WATCHDOG GROUP LAUNCHES PETITION DRIVE TO PROTECT BROWN ACT

Californians Aware appeals to voters to help protect key provisions of the state's open-government law.

Eagle Rock, CA Patch http://bit.ly/LIWb8I

23 July 2012, 5:00am  ::  A Sacramento-based organization launched an online petition drive Sunday to amend the California constitution to ensure that municipal meeting agendas continue to be offered to the public.

In June, the state Legislature gave California cities and counties the option of not posting meeting agendas and other reports to save money. This action suspended a key provision of the 1953 Brown Act, which requires California cities, counties, school boards and special districts to follow a range of provisions in conducting their meetings openly.

On Sunday, Californians Aware launched a petition drive to place a proposition on the statewide ballot.

"Even though the law might not hold public officials accountable for no longer posting agendas or providing adequate descriptions of items on them, angry voters would hold them accountable," stated Californians Aware on its website. "Political exposure has always been a far more powerful motivator of Brown Act compliance than legal exposure."

A bill designed to preserve the Brown Act provisions is in limbo in the Assembly Appropriations Committee after the state Senate passed it.

"Staying in compliance with the Brown Act makes organizations like the ERNC much less effective on the local level," Eagle Rock Neighborhood Council President Michael Larsen said of the latest effort to revive certain elements of the law no longer in force. "I think all levels of government should be required to make their agendas and minutes available online, but posting them in various public places seems a bit antiquated."

Free the Brown Act from Budget Suspense!

SIGN THIS PETITION

1. Petitioning:  California Assembly Speaker John A. Pérez (+ 17 others)

1. Created By

   Terry Francke
2. Carmichael, CA

The Brown Act, which requires California cities, counties, school boards and special districts to conduct their meetings openly and with adequate advance notice, has had some of its key protections suspended indefinitely by the state legislature. The reason: there is no money to reimburse these local agencies for their claimed costs of composing and posting a meaningful agenda and disclosing actions taken in closed sessions.

That reimbursement is constitutionally required.

The only way to change that requirement is to amend the constitution. The only way to amend the constitution is to place a proposition to do so on the statewide ballot so the voters can approve it. A legislative bill to do just that—Senate Constitutional Amendment (SCA) 7—has been passed by unanimous bipartisan votes in the Senate and in the first of two committees in the Assembly.

But that bill sits sidelined in the Assembly Appropriations Committee since late last summer, supposedly because it would cost too much just to do the processing to get it on the ballot.

That excuse is dubious at best. The Senate Appropriations Committee, bound to uphold exactly the same spending discipline standards as its Assembly counterpart, found no such cost obstacle and passed the bill promptly last year.

And after all, the amendment proposed by SCA 7 would free state government from future annual reimbursement claims that have recently been amounting to $20 million per year!

The Assembly committee holding SCA 7 is dominated by Democrats, and they are answerable to Speaker Pérez. A directive from him could see SCA 7 voted out of committee and onto the Senate Floor, where Republicans would support it as readily as they have up to now.

Or the committee members themselves—Democrats and Republicans—could send SCA 7 to the Assembly floor on their own initiative, there to be placed on the ballot with the same overwhelming support the bill has earned so far.

Make no mistake—once given the chance, the people of California would make the Brown Act's open government protections safe in the constitution from the state's sorry budget dramas. Please sign this petition to tell Speaker Pérez to use his power and Free SCA 7.

Allow voters to add open meeting protections to the State Constitution to:: California Assembly Speaker John A. Pérez. ---------------- The Brown Act, which requires California cities, counties, school boards and special districts to conduct their meetings openly and with adequate advance notice, has had some of its key protections suspended indefinitely by the state legislature. The reason: there is no money to reimburse these local agencies for their claimed costs of composing and posting a meaningful agenda and disclosing actions taken in closed sessions. That reimbursement is constitutionally required. The only way to change that requirement is to amend the constitution. The only way to amend the constitution is to place a proposition to do so on the statewide ballot so the voters can approve it. A legislative bill to do just that—Senate Constitutional Amendment (SCA) 7—has been passed by unanimous bipartisan votes in the Senate and in the first of two committees in the Assembly. But that bill sits sidelined in the Assembly Appropriations Committee since late last summer, supposedly because it would cost too much just to do the processing to get it on the ballot. That excuse is dubious at best. The Senate Appropriations Committee, bound to uphold exactly the same spending discipline standards as its Assembly counterpart, found no such cost obstacle and passed the bill promptly last year. And after all, the amendment proposed by SCA 7 would free state government from future annual reimbursement claims that have recently been amounting to $20 million per year! The Assembly committee holding SCA 7 is dominated by Democrats, and they are answerable to Speaker Pérez. A directive from him could see SCA 7 voted out of committee and onto the Senate Floor, where Republicans would support it as readily as they have up to now. Or the committee members themselves—Democrats and Republicans—could send SCA 7 to the Assembly floor on their own initiative, there to be placed on the ballot with the same overwhelming support the bill has earned so far. Make no mistake—once given the chance, the people of California would make the Brown Act's open government protections safe in the constitution from the state's sorry budget dramas. Please sign this petition to tell Speaker Pérez to use his power and Free SCA 7. ---------------- Sincerely, [Sign Here]