LA County Board

12. Establishing an Independent External Governance Reform Committee to\nReview and Improve Los Angeles County Board Governance Structure to\nStrengthen Equity\nRecommendation as submitted by Supervisor Mitchell: Authorize the Executive\nOfficer of the Board to negotiate and execute an agreement within 60 days, with\nan independent third-party entity to convene stakeholders, seek input from the\ncommunity, and return to the Board with recommendations on updating the\nCounty Board governance structure to increase transparency on policy and\nbudget development, improve representation, and advance a more ethical\nCounty, with the third-party entity shall represent academia and/or a\nprofessional policy group that has expertise at the intersection of government\nand equity, and should engage internal and external stakeholders, including\nexperts on various local democratic reform issues, as well as members of the\ncommunity, with the third-party entity to report back to the Board in writing 60\ndays after being retained, on a proposed stakeholder engagement structure and\na workplan outline with associated meeting agendas and timelines; instruct the\nExecutive Officer to support the third-party entity and report back to the Board\nin writing six months after being retained, on an initial set of recommendations,\nincluding but not limited to, the following:\nCreating a new independent Office of the Chief Analyst, similar to the\nState Legislative Analyst Office, to provide separate review of key items\nbefore they are voted on at Board meetings;\nEstablishing a set of publicly transparent policy committees, including a\nBudget and Appropriations committee, to deliberate all motions in\nadvance of the full Board meetings;\nConducting an independent review and analysis of the annual budget for\nthe Chief Executive Office with recommendations for operational\nefficiencies; and\nExploring the implementation of any priority recommendations from the\nCounty Citizens Redistricting Commission’s report;\nDirect the Chief Executive Officer, through the Legislative Affairs and\nIntergovernmental Relations Division, to report back to the Board in writing\nwithin 60 days on legislative opportunities that would make further amendments\nto the Brown Act, including allowing members of the public to comment remotely\nat public meetings beyond a designated State of emergency, and allow boards\nand commissions appointed by the Board to convene virtually where a quorum\nof the body is present in person and allow for remote public comment;\nInstruct the Interim County Counsel to prepare an ordinance change to Title 2 -\nAdministration, Chapter 2.190 of the County Code and delete any provision that\nlimits campaign contributions so that County contribution limits are consistent\nwith State levels for both individual contributions, as well as officeholder\ncommittees, pursuant to Government Code Section 85301(d) and return to the\nBoard for approval within 30 days; and\nInstruct the Interim County Counsel, in consultation with the Executive Officer,\nto codify in an ordinance, language to prohibit the Chair of the Board from\ntaking any action that would commit County resources or County Departments\nto specific action without a public vote of the full Board, and return to the Board\nfor approval of the new Board policy within 30 days. (23-0329)\nAttachments: Motion by Supervisor Mitchell\nPublic Comment/Correspondence