California state senator introduces covey of open government bills

California Senator Leland Yee of San Francisco intends to introduce a number of bills in 2012 to give the public greater access to the workings of their government. The bills include SB 1000 keeping the California Public Utilities Commission from withholding information about their regulation of PG&E responsible for a recent catastropic fire and SB [...]

State senator honors recently deceased open government advocate

Senator Leland Yee, D-San Francisco, is amending his most recent open government bill to name it “The Richard McKee Transparency Act of 2011.” McKee was co-founder of Californians Aware, a powerful open government nonprofit. Senate Bill 8 is designed to bring transparency to the activities of foundations supporting state universities and colleges. -db From the [...]

California state senator introduces court transparency bill

State Senator Leland Yee has introduced a bill to require state courts to make new court records available to the public no later than the end of the day. Delays in releasing records have crippled efforts by the media to cover court news. Court administrators claim that budget restraints make it impossible to release records [...]

Schwarzenegger vetoes law to open donation records of public university auxiliaries

Putting privacy and fundraising over transparency, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoed transparency for the donation records of auxiliaries of the University of California and California State University. -db Central California Business Times September 30, 2010 SACRAMENTO –– A bill that would require the various foundations and other types of auxiliaries that are closely associated with [...]

California state senator says e-mail about Palin speaking fee illegally withheld

A California state senator trying to get the California State University Stanislaus to disclose the fee it will pay Sarah Palin for speaking at a campus event in June claims that he can prove the school withheld information about the event that should be public. -db San Francisco Chronicle April 8, 2010 By Bob Egelko [...]

California: Transparency issue surfaces over Palin’s speaking fee at state university

A California state senator is protesting the lack of disclosure over former vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin’s speaking fee at California State University Stanislaus in June. Her fee will be paid by a public university foundation that raises money to support education at the campus. -db San Francisco Chronicle March 30, 2010 By Nanette Asimov Sarah [...]

New California student free press law aims to stop prior restraint of student publications in charter schools

The adviser of a high school newspaper in Orange County, California says a revised publication policy at the charter school, the Orange County High School of the Arts, is in conflict with a proposed state law inspired by alleged censorship problems at the school.-DB Student Press Law Center January 13, 2010 By Stefanie Dazio ORANGE [...]