Policy 13

Ad Hoc and Advisory Committees
May 22, 2025

Ad Hoc Committees

Ad hoc or "temporary" committees have a defined purpose to evaluate and report on a particular issue or subject relevant to the MCHCD Board, and a time frame to accomplish that purpose, (generally 1 year or less).
Ad hoc committees consist of a subset of Board members who do not represent a quorum of the MCHCD Board and are advisory (only) to the MCHCD Board. The committee is not delegated any decision-making power and will return to the full MCHCD Board with its recommendation. Once committee work is completed, the ad hoc committee is disbanded.  At any time, the Board Chair may deem the ad hoc’s purpose complete and disband the committee.

Ad hoc committees are not subject to the notice and posting requirements of the Ralph M. Brown Act so long as the committee is comprised solely of less than a quorum of members of the District Board. However, should any person other than an existing Board member be appointed to the ad hoc committee, then the committee must operate under the notice, public participation and posting requirements of the Brown Act.

Members of ad hoc committees designed to be advisory to the Board as a whole may be appointed by the Board Chair, on behalf of the entire board, or by action of the entire board. The action to create the committee should be done at a publicly noticed meeting under the Act and the item should be placed on an agenda for that purpose. 

Advisory Committees That Are Not Subject to the Brown Act
Advisory committees made up of non-board members are not subject to the Brown Act if they advise only one decision-maker, not the entire board. According to the Attorney General, such committees are not officially “created” by the legislative body if they report to a single board member or officer. For example, a board member (outside of a public meeting) can ask a group of stakeholders to research an issue and report back to that Board member only. The board member can then use the findings to make a recommendation or start a discussion. As long as the committee is not created by official action of the Board itself, and does not interact with other Board members, it is not subject to the Brown Act.

Implementing Projects
Project groups are not considered committees under the Brown Act, so their gatherings are not “meetings” under the Act. For example, if the Board approves a project, the group carrying it out is not holding a meeting. This also applies to tasks like buying supplies, or community outreach.

Approval Signatures:

Paul Garza Jr.

Paul Garza Jr., Board Chair

 

Date Adopted: May 22, 2025

 

Attest:

Susan Savage

Susan Savage, Board Secretary