Op-Ed: Lawmakers need to come clean on open records

Assembly Speaker John A. Perez needs to stop playing games and establish the same open-records policy for his chamber that lawmakers have imposed on state agencies.

For that matter, the Senate also needs to establish an open-records policy that is consistent with the California Public Records Act and the sunshine amendment that is part of the state Constitution.

That amendment, approved by voters in 2004 through Proposition 59, states: "The people have the right of access to information concerning the conduct of the people's business, and, therefore, the meetings of public bodies and the writings of public officials and agencies shall be open to public scrutiny."

Is that so hard to understand?

Is it so difficult for legislative leaders such as Perez and Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg to embrace both the spirit and letter of this law? In other words, why can't they make every legislative document — with rare exceptions for true personnel matters, attorney-client discussions and the like — available to the public?

Perez on Monday announced he is forming a task force to consider updating Assembly disclosure policies. We hope he is sincere, but there is reason for skepticism. We all know about task forces that are designed to create the veneer of progress. Far too often, politicians create them as smoke screens to avoid making tough decisions.

In this case, Perez is under pressure because of an ongoing spat with Assemblyman Anthony Portantino, D-La Caqada Flintridge. Portantino claims he is being punished by Perez for voting against the budget. In turn, Portantino has introduced House Resolution 20, which would strip the authority of the Assembly speaker to directly control budgets and offices of individual Assembly members.

Portantino is right in his call to "open the books," but he is off base in attempting to blunt the power of the Assembly speaker. The Assembly is unruly enough without a further diminishment of the speaker's authority. Portantino's bill should be shelved in whatever small closet is reserved for dog house legislators.

The Bee and the Los Angeles Times filed suit this month seeking to force the Assembly to release office budgets and spending projections for all its members. It's a case the Assembly will likely lose, at some cost to taxpayers.

There's no need for it. The Assembly and Senate could change their rules to create an open-records policy consistent with those of other agencies. Lawmakers need to stop hiding the ball and start opening up their records to the undisputed antiseptic of sunshine.