Gov. Brown, who first rose to the governship four decades ago in California by pushing for campaign finance reforms, has signed major legislation to set up an online database so that the public can easily access public officials' financial disclosure records.
From Patrick McGreevy and Anthony York at the LA Times: "Hundreds of thousands of public officials, from city council members to state bureaucrats, are required to file annual reports disclosing their personal finances — including investments and the gifts they receive — so the public can determine whether they pose a conflict of interest."
"Currently, most public officials file their reports on paper and the documents are scattered among hundreds of city halls and other government buildings so they are often difficult for the public to access."
"The governor signed a bill by Assemblywoman Sharon Quirk-Silva (D-Fullerton) that allows the state Fair Political Practices Commission to develop a statewide electronic database where officials can file their disclosure reports for access by the public on one website."
Arguably the most important bill of the year -- and still on the governor's desk -- is SB 7, which deals with the prevailing wage. Its principal supporter is labor leader Robbie Hunter, who sees the measure as a fundamental protection for workers.
From the Bee's Dan Morain: "In his first year as leader of the 400,000-member labor organization, Hunter pushed legislation to expand prevailing wage law, the Depression-era concept that guarantees construction workers their pay."
"The question: Has Hunter overreached?"
"Hunter, 56, is wiry and steely-eyed and has the remnants of a brogue, having emigrated from Ireland as a teenager. He made his way to California in 1980 and became an ironworker."
"The project will include a bridge of more than 500 feet spanning from the airport and across the border fence to a new customs station soon to be built on the San Diego side in a empty field in Otay Mesa."
"It has been a very long time coming, but it has been very, very welcome," said Cindy Gompper-Graves, director of the South County Economic Development Council."
"At a morning news conference in Sacramento, Covered California Executive Director Peter Lee reported that 16,311 households had completed applications for health insurance, while 27,305 others had established accounts and partially completed their applications."
"We started strong the first week,'' Lee said. "The response of consumers has underscored the demand.'' He said more than 978,000 individuals had visited the coveredca.com website, spending time and researching their options, while 59,000 calls were logged at two of the state's three call centers that are currently staffed."
Wading yet again into California's water issues, Gov. Brown signed bills to deal with supplies, quality and changes in regulations.
From Reuters' Sharon Bernstein: "The new laws attempt to address some of the most immediate concerns, including the difficulty faced by small communities when local groundwater becomes polluted or is over-pumped. The measures also reflect growing interest in California in finding ways to safely recycle wastewater so that it can be used again for drinking and cooking."
"California needs more high quality water, and recycling is key to getting there," Brown, a Democrat, said in his signing message. To speed the effort, Brown also proposed consolidating the responsibility for all water-quality programs under a single agency, the state Water Resources Board."
"Water has long been a sore point in California, where the precious resource has been diverted from mountain lakes and streams to irrigate farms and slake the thirst of metropolitan areas around Los Angeles and San Francisco."