The Santa Monica City Council was recently investigated by the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office for violating the state’s open meeting laws. The district attorney’s office sent a strong warning to council members telling them to stop passing notes during public meetings.
It appears that city council members have been engaged in a longtime practice of passing notes to each other without the benefit of the public knowing what they are communicating about.
While council members say the content of the notes are trivial, the district attorney’s office says the practice is against the law. But some council members say they will continue to pass notes despite the warning from the DA’s office.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on December 10, 2002. Read the original PDF.