California Legislature Transparency Act Qualifies for November 2016 Ballot

SACRAMENTO, CA – On June 27, the Secretary of State announced that the California Legislature Transparency Act has qualified for the November general election ballot.

The initiative will rein in special interest influence in Sacramento and improve voters’ ability to participate in the legislative process through three main provisions; the California Legislature Transparency Act would amend the California State Constitution to require each bill to be in print and posted online for at least 72 hours before it may pass out of either house of the Legislature, require the Legislature to make video recordings of every official public legislative meeting available online within 24 hours, and ensure everyone has the right to record and share public proceedings to support an informed democracy.

Although these reforms had been repeatedly proposed in the State Legislature for years by both Democrats and Republicans, this is the first successful effort to put the question directly to the voters.

The initiative is endorsed by a diverse coalition of good-government, taxpayer, business and ethnic groups that include the League of Women Voters of California, the California State Conference of the NAACP, California Common Cause, Californians Aware, First Amendment Coalition, California Forward, California Chamber of Commerce, California Business Roundtable, National Federation of Independent Business/California, La Raza Roundtable de California, Latin Business Association of California, Hispanic 100, and the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association, among others.

“Over one million voters signed petitions to bring this measure to the ballot, and we are delighted the public will now have the opportunity to take direct action this November,” said former California State Senator Sam Blakeslee. “After years of trying to improve transparency in the state legislature, and with the strong support of a large bipartisan coalition of unlikely allies, who all agree that the state legislature should operate in an open and transparent manner, voters will finally have the opportunity to shine a light on our legislative process.”

“The California Legislature Transparency Act strengthens voters’ ability to hold their elected representatives accountable,” said Peter Scheer, Executive Director of the First Amendment Coalition. “Our state governing body is now one step closer to becoming more open and transparent to voters.”

“Qualification of the California Legislature Transparency Act finally gives voters the opportunity to improve the way business is done at our State Capitol, helping ensure lawmakers and the public have ample time to review bills before they are signed into law,” said Ruben Guerra, Chairman of the Latin Business Association, which supports the passage of CLTA.

To learn more about the California Legislature Transparency Act or to join the coalition, visit the website at www.holdpoliticiansaccountable.org.

# # #