ACCOUNTABILITY AND TRANSPARENCY

Certain mandates have been established and placed on Special Districts such as the City of Alameda Health Care District.  Some of these legal requirements include, but are not limited to:

• Website maintenance
• Conflict of interest compliance (Political Reform Act)
• Ethics Training for Board member's regular Financial Audit
• Finance and Compensation documents posted on the website
•  Public Records (California Public Records Act)
• Open and Public Meetings (Ralph M. Brown Act)

The Ralph M. Brown Act

The Ralph M. Brown Act was enacted in 1953 to guarantee the public’s right to attend and participate in meetings of local legislative bodies.  Generally, it requires government business to be conducted in open and public meetings and for legislative bodies like special districts to post agendas at least 72 hours in advance in both publicly accessible locations and on its website.  Refer to Governmental Code Sections 54950 et. seq.

Required Training

Ethics Training

A special District Board member is required by law to complete a satisfactory 2-hour ethics training course at least once every to years, pursuant to Government Code Section 53235 et. seq.  The first training must be completed within one year of the Director’s first day of service and then every two years thereafter.

Sexual Harassment Training

A special district board member is required by law to complete a satisfactory 2-hour sexual harassment prevention training course at least once every two years, pursuant to Government Code 53237 et. Seq.  The first training must be completed within one year of the Director’s first day of service and then every two years thereafter.

California Public Records Act 2004

The California Public Records Act (CPRA) was passed by the California legislature in 1968 and requires governmental agencies including special districts to maintain government records and to provide copies of documents to the public, upon request, unless there are some privacy and/or public safety exemptions.  Government Code Section 7920 et. seq. defines a; public records as “any writing containing information relating to the conduct of the public business prepared, owned used, or retained by any state or local agency regardless of physical form or characteristics.”

Robert’s Rules of Order

Robert’s Rules of Order is a publication that covers the rules of parliamentary procedure at District meetings. 

Conflict of Interest Code

The Political Reform Act of 1974 (Government Code Section 81000 et.seq. requires that each state and local government agency establish and adopt a conflict-of-interest code.  The terms of a standard conflict of interest code defined in the Fair Political Practices Commission 2 Cal. Code of Regs., Section 18730, and are regarding the filing of the Statement of Economic Interest form.

Compliance

Statement of Economic Interest

The Statement of Economic Interest Form (Form 700) is a mandatory form to be filed with the County (unless otherwise determined) by various government officials, pursuant to Government Code Section 87200, including District leadership and Board members.  This form is due yearly, typically in April.

Campaign Disclosure Statement

The Campaign Disclosure Statement Form (Form 470) is a form to be filed with the Secretary of State for officeholders and candidates who do not anticipate receiving $2,000 or more in contributions or anticipate spending $2,000 or more during a calendar year.  This form is due yearly typically by the end of July and filed by District Board members only.