Stop the cloud of secrecy in the California Legislature. Vote yes on Prop. 54.

Most Americans agree that if we are to preserve our “government of the people, by the people, for the people,” it is essential that our elected representatives operate in an open and transparent manner.

This sounds like common sense. But here in California, our state Legislature has been operating under a cloud of secrecy for some time by routinely allowing proposed laws to be completely rewritten, or “gutted and amended,” at the last minute and then passed and signed into law within hours without a chance for most legislators and the public to read the bills. This is simply unacceptable — and it is the main reason we strongly urge voters to support Proposition 54 on the November ballot.

Proposition 54 is the most straight-forward measure on a very crowded ballot. It will make our state Legislature more transparent by doing three simple things:

▪  It requires all state legislation to be published in print and publicly posted online in its final form at least 72 hours before a final vote in the Assembly or Senate.

▪  It requires all open legislative meetings to be audio-visually recorded and posted online within 24 hours, and freely available for public viewing for at least 20 years.

▪  It grants individuals the right to record and share videos of public meetings at the state Capitol for any legitimate purpose and without fear of criminal consequences.

How do we know this will work? Because it is a proven method of transparency being used successfully in other state governments throughout the nation. The states of New York, Idaho, Hawaii, Pennsylvania and South Carolina all require a similar notice period for their legislatures. In fact, New York and Idaho have required a 72-hour notice for over 100 years.

In addition, local governments in California have provided a similar notice for their own legislative meetings for decades. State law prohibits a city council, county board or other local board from meeting to do business unless it has posted a complete agenda at least 72 hours before the meeting, describing every item. Local governments routinely comply with these requirements every time they meet, and hundreds of these cities and counties also post all of their public meetings online. It’s about time for the state Legislature to catch up.

With today’s technologies, there is no reason special interests should be the only ones with VIP access to the legislative process. California’s Constitution requires legislative proceedings to be open to the public, but not all public hearings are recorded, and most of us can’t travel all the way to Sacramento from places like San Luis Obispo and as far as San Diego or Los Angeles for committee meetings each time an issue we care about comes up. The meetings that go unrecorded are attended by a select few special interests paid to attend in person. By requiring all open legislative meetings to be posted online, Proposition 54 will solve this problem by allowing us to view these hearings from the comfort of our homes and businesses, if we so choose.

Proposition 54 is not partisan — it affects all political efforts the same by leveling the playing field for all Californians to have equal access to our state’s legislative process. That is why it is endorsed by most major California newspapers and a growing and very diverse coalition representing voters from across the political spectrum, including: the League of Women Voters of California, the California State Conference of the NAACP, League of California Cities, California Common Cause, California Forward, the California Chamber of Commerce, the National Federation of Independent Business/CA, the Small Business Action Committee, the Latin Business Association, the California Business Roundtable, California Planning and Conservation League, Californians Aware, the California Senior Advocates League, the First Amendment Coalition, the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association, CalTax and many others.

With thousands of new laws being proposed each session, and with major changes happening at the last minute, Proposition 54 will shine a light on Sacramento by finally reining in the power of special interests and returning it to the people where it rightfully belongs. We hope you will join us by voting yes on Proposition 54.

This story was originally published October 27, 2016 at 11:20 AM with the headline "Stop the cloud of secrecy in the California Legislature. Vote yes on Prop. 54.."