With the New Year upon us, we traditionally make resolutions to better ourselves. In keeping with that spirit, the State Legislature can make one simple resolution for 2015 – give legislators and the public enough time to review the bills that will be voted on.
Every day, legislators are faced with policy proposals that will impact the future and the household budgets for all Californians. And yet, we are too often provided mere moments to review hundreds of pages of legislation before casting a vote.
Last Session, the Legislature’s majority party had to do an embarrassing about-face to eliminate an insidious budget-related provision that they approved a few days earlier. The original measure, Assembly Bill 76, suspended key provisions of the California Public Records Act. It would have made it more difficult for the public to compel local governments to provide data and documents.
If this measure had been in force in prior years, journalists may never have been able to expose some of the scandals that have shocked our state. We may not have known about the corruption in the small city of Bell, where city officials received six-figure salaries for little work, or the former BART general manager who received $420,000 after she was fired.
The majority party could have avoided the scenario of voting for something before voting to reverse it if they simply gave legislators at least 72 hours to review the bill.
That is why I am renewing my call for the Legislature to pass my Legislative Transparency Act this year. Assembly Constitutional Amendment (ACA) 1 would require all legislation, including the budget, to be in print and publicly available for at least 72 hours before passage by either the State Assembly or Senate. The only bills exempt from this requirement would be those required to respond to a state of emergency formally declared by the Governor.
I have introduced this and similar transparency measures each year since being elected to the State Assembly. Unfortunately, previous Assembly leaders refused to give legislators the opportunity to vote on these bills.
Defenders of the status quo inevitably respond by saying that most bills are debated in public committee hearings weeks in advance. Yet political insiders know that the final details of significant bills – especially the state budget – are negotiated behind closed doors and then presented to legislators for a vote as quickly as possible to minimize controversy.
The State already requires local governments to adhere to the 3-day-in-print rule – Why would we allow a lesser standard for the Legislature?
California can do better. The Assembly and Senate can start off 2015 on the right note by requiring a 72-hour review period before final votes are taken.
It will improve public policy. It will allow Democrat and Republican legislators to better represent their constituencies. And it will increase transparency and trust among the public in an institution that too often inspires neither.
Assembly Republican Leader Kristin Olsen, R-Modesto, is recognized as a solution-focused reformer. She represents the 12th Assembly District in the California Legislature, which includes portions of Stanislaus and San Joaquin Counties in the Central Valley. Follow her on Twitter: @KristinOlsenCA