Legislation that would undermine a recent push for greater taxpayer awareness and involvement in decisions regarding public workers’ pay and pension contracts is on Gov. Jerry Brown’s desk.
Senate Bill 331 won approval in the Legislature and is now awaiting the governor’s signature.
He should veto the bill.
The bill, authored by state Sen. Tony Mendoza, a Democrat from Los Angeles County, and backed by public employee unions, is a Sacramento end-around local ordinances aimed at requiring governmental agencies to do a better job of disclosing the terms and costs of new contracts before they are approved.
SB 331 seeks to make those good-government measures more arduous and costly for local governments by extending the same rules to services contracts of more than $250,000.
But unlike employee contracts, agreements for services are usually available for public review well before they are up for a vote for approval.
The bill seeks to taint local adoption of the Civic Openness in Negotiations laws as a costly hardship.
Several Southern California public agencies have adopted COIN. Not surprisingly, unions have challenged those laws in court.
But the concept has won the support from taxpayers who rightfully are worried about the rising short- and long-term costs of public worker contracts and how, combined with the recession, they contributed to recent cutbacks in public services, layoffs and increased local taxes and fees.
As taxpayers, they want more of a say in those contracts. At least, they want to know the short- and long-term costs of pension enhancements before they are up for approval.
They argue that when it comes to informing the public, taxpayers deserve more than a few days and a terse staff letter.
They are right.
Leaving the public in the dark is not good government. Taxpayers shouldn’t learn about closed-door deals until it’s too late for them to get involved.
The 2014-15 Marin County Civil Grand Jury recommended local agencies adopt COIN.
But rather than allowing those Southern California agencies that have adopted COIN to prove that it works, SB 331 seeks to kill the concept with a poison pill.
SB 331’s backers say its legislation that expands governmental transparency, but in reality it undermines attempts to open the doors of government and include the taxpayers in decisions they will be paying for.
The governor is a veteran lawmaker. He should be able see right through a bad bill.
