Reasonably Available Is Standard Used by Other Legislative Bodies

Look at the LA Times today and you can read the latest polling on just how low elected officials are held. The feeling many Americans have is that elected officials consider themselves "better" than the average resident.

Then consider a Long Beach City Council that tolerates one of its members phoning in a vote from the Ritz Carlton in the Bahamas.

I've done a little checking on how other legislative bodies in California handle the Brown Act requirements for teleconferencing and most apply the standard:

Commissioner confirmed that his location was reasonably accessible to the public, such that any member of the public could participate in the teleconference from his location if he or she wished to do so.

Don't know about you, but last time I checked, the Bahamas is a foreign country, not readily accessible to the public. And because a passport is required to go there, "any member of the public" can't participate without paying to get a passport and a ticket. Ah, noblesse oblige.