COURT: PUBLIC HAS RIGHT TO LEGISLATIVE RECORDS

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East County News Service

April 7, 2015 (Sacramento)--Newspapers and the public have the right to access state legislative meeting records and writings by public officials, a Sacramento judge has ruled.

The Bay Area News Group (BANG) and the Los Angeles Newspaper Group (LANG) sued the state for refusing to release full appointment calendars of two state senators who were indicted for crimes and suspended from public service.

The state’s lawyers had argued that Proposition 59, a ballot measure passed by voters in 2004, exempted the Legislature’s records and meeting from public disclosure. But the judge didn’t buy that argument, stating, “If the intent of Proposition 59 was to exclude legislative proceedings and records from its reach, it could have plainly so stated,” the Contra Costa Times reports.

Specifically, the news publishers sought information on meetings involving Senator Leland Yee, who faces charges of corruption, racketeering and weapons trafficking, as well as Senator Ron Calderon, who was indicted on corruption, mail fraud, bribery, money laundering and wire fraud.

On May 1st, both sides will be in court again to argue the specific merits of the calendar release requests.


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