Peter Scheer

Brown signs anti-sunshine bill, setting up 1st Amdt battle. Do labor rights trump democracy?

BY PETER SCHEER—-Jerry Brown is often praised for his political independence, for his willingness to make policy choices that he thinks are right on the merits, even if it means angering powerful constituencies. But there are limits. They were reached in the latest legislative term in the Governor’s decision to sign legislation drafted and backed by public employee unions determined to abort efforts by cities and counties to shed light—not much light, but some—-on decisions

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Time to Bring California’s Open Meeting Law into the 21st Century

BY PETER SCHEER—-California’s open meeting law, the Brown Act, was enacted four decades before the arrival of the internet, a quarter century before the first commercial fax machines, and even a few years before “xerox” copying went mainstream. In all the years since, the Brown Act has been amended in ways big and small, but it has never been revised to tap the power of digital technology. Legislative bodies subject to the Brown Act operate

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SB 331, a secrecy bill masquerading as a transparency bill, deserves a veto

BY PETER SCHEER–I’m always suspicious of legislation that increases government secrecy. But what really gets my attention is legislation that purports to make government more transparent—when in fact its true purpose and effect are just the opposite. SB 331, which is awaiting the Governor’s signature, is just such a sham: an official secrecy act masquerading as a transparency bill. It deserves a veto. SB 331 is the cynical response of public employee unions to transparency

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FAC urges ‘NO’ vote on San Francisco’s Prop E

The First Amendment Coalition opposes Proposition E, a November-election ballot measure about public access to San Francisco city Board and Commission meetings. FAC supports reforms that make San Francisco’s political process more transparent and more open to voices that are not currently heard, and FAC supports the use of technology to make government more accountable to the people. But Prop E is a flawed proposal that will create serious, practical problems. For example, Prop E

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The Rowan County KY Clerk has no “right” to refuse marriage licenses to gay couples

PETER SCHEER — Kim Davis, the Clerk of Rowan County, Kentucky, who, on personal religious grounds, has refused to issue marriage licenses to gay couples, misconceives her job. As a government functionary, she is an agent of the Rowan County government, vested by law with certain responsibilities, including the stamping and issuance of pieces of paper that make legal and binding (with all the privileges and appurtenances pertaining thereto) the contract of marriage. Her job

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