BILL NUMBER: AB 709 VETOED DATE: 09/30/2016 To the Members of the California State Assembly: I am returning Assembly Bill 709 without my signature. This bill requires charter schools to be subject to the Brown Act, Public Records Act, Political Reform Act and Government Code section 1090. In 2014, I vetoed AB 913, a virtually identical bill. My reasons then were: Starting a charter school requires the strong commitment of dedicated individuals willing to serve on a governing board. While I support transparency, this bill goes further than simply addressing issues of potential conflicts of interest and goes too far in prescribing how these boards must operate. That's still my view. Sincerely, Edmund G. Brown Jr.