Constant Readers,
I know sometimes it may seem like all I do is complain about politics, politicians, the political process, polygamy, Polident and whatever else. But it's not good to simply preach gloom and doom all the time - today I bring you positive news.
It's no secret that I adore State Senator Mark Leno. He's dreamy. He's smart. And while I suspect it's only because he's friends with Beth, he's always really nice to me. (I'd eagerly be his beard, though he'd never need one.)
Anyway, he has proposed a bill (SB 711) that will subject local employee union negotiations to the same public disclosure rules that teachers' unions follow. It is still being amended, so I won't get too far into the details, but here's the basic situation:
One California State sunshine law is called the Brown Act. Generally, the Brown Act mandates that anytime a local legislative body meets to discuss stuff that it was created to discuss, it has to be open to the public and announced at least 72 hours in advance. Also, agenda materials have to be made available. There are exceptions, of course.
One of those exceptions is for meetings where a local agency meets with it's labor negotiators to tell the negotiators what to do when it meets with union representatives. There, you just have to publicly identify who the negotiators are, the items to be discussed, and the final signed contract.
Leno's proposal would require local agencies to "identify the employee or class of employees that are the subject of the negotiations, the representatives of the employees, and all known matters within the scope of the negotiations, and to also make available to the public certain written proposals." Those "certain written proposals" are "any written proposals communicated by the local agency to representatives of public employees and proposals received by the local agency from representatives of the public employees."
It would also "require a final vote on any action taken pursuant to a closed session to be conducted during an open and public regular meeting of the legislative body, and only after disclosure of certain writings, cost projections, and methodology."
I spoke with Mark this morning and he told me that these proposed rules more closely follow the disclosure rules that teachers' unions abide by. LikeIsaid, it is in the process of being amended and he hopes to have a final draft in place by the time the Senate Committee on Local Government hears the bill on April 15.
As y'all know, I'm all for more information - it allows us to feel connected to the process. And I suspect that people sometimes feel blindsided by the contracts produced by local union negotiations. Perhaps if we could know what is being proposed, we could better understand the results.
Like I needed another reason to associate Mark Leno with sunshine...(sigh!)
--Melissa
I have to say: in spite of his good moments, I would support Carol Migden any day of the week over Mark Leno.
Posted by: Matt | March 31, 2009 at 14:47
Matt: I think that battle has been fought and decided. Quite resoundingly, I might add.
Posted by: be_devine | March 31, 2009 at 16:20
Oh, and Mel: I love your Wikipedia hover-over links. Very convenient and very snazzy!
Posted by: be_devine | March 31, 2009 at 16:22
Another reason to love Leno? SB 810 - California's Universal Healthcare. Hurrah!
Posted by: Meghan | March 31, 2009 at 16:42
I am actually quite looking forward to Migden running for Chris Daly's seat.
Posted by: generic | March 31, 2009 at 17:18
@generic - First, I would hope that Migden has a little more dignity than to step down from Senator to Supervisor. Second, if she ran for D6, she'd be royally screwing her longtime supporter, Debra Walker. Not that I credit Migden with the traits of dignity or loyalty, but still . . . .
Posted by: Be_devine | March 31, 2009 at 17:28
@generic - I agree! I love it when that nut is a nut in public.
@Matt - Unless Mark decides to run for resident representative at Bellevue, you're out of luck.
Posted by: Beth Spotswood | March 31, 2009 at 18:31
If only someone would introduce a bill saying state employees don't have to be represented by a union. . .lemme tell ya, SEIU royally screwed some of us over.
Posted by: VenerableBede | March 31, 2009 at 20:13
Beth,
I'll keep my fingers crossed. When it comes to statewide issues, Mark Leno is good, but when it comes to local issues (where it really counts) he sucks ass!
Posted by: Matt | April 01, 2009 at 07:35