Bill Would Expand Access Rights

A bill that would expand existing law and give Californians a constitutional right to information about their government cleared the Assembly on Monday and will now face voters on the November ballot.

For people trying to gain access to government meetings or records, the measure by Senate President Pro Tem John Burton (D-San Francisco) would reverse the burden of proof.

“Before, you had to prove why it should be open,” said Burton, “and now they have to prove why it should be closed.”

The measure, Senate Constitutional Amendment 1, passed the Assembly 76-0, with no debate. It had previously passed the Senate 34-0 in June.

“Disclosure is the cornerstone of democracy,” said Assemblyman Tony Strickland (R-Moorpark). “We need to give people as much information as possible, because that allows them to participate in democracy.”

Though Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger made greater public access to government one of his campaign promises, Burton’s bill may not go far enough to guarantee his endorsement because the Legislature exempted itself from the bill’s provisions.

“The governor supports it in principle but wants it expanded to include the Legislature,” said Schwarzenegger spokeswoman Margita Thompson. The governor intends to work with lawmakers in coming months, she said, to pass another law that would give similar public access rights to the Legislature.

Schwarzenegger’s signature is not needed on the bill to put it on the November general election ballot.

Bill sponsors, including the California Newspaper Publishers Assn., say they too would have preferred to include the Legislature in the bill’s provisions. But many laws, policies and procedures already ensure open meetings and records in the Legislature, they said, while the Burton bill would help people seeking information from more secretive local governments.

The Assembly vote -- the culmination of two years of negotiations -- left the sponsors celebrating. They said the legislative exemption did not dampen their enthusiasm.

“We are wholeheartedly behind this thing,” said Tom Newton, general counsel for the newspaper publishers group.

He predicted that the law would gradually change people’s attitudes, so that they would be more aggressive about seeking government information and bureaucrats would be less aggressive about resisting those requests.

“If the swords become crossed and you have to go to courts,” Newton said, “the courts are going to be directed by the Constitution to really look askance at exceptions to the public’s right to know.”

Several laws already give Californians the right to attend meetings and view government documents. Those laws contain exceptions designed to protect arrest histories, medical records, draft reports, legal strategies and other government and private interests.

The California Supreme Court has also recognized limits on public disclosure in order to protect the “deliberative process” of government policymakers.

The Burton bill does not amend those statutes or their exemptions. Instead, if passed by a majority of voters in November, it would amend the state Constitution to give people a right of access to information concerning the conduct of government and the meetings of public bodies.