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Celebrate Sunshine Week in California–Hold Public Officials Accountable for Access to Information

[…] local newspaper against that county. Two public employee unions in Alameda County are appealing lower court rulings ordering the city of Oakland to disclose the names and salaries of public employees making more than $100,000 a year. The California Supreme Court is considering that case. There's no good reason for the public officials in any of these […]
- Government Transparency and Accountability
June 2, 2009
Asked and Answered

CPRA School Records

What portion of personnel files are exempt from CPRA disclosure?

Exactly what portion of personnel files are exempt from disclosure under the California Public Records Act? Specifically, I am trying to find out whether our child's public school teacher — who was a probationary employee resigned; was terminated for cause, or was "non-reelected" (no reason required per union contract). Our School District maintains that […]

April 22, 2017
Asked and Answered

Brown Act

Can employment negotiations be held in closed session?

I submitted your Brown Act template regarding a closed meeting. The city attorney response was that it was ok to meet secretly to discuss other terms and conditions of employment with representatives of ".. .recognized employment organizations . . ." Government Code Section 3505. Please clarify.

August 1, 2011
Asked and Answered

Brown Act

Labor negotiations and the Brown Act

[…] a closed session, which I understand is legal since the evaluation is confidential. Should the vote on the bonus remain secret? I asked to know the breakdown of which board members voted which way on the bonus. Is that information protected against public disclosure? I did not ask the amount of the bonus, nor […]

June 14, 2009
Asked and Answered

CPRA

Government Employee Benefits Records

As a part of freedom of information act, government employees [names & amounts posted] receive their salaries and benefits which are sourced from funds that were generated from the tax base (tax-paying public). I want to know names and amounts of financial benefits (social services/housing) that each person in Santa Clara County receives, as […]

June 14, 2009
Asked and Answered

Brown Act

School Board Closed Sessions with Administrators

The School Board meets in Closed Session and apparently regularly invites a "leadership team" of administrators into the Closed Session. The administrators are not necessarily there to answer specific questions that are on the agenda of the Closed Session, but to merely be there in case questions come up. I understand that board members […]

June 14, 2009
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Vallejo’s bankruptcy highlights need for transparency in city-union contracts

By Peter Scheer The city of Vallejo has taken the extraordinary step of filing for federal bankruptcy protection. While the financial distress of this San Francisco suburb (population 117,000) is especially acute, its fiscal problems are fundamentally the same as those facing many California cities and counties--and, indeed, the state itself. To the familiar […]
- Government Transparency and Accountability
June 3, 2009
Asked and Answered

Brown Act

School Board Voted In Secret to Pick New Superintendent

Our group plus hundreds of teachers, parents, and community activists protested against the secret meeting that the city school board to pick the new yet controversial superintendent. We believe that the closed and secret meeting violated several provisions of the Brown Act and we would like help in understanding how the Brown Act applies […]

December 10, 2018
Latest News

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SacBee calls for more transparency in compensation agreements with public employee unions

[…] labor negotiations in closed session). Minnesota, Florida, Kansas and Tennessee are examples. California is at the opposite extreme. The state's Brown Act not only allows negotiations about salaries and benefits to be conducted behind closed doors, it allows local government officials to vote on a final agreement in closed session. Only after that vote […]
- Government Transparency and Accountability
June 2, 2009
Latest News

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

[…] backed by public employee unions determined to abort efforts by cities and counties to shed light—not much light, but some—-on decisions about how much to increase workers’ salaries, pensions, job security, medical coverage and other benefits. Although California public sector unions once enjoyed considerable public support for their compensation demands, faith in democracy in […]

October 27, 2015