Shall the Constitution be amended to include public's right of access to meetings
of government bodies and writings of government officials while
preserving specified constitutional rights and retaining existing exclusions
for certain meetings and records?
Measure amends Constitution to:
- Provide right of public access to meetings of government bodies and writings of
government officials.
- Provide that statutes and rules furthering public access shall be broadly construed, or
narrowly construed if limiting access.
- Require future statutes and rules limiting access to contain findings justifying necessity
of those limitations.
- Preserve constitutional rights including rights of privacy, due process, equal protection;
expressly preserves existing constitutional and statutory limitations restricting access
to certain meetings and records of government bodies and officials, including law
enforcement and prosecution records.
Exempts Legislature's records and meetings.
Potential minor annual state and local government costs to make additional
information available to the public.
- A YES vote of this measure means:
- Californians would
have a constitutional right of
access to government information.
A government entity
would have to demonstrate
to a somewhat greater extent
why information requested by
the public should be kept private.
- A NO vote of this measure means:
- Access to government
information would continue
to be governed by existing
laws.
- Summary of Arguments FOR Proposition 59:
- California's government--all
three branches, statewide and
local--should be as transparent
as possible to the public it
asks for funding, power, and
trust. But too often officials
and judges choose secrecy
over disclosure. Proposition
59 would make transparency a
constitutional duty owed to
the people, to whom officials
are accountable.
Full Text of Argument In Favor
- Summary of Arguments AGAINST Proposition 59:
- The press and public must,
indeed, have access to the
workings of state and local
governments to help ensure
accountability; however, the
question is whether Propostion
59 goes far enough in
guaranteeing that critical
access.
Full Text of Argument Against
- Contact FOR Proposition 59:
- Terry Francke
Californians Aware
2218 Homewood Way
Carmichael, CA 95608
916-487-7000
terry@calaware.org
http://www.prop59.org
- Contact AGAINST Proposition 59:
- Gary B. Wesley
Attorney at Law
707 Continental Circle
Mountain View, CA 94040
408-882-5070
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