Executive session

Most HOAs are private corporations, not city councils. Government sunshine laws usually don't apply. Some states still require owner-open board meetings with narrow executive-session exceptions. Your HOA board is not the school board. Government "sunshine" or open-meeting laws — Florida Chapter 286, California's Brown Act — generally police public agencies. A community association is usually a private nonprofit. Neighbors who are not members don't have a right to walk in. Reporters don't have a Brown Act seat. That distinction gets lost in Facebook comments that cite the wrong chapter. Some states then write a separate open-meeting duty that runs to members, not to the public. That's the HOA version. It is still not a sunshine law. California Civil Code section 4900: "This article shall be known and may be cited as the Common Interest Development Open Meeting Act." That's inside Davis-Stirling, California-only. Section 4935 lists when the board may adjourn to, or meet solely in, executive session: litigation; formation of contracts with third parties; member discipline; personnel matters; or to meet with a member, on the member's request, about assessment payments as specified in section 5665.

This is general information from an AI helper, not legal advice. Confirm it against your documents and your state's law. If a deadline or hearing is coming up, talk to a licensed lawyer.