"The tussle over how to ensure public access to local government records, as well as who should pay for those requirements, came after a barrage of criticism from open-government activists who said proposed changes in a state budget bill would essentially gut the law."
Brown proposed the changes in his January budget plan as a way to save the state money. They make it optional for local governments to comply with several key provisions of the act."
The governor's spin -- and that of the Senate leader -- is that the issue is a money thing, not the public's access to government.
From the LAT's Anthony York: "Brown’s comments, which came in a statement released Wednesday evening, capped a wild day at the state Capitol, which had lawmakers scrambling to cope with the fallout of last week’s vote to water down the law. At Brown’s urging, both houses approved a measure making local compliance with part of the state’s public records laws optional."
"The controversy has sparked a rift between Assembly Speaker John A. Pérez (D-Los Angeles), who now supports removing the provision from the state budget approved last week, and Brown and Senate leader Darrell Steinberg (D-Sacramento), who have both indicated that they want a temporary change in the law to save the state millions of dollars."
"If approved by Brown, the legislation would allow cities, counties and local government to “opt out” of some provisions of the law. It is expected to be signed by the governor this week."
Using the notion of saving money as a way of cutting off the public's ability to watch its own government just won't wash, sayeth one opinionator.
From the LAT's George Skelton: "Brown's answer to avoiding the reimbursement is to remove the mandate. Under his legislation, passed as part of the state budget and awaiting his signature, key provisions of the Public Records Act would be made optional for local governments."
"What a deal! If abiding by a certain law is costly or inconvenient, just ignore it. No penalty. Only governments apparently can get away with that."
"Under current law, local officials must respond to a records request within 10 days and make the documents available electronically. Brown's bill would allow local elected officials to ignore the requirements by casting a voice vote once a year. If a records request was denied, the reason wouldn't have to be explained. If approved, the documents could be released in a basically unusable form, such as on old fashioned carbon-copy paper."
As a new public-pension overhaul kicks in, there has been a decrease in the cost to the state of providing the benefits.
From Calpensions' Ed Mendel: 'Most of the decrease is attributed to increased employee pension contributions under Gov. Brown’s pension reform, lower-than-expected salary growth and a reduction in total payroll."
“I think it’s appropriate to acknowledge that is some difficult work there and some pain for our members,” Alan Milligan, the CalPERS chief actuary, told a committee earlier in the week. “So that’s why we only characterize this as modestly good news.”
"State costs are reduced $71.3 million under the new rates. But the reform legislation, AB 340, calls for savings from increased employee contributions to be used to pay down the pension “unfunded liability.”
Meanwhile, speaking of benefits, state elected officials got a 5 percent pay bump.
From the Chronicle's Wyatt Buchanan: "The governor, legislators and other state officeholders will get 5 percent pay raises starting in December, restoring some of what they lost starting five years ago when California began running huge budget deficits."
"That decision came Wednesday from the California Citizens Compensation Commission, a voter-created panel whose seven members are appointed by the governor. The panel also voted to decrease the amounts that lawmakers and constitutional officeholders - including the governor, lieutenant governor and attorney general - must pay for health insurance."
"For most lawmakers, the commission's action means a salary increase of about $5,000 to $95,291, while the governor's pay will increase by about $8,700 to $173,987."
And finally from our "Floss 'em if you've got 'em" file comes the tale of the snockered dentist who pulled a tooth.
"A drunken Polish dentist yanked the tooth of a patient who had come in for a crown, then barricaded himself in his office when police arrived, officials said."
"The patient in Radomsko was undergoing preparations for the crown when he became suspicious the dentist was drunk, Polskie Radio reported Wednesday."
"The dentist polished the patient's front teeth, and then gave him five jabs of anesthetic, Polskie Radio reported. After a few minutes, the 28-year-old saw that his front tooth had landed in the bin, and at that moment he decided to protest," police spokesperson Aneta Komorowska said."
