Senate set to approve rewritten budget proposal
A rewritten budget bill, stripped of language that could have weakened the public’s access to government records, is expected to clear the state Senate on Monday.
If approved, the bill would go to Gov. Jerry Brown, who is expected to sign the measure.
Gone from the bill, which touches on everything from limiting tax credits for owners of the Honda Center in Anaheim to tweaking workers’ compensation laws, is a proposal that would have made it optional for local governments to comply with existing state law aimed at ensuring public access to government documents.
The idea was first suggested as a cost-saving measure by Brown, who wanted to avoid state payments of tens of millions of dollars to cities, counties and other agencies across the state. Local officials claimed that they were entitled to that money to pay for their compliance with state law that requires local bodies to respond to requests for records within 10 days and to make those records available electronically when possible.
The measure was approved in both houses of the Legislature, but was jettisoned after public outcry over what newspaper editorial pages and others called a weakening of laws aimed at ensuring government transparency.
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