PROP
42

PUBLIC RECORDS. OPEN MEETINGS. STATE REIMBURSEMENT TO LOCAL AGENCIES. LEGISLATIVE CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT.

Summary

Put on the Ballot by the Legislature

Requires local government compliance with laws providing for public access to local government body meetings and records of government officials. Eliminates reimbursement for costs of compliance. Fiscal Impact: Reductions in state payments to local governments in the tens of millions of dollars annually. Potential future costs on local governments in the tens of millions of dollars annually.

WHAT YOUR VOTE MEANS

YES A YES vote on this measure means: The state would not be required to pay local governments for costs to follow state laws that give the public access to local government information.

NO A NO vote on this measure means: The state would still be required to pay local governments for certain costs of providing public access to local government information.

 

ARGUMENTS

PRO Proposition 42 will cement in the Constitution the public’s right to know what the government is doing and how it is doing it. Local agencies shouldn’t be allowed to deny a request for public information or slam a meeting door shut based on cost. Vote YES on Proposition 42.

CON Proposition 42 would amend the California Constitution to impose the cost of complying with the California Public Records Act and local open meeting laws upon the local governments involved. An alternative, not offered by this proposition, would be to impose the cost upon the state government.

FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

FOR
Peter Scheer
First Amendment Coalition
534 Fourth St. #B
San Rafael, CA 94901
(415) 460-5060
pscheer@firstamendmentcoalition.org
www.cnpa.com/prop42
AGAINST
Gary Wesley
gary.wesley@yahoo.com