BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE COMMITTEE ON GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATION
Senator Isadore Hall, III
Chair
2015 - 2016 Regular
Bill No: SB 399 Hearing Date: 4/28/2015
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|Author: |Hall |
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|Version: |2/25/2015 |
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|Urgency: |No |Fiscal: |Yes |
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|Consultant:|Felipe Lopez |
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SUBJECT: Gambling: California Gambling Control Commission
DIGEST: This bill requires that a public record of every vote
of the California Gambling Control Commission (CGCC) be posted
on the CGCC's Internet Web site no later than 48 hours after the
vote is taken.
ANALYSIS:
Existing law:
1)Provides, under the Gambling Control Act, for the licensure
and regulation of various legalized gambling activities and
establishments by the CGCC and the investigation and
enforcement of those activities and establishments by the
Department of Justice (DOJ).
2)Requires five members to be appointed to the CGCC by the
Governor, subject to confirmation by the California State
Senate.
3)Specifies that a majority of the appointed members of the CGCC
is a quorum and that a concurring vote of three members of the
CGCC is required for any official action of the CGCC or for
the exercise of any of the CGCC's duties, powers, or
functions.
4)Requires that a public record of every vote of the CGCC be
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maintained at its principal office.
5)Requires, under the Bagley-Keene Act, that all meetings of
state bodies be open to the public, with certain specific
exceptions.
This bill requires that a public record of every vote of the
CCGC be posted on the CGCC's Internet Web site no later than 48
hours after the vote is taken.
Background
Purpose of the bill: According to the author, while current law
requires that votes of the CGCC be maintained at its principal
office, there is currently no requirement that votes that are
taken by members of the CGCC be made available to the public on
its Internet Web site.
The author contends that by requiring that these votes are
posted on the CGCC's Internet Web site we are ensuring that the
public is aware of the decisions that are being made by the
CGCC.
CGCC: The CGCC is the official gambling commission of the State
of California. The five member CGCC acts as the regulatory body
over gambling establishments, all persons or transactions
regarding ownership interest of gambling enterprises, third
party providers and proposition players services, and tribal
casinos. The CGCC is responsible for setting policy,
establishing regulations, making determinations of suitability
for gaming employees and other individuals and entities, issuing
licenses, acting as administrator of gaming revenues deposited
into the Indian Gaming Special Distribution Fund and the trustee
over the revenues deposited into the Gaming Revenue Sharing
Trust Fund, and administering the provisions of the Gambling
Control Act and the Tribal State Gaming Compacts.
The Bureau of Gambling Control within the DOJ is the state law
enforcement authority with special jurisdiction over gambling
activities within the State of California. The Bureau of
Gambling Control is also the entity that receives application
and fees and conducts criminal background investigations and
audits.
Bagley-Keene Act: When the Legislature enacted the Bagley-Keene
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Act of 1967 it essentially said that when a body sits down to
develop its consensus, there needs to be a seat at the table
reserved for the public. In doing so, the Legislature has
provided the public with the ability to monitor and be part of
the decision-making process. The Bagley-Keene Act explicitly
mandates open meetings for California State agencies, boards,
and commissions. It facilitates transparency of government
activities and protects the rights of citizens to participate in
state government deliberations. Therefore, absent a specific
reason to keep the public out of meetings, the public should be
allowed to monitor and participate in the decision-making
process. Similarly, California's Brown Act of 1953 protects
citizen's rights to open meetings at the local and county
government levels.
California Public Records Act (Act): The Act presumes that all
records held by government are accessible to the public unless
expressly made exempt from disclosure. It gives members of the
public two main rights: the right to inspect records free of
charge and the right to obtain a copy of records after paying
for the direct costs of duplication or a statutory fee. The law
gives agencies time periods for responding to a request; once a
request is made, the agency must either produce the records in a
reasonable amount of time, as specified, or justify its decision
to withhold the record by showing that the record is exempt
under an expressed provision of law or that the public interest
in disclosure of the record is clearly outweighed by the public
interest in nondisclosure. There are 30 general categories of
documents or information that are exempt from disclosure,
essentially due to the character of the information. The Act
allows a member of the public to sue to enforce the law and
provides that a prevailing plaintiff can recover attorney fees
and costs of bringing the suit.
Prior/Related Legislation
SB 650 (Hall), 2015-2016 Legislative Session. The bill
clarifies that the CGCC shall keep a record pertaining to its
regular and special meetings and a record of all applications
for licenses under the Gambling Control Act open to public
inspection during normal business hours. (Pending in Senate
Governmental Organization Committee)
AB 2720 (Ting), Chapter 510, Statutes of 2014. The bill
required a state body to publicly report any action taken and
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the vote or abstention on that action of each member present for
the action.
SB 103 (Liu), 2011-2012 Legislative Session. The bill would
have required, upon the request of a member of a state body, a
state body to hold an open or closed meeting by teleconference.
In addition, the bill would have required state agencies that
operate internet websites to provide a live audio or video feed
on the website for any board meetings that are open to the
public. (Held in Assembly Appropriations Committee)
SB 962 (Liu), Chapter 482, Statutes of 2010. The bill allowed
the use of videoconferencing and teleconferencing at the court's
discretion and subject to availability for prisoners to
participate in court proceedings for the termination of their
parental rights or the court ordered dependency petition of
their child.
SB 95 (Ayala), Chapter 949, Statutes of 1997. The bill made
various changes to the Bagley-Keene Act by expanding the notice,
disclosure and reporting requirements for open and closed
meetings of state bodies.
FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal
Com.: Yes Local: No
SUPPORT:
None received
OPPOSITION:
None received