California Forward Supports Legislature Transparency Act

SACRAMENTO, Calif., Feb. 17, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- California Forward (CA Fwd) announced today it is supporting the effort to place the California Legislature Transparency Act on the November ballot.

The act would require that all legislative measures be publicly posted online at least 72 hours before they can be passed; require that all legislative hearings be video recorded and available online; and, guarantee the rights of every individual to record and share recordings of public legislative meetings.

"We have long promoted this idea because it reduces the ability of the special interests from having their way with the legislators at the last minute," said Jim Mayer, who has headed CA Fwd since it was founded in 2007. "Giving legislators, their staff, and the public time to review last-minute changes in legislation is a common-sense practice that will improve governance in California."

Proponents of the ballot measure will continue to collect signatures, while building a diverse coalition of supporters for reining in special interests' influence over the legislative process and improving the public's ability to know what's happening behind closed doors at the State Capitol.

"Every time we've promoted this idea over the past decade, the public thought it was an easy rule to implement and meaningful in its application," added Mayer. "Anything that strengthens the independence of the lawmakers and reduces the influence of the special interest groups should and will have wide popular support."

The Hold Politicians Accountable Committee is leading this effort and last Friday (Feb. 12) certified to the Secretary of State that it has collected 25 percent of the required signatures to qualify for the November ballot. 

CA Fwd was founded in 2007 and is driven to make the promise of the California Dream attainable for all. Its mission is to inspire better decision-making by governments at all levels in order to: grow middle-class jobs, promote cost-effective public services and create accountability for results. For more information, please visit www.cafwd.org.

Contact: Ed Coghlan 
818-489-4774
[email protected]

SOURCE California Forward

Related Links

http://www.cafwd.org