EXCERPT: While local officials say they have no intention of taking advantage of a suspension in the Brown Act that could pave the way for "cloak and dagger" government in California, that hasn't stopped the watchdogs and lawyers.

     Sacramento-based Californians Aware and San Diegans for Open Government (SDOG) are fighting the California State Legislature's decision to suspend a provision of the Brown Act that requires cities, counties and school districts to publicly post meeting agendas no less than 72 hours before meetings take place. ...

     ...  Additionally, Briggs Law Corporation, which has offices in San Diego and Upland, has filed a lawsuit against the state on behalf of San Diegans for Open Government. The suit contends the Budget Act of 2012 signed by Governor Jerry Brown last month "unconstitutionally" suspends the legal requirement that local agencies post their agendas.

      The Brown Act suspension was incorporated into the Budget Act as a way to save money. In California, mandates placed on local jurisdictions by Sacramento must be funded by the state. In the case of the Brown Act mandate, the state was subsidizing nearly $100 million a year by some estimates.

     ... "It's our duty as elected officials to ensure that the people have access to the workings of their local government and business being conducted on their behalf," said League President and Mountain View Mayor Mike Kasperzak. "It's enshrined in the California State Constitution that the people's business be conducted in a way that is open." ...