Last summer, California legislators failed to place an important
measure before voters.
Last summer, California legislators failed to place an important measure before voters.
Senate Constitutional Amendment 7, also known as the Sunshine Amendment, could have given our fair state the most robust open government laws in the country, had it passed. But the measure died in the Assembly last August when the Republican Caucus refused a waiver that would have allowed it to be heard in committee.
Now we have another chance. SCA 1 by Sen. John Burton, D-San Francisco. It needs to pass both houses of the Legislature by at least a two-thirds margin by June 27 in order to qualify for the Nov. 5 ballot.
Sponsors of the bill – the California Newspaper Publishers Association and the California First Amendment Coalition – have met with representatives from the Attorney General’s office, the League of California Cities and the California State Association of counties, trying to address the group’s remaining points of opposition.
Opponents are concerned the measure would impact existing statutes that allow government agencies to withhold public records and enter closed meetings. They fear SCA 1 could repeal or nullify open meeting and public record exceptions.
The newspaper association has submitted a new proposal to address this concern.
Who can quarrel with the basic premise of this amendment? It says simply, “The people have the right to access information concerning the conduct of the people’s business.”
It would reaffirm that public meetings should be held in public, and that writings of public officials and agencies shall be open to public scrutiny.
Public agencies and public servants exist to conduct the people’s business, and their actions and deliberations must be open to the public.
