updates & Publications

Attorney General Issues Opinion Prohibiting Cities from Contracting with “Financially Interested” Council Members On October 16, 2014, the Office of the Attorney General issued an opinion finding, that except in instances of actual necessity, Government Code Section 1090 prohibits a city from purchasing products from.

On September 29, 2014, the Governor of California approved two education data privacy bills, Senate Bill 1177 and Assembly Bill 1442 (together, the Student Online Personal Information Protection Act (SOPIPA)), to protect student information by creating privacy standards for K-12 school districts that rely on.

On June 10, 2014, Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Rolf M. Treu issued a decision in the matter of Vergara v. California. In the landmark decision, Judge Treu declared certain portions of California law unconstitutional, particularly the statues mandating procedures for hiring and firing.

On March 27, 2014, the California Court of Appeals ruled the California Public Records Act (the “CPRA”) (Gov. Code § 6250 et seq.) does not require the City to disclose communications from private accounts of city officials and employees sent or received on their private.

California Assembly Speaker John Perez has introduced legislation to clarify requirements in forming property and business improvement districts (PBID’s) in California. In the post-Redevelopment era, the PBID will become an even more important method for cities in California to eliminate blight and address local business.