Dumb Maneuver

California legislative leaders and staff aides stumbled all over themselves, and their tongues, this week trying to defend the secret committee meetings in which the legislators voted themselves added fringe benefits such as life insurance policies and telephones for their autos. Perhaps it was, as they said, legal. After all, the Legislature makes the laws. But proper or ethical? Not at all. Not very smart, either.

When will public officials learn that voting themselves benefits in the back room is just plain dumb? Someone is going to find out about it sooner or later. And when the disclosure is made, the perception of wrongdoing is generated, even if the action might technically be legal.

An article by Times staff writers Richard C. Paddock and Jerry Gillam in last Wednesday’s editions detailed at least $1 million in special benefits voted by members of the Senate and Assembly Rules committees in at least 93 private meetings since 1987. Many of the benefits may be justified, such as an increase in the allowance for state-leased autos. The cost of cars is going up. A case can be made for providing telephones in the cars. It is not unreasonable for the state to pay for airline tickets when legislators travel from Sacramento to their home districts. And $1 million during two years in which the state spent nearly $100 billion is peanuts. But these benefits are tainted by the very fact that they were approved on the sly.

In attempting to justify the action, Cliff Berg, executive officer of the Senate Rules Committee, said, “There are certain things that traditionally have been done in executive session.” But these are not traditional times. Next to providing adequate public services, credibility is the greatest problem facing the California Legislature. The only way for the lawmakers to regain respect is to make their decisions openly, especially decisions involving special breaks for themselves.

The chairman of the Assembly Rules Committee, Democrat Tom Bane of Tarzana, said it really doesn’t make any difference what is done in executive session because it eventually hits the press anyway. That is like saying there would be nothing wrong with voting on bills in secret because the public would find out about them when the laws went into effect. The only conclusion the public can draw is that the legislators did not want the people to know. Otherwise, why not take such action in public meetings?

The Legislature has exempted itself from the Brown Act, which requires local government to take all official actions in public sessions with reasonable advance notice of what issues are to be debated and voted upon. The only decisions that can be taken in private generally deal with personnel matters, litigation and security. Legislators should live by those guidelines, recognizing that personnel matters mean hiring and firing staff, and the like, and not voting more benefits for elected members of the Legislature.