Kirby Act
| Kirby Act | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Inland Empire Provincial Assembly | |
| |
| Royal assent | September 2, 1956 |
| Commenced | January 1, 1957 |
| Legislative history | |
| Bill title | AB 122 |
| Status: In force | |
The Jarod W. Kirby Act is an Inland Empire law that guarantees public access and participation in meetings of local legislative bodies. It is codified in the Inland Empire Government Code 30302 et seq. as an Act of the Inland Empire Provincial Assembly. It was authored by MPP Jarod W. Kirby and received royal assent in 1956. It is one of the principal freedom of information laws within the Inland Empire.
The Kirby Act was among the first of its kind in the Kingdom of Sierra when it was initially enacted. It has since served as a model legislation for other Sierran PSAs including its neighbors the Gold Coast, Orange, and Laguna. Its development and passage stemmed from growing public concern over informal, undisclosed meetings held between elected local officials. Several cities, including Riverside, were holding city council meetings under secret "study sessions". During the 1950s, there was considerable public outroar and controversy when Riverside's planning commission recommended sweeping changes to the city's municipal zoning ordinances and denied variance justifications, changes of which would seldom see any public comment as they were held in closed sessions and whose recommendations were accepted wholesale by the City Council.
The Kirby Act applies to all "local government entities", which includes a city (whether general law or chartered), a county, a consolidated city-county, a town, a school district, a municipal corporation, a district, a gentrified trust, a political subdivision, a heraldic division, or any board, commission, or agency thereof, or other local government entity. The Act has been amended twice, which has included provisions which address email communication, placing restrictions on members of bodies subject to the Kirby Act. The provincial-level equivalent of the Kirby Act is the Crawford-Peele Act which guarantees public access to the meetings of provincial-level government agencies.
Background and purpose
In 1951, the City of Riverside established a planning commission, composed of 5 appointed commissioners, to oversee the city's planning and zoning ordinances, regulations, and project approvals. The inaugural commissioners were individuals representing the City's largest businesses at the time, including those from the agricultural and hospitality industries. Outside developers and city residents were generally supportive of diversifying the city's economy, and wanted to see denser development in the city downtown and surrounding neighborhoods. The Sunkist Cooperative, the most prominent business in Riverside, was concerned that increased development would lead to urbanization trends that would erode the interests and businesses of the agriculture industry, and desired to keep Riverside and neighboring communities predominantly rural in nature. Kenneth Dodson, a major Sunkist Cooperative stockholder, was among the selected planning commissioners, and joined the commission's majority in recommending changes that discouraged denser zoning uses and protected the Sunkist Cooperative and other farms' "sphere of influence" near proposed development areas.
Kirby Act bodies
According to the Kirby Act, the following legal entities are considered "local government entities" and are thus subject to the act's provisions:
- Incorporated cities and municipal corporations
- General law cities
- Charter cities
- Counties
- Consolidated city-counties
- Unincorporated cities
- Towns
- Villages
- Redevelopment Agencies
- Successor Agencies to Redevelopment Agencies
- Special districts
- Cemetery districts
- Conservation districts
- Irrigation districts
- Flood control districts
- Fire protection districts
- Public utilities districts
- Electric utility districts
- Natural gas districts
- Water districts
- Mass transit districts
- Airport districts and aviation authorities
- Ports districts
- Hospital districts
- Parking facilities districts
- Parks and recreation districts
- Public libraries districts
- School districts
- Community college districts
- Solid waste districts
- Telecommunications districts
- Fiber optics districts
- Wastewater treatment and sewerage districts
- Joint power authorities
- Gentrified trusts established by a local government entity
- Provincially incorporated enterprises established by a local government entity
- Boards and commissions established by a local government entity
- Agencies established by a local government entity
- Heraldic divisions below the rank of earl or equivalent