BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                            



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                                    THIRD READING


          Bill No:  SCA 3
          Author:   Leno (D) and Steinberg (D), et al.
          Amended:  6/20/13
          Vote:     27

           
          PRIOR VOTES NOT RELEVANT

           SENATE GOVERNANCE & FINANCE COMMITTEE  :  7-0, 6/25/13
          AYES:  Wolk, Knight, Beall, DeSaulnier, Emmerson, Hernandez, Liu

           SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE  :  6-0, 6/25/13
          AYES:  De León, Walters, Gaines, Hill, Lara, Steinberg
          NO VOTE RECORDED:  Padilla

           ASSEMBLY FLOOR  :  78-0, 9/10/13 - See last page for vote


           SUBJECT  :    Public information

           SOURCE :     Author


           DIGEST  :    This constitutional amendment places a measure on the  
          ballot to amend the California Constitution (Cal. Const.) to  
          require local agencies to comply with the California Public  
          Records Act (PRA) and the Ralph M. Brown Act (Brown Act), and  
          any subsequent amendments that further the constitutional  
          provisions on public access to public agency meetings and  
          records.  This constitutional amendment exempts compliance with  
          PRA and the Brown Act from state mandate claims.

           ANALYSIS  :    Section 3, Article I of the Cal. Const. states that  
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          the people have the right of access to information concerning  
          the conduct of the people's business, and therefore, the  
          meetings of public bodies and the writings of public officials  
          and agencies shall be open to public scrutiny (Proposition 59,  
          2004).

          Cal. Const. further states that statutes, court rules, or other  
          authorities must be broadly construed if they further the  
          people's right of access, and narrowly construed if they limit  
          the right of access.  A statute, court rule, or other authority  
          that limits the right of access must be adopted with findings  
          demonstrating the interest protected by the limitation and the  
          need for protecting that interest.

          Consistent with the Cal. Const., the Brown Act (AB 339, Brown,  
          1953) and PRA (AB 1381, Bagley, 1968) establish standards for  
          public agencies' open and public meetings and public access to  
          the agencies' records. 

          The Brown Act requires the meetings of local governments'  
          legislative bodies to be "open and public," thereby ensuring the  
          people's access to information so they may retain control over  
          the public agencies that serve them.  

          The Brown Act prohibits closed meetings, with specified  
          exceptions, and requires local agencies to post hearing notices,  
          provide the public with copies of materials distributed during  
          open meetings, and follow related provisions to enhance public  
          awareness and access to the meetings and deliberations of local  
          agencies' legislative bodies.

          This constitutional amendment places a measure on the ballot to  
          amend the Cal. Const. to require local agencies to comply with  
          the PRA and the Brown Act, and any subsequent amendments that  
          further the constitutional provisions on public access to public  
          agency meetings and records.  This constitutional amendment  
          exempts compliance with the PRA and the Brown Act from state  
          mandate claims.

           Comments
           
          According to the author's office, this constitutional amendment  
          provides that compliance with the PRA and the Brown Act is  
          essential to implementation of Article 1 Section 3 (b) of the  

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          Cal. Const., that compliance by local agencies with those laws  
          is a matter of constitutional principle and not just a statutory  
          mandate, and that, therefore, the costs incurred by local  
          agencies for compliance with the statutes are not subject to  
          reimbursement pursuant to Article XIII B as a state mandated  
          local program.  The author's office further explains that this  
          constitutional amendment's cross-referencing of the statutory  
          standards for compliance with the PRA and the Brown Act in  
          Article I, Section 3 does not "constitutionalize" the PRA and  
          Brown Act provisions in the sense that it directly adopts the  
          words of those acts into the Cal. Const. and prevents future  
          legislative amendment of the statutes.  This constitutional  
          amendment does not do that.  Nor does this constitutional  
          amendment "constitutionalize" the exemptions and limitations  
          under those statutes.  This constitutional amendment does not  
          change the standards for compliance with those statutes, but  
          instead provides that compliance with those provisions is a  
          constitutional mandate and not a state reimbursable mandate  
          under Section 6 of Article XIII B.

          According to the Senate Governance and Finance Committee  
          analysis, this constitutional amendment will place a measure on  
          the ballot clarifying that local agencies are responsible for  
          the cost of complying with constitutional provisions that  
          guarantee public access to the operations and records of local  
          agencies and the corresponding requirements of the PRA and the  
          Brown Act.  This constitutional amendment will end long-standing  
          concerns over how costs for local agency compliance with best  
          practices for open government are distributed between the state  
          and local agencies.  If passed by the voters, this  
          constitutional amendment will make clear that the state is  
          responsible for its costs under the Cal. Const. and open meeting  
          and open records laws and local agencies are responsible for  
          their costs under the Cal. Const. and open meeting and open  
          records laws.

           FISCAL EFFECT  :    Appropriation:  No   Fiscal Com.:  Yes    
          Local:  No

           SUPPORT  :   (Verified  6/25/13)

          California Newspaper Publishers Association
          Common Cause
          Consumer Attorneys of California

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           ASSEMBLY FLOOR  :  78-0, 9/10/13
          AYES:  Achadjian, Alejo, Allen, Ammiano, Atkins, Bigelow, Bloom,  
            Bocanegra, Bonilla, Bonta, Bradford, Brown, Buchanan, Ian  
            Calderon, Campos, Chau, Chávez, Chesbro, Conway, Cooley,  
            Dahle, Daly, Dickinson, Donnelly, Eggman, Fong, Fox, Frazier,  
            Beth Gaines, Garcia, Gatto, Gomez, Gonzalez, Gordon, Gorell,  
            Gray, Grove, Hagman, Hall, Harkey, Roger Hernández, Holden,  
            Jones, Jones-Sawyer, Levine, Linder, Logue, Lowenthal,  
            Maienschein, Mansoor, Medina, Melendez, Mitchell, Morrell,  
            Mullin, Muratsuchi, Nazarian, Nestande, Olsen, Pan, Patterson,  
            Perea, V. Manuel Pérez, Quirk, Quirk-Silva, Rendon, Salas,  
            Skinner, Stone, Ting, Wagner, Waldron, Weber, Wieckowski,  
            Wilk, Williams, Yamada, John A. Pérez
          NO VOTE RECORDED:  Vacancy, Vacancy


          AB:kd  9/11/13   Senate Floor Analyses 

                           SUPPORT/OPPOSITION:  SEE ABOVE

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