Ralph M. Brown
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Ralph Milton Brown (September 16, 1908 – April 9, 1966) was a member of the
California State Assembly The California State Assembly is the lower house of the California State Legislature (the upper house being the California State Senate). The Assembly convenes, along with the State Senate, at the California State Capitol in Sacramento, Califor ...
representing the 30th State Assembly district from 1943 to 1961. Born in
Somerset, Kentucky Somerset is a home rule-class city in and the county seat of Pulaski County, Kentucky, United States. As of the 2020 census, its population was 11,924. History Somerset was first settled in 1798 by Thomas Hansford and received its name from ...
and a resident of
Modesto, California Modesto ( ; ) is the county seat and largest city of Stanislaus County, California, United States. With a population of 218,069 according to 2022 United States Census Bureau, U.S. Census Bureau estimates, it is the List of cities and towns in Ca ...
, he was Speaker of the Assembly from January 1959 until he resigned in September 1961 to accept appointment to the California Courts of Appeal, Fifth Appellate District Court. He is best known for writing the
Brown Act The Ralph M. Brown Act is a California law that guarantees the public's right to attend and participate in meetings of local legislative bodies. Located at California Government Code 54950 ''et seq.'', it is an act of the California State Legislat ...
, California's first
sunshine law Freedom of information laws allow access by the general public to data held by national governments and, where applicable, by state and local governments. The emergence of freedom of information legislation was a response to increasing dissatisf ...
, providing for increased public access to government meetings, which was enacted in 1953.


References

1908 births 1966 deaths People from Kentucky Speakers of the California State Assembly Democratic Party members of the California State Assembly People from Modesto, California Place of death missing 20th-century members of the California State Legislature {{California-CAAssembly-stub