Portantino: A Secret Budget Is a Corrupt Budget

The way Assemblyman Anthony Portantino (D-La Cañada) sees it, lawmakers shouldn't have the legal exemptions afforded them in the Legislative Open Records Act.

So now, after an ongoing public feud with Assembly speaker John A. Perez (D-Los Angeles), Portantino has introduced legislation that he hopes will bolster his case for opening the governmental body's books.

"Assembly leaders have hidden documents and expenditures from the public long enough. No more gimmicks, no more tricks and no more incomplete and misleading financial documents can be circulated or tolerated,” Portantino said in a prepared statement.

Portantino and Perez after Pérez slashed his office budget, saying Portantino was an extravagant spender.

Portantino rebutted the allegation and of all 80 members of the lower house. Portantino was told his office staff would be furloughed come fall. 

Introduced Thursday, AB1129 repeals the less-stringent Legislative Open Rights Act and and mandates the Legislature to come into complete compliance with the California Public Records Act. Gov. Jerry Brown, other constitutional offices and local governments all comply with CPRA.

Currently, the State Legislature is the only government agency in California that exempts itself from this compliance. Portantino would like to eliminate "the self-serving exemptions to transparency that the legislature follows,'' according to the press release from his office.

Newspapers Sue for Access

Recently, the Los Angeles Times and the Sacramento Bee with the Assembly. But officials rejected the requests citing provisions in the Legislative Open Records Act that protect legislative memos and other correspondence from public disclosure.

The newspapers have since sued the Legislature to force the release of members' office budgets.

“It is hypocritical of the Legislature to say it embraces open government when it is fighting so hard to keep the public in the dark on how it operates,'' Portantino said in the statement.

"A secret budget is by its very nature a corrupt budget. Assembly leaders are putting themselves above the will of the people by declaring that budgets, expenditures and ongoing operational documents are preliminary drafts, notes, or legislative memoranda,” he added. 

AB 1129 repeals the LORA exemptions and brings the Legislature into complete compliance with the California Public Records Act.  The Governor, other constitutional offices, and local governments all comply with CPRA.

“If it’s good enough for the Governor and the local cities we’ve been so concerned about this year, it should be good enough for us.  No more excuses, no more rhetoric–lets embrace sunshine instead of secrets,” concluded Portantino.

Under the current system, the State Assembly spends $146 million a year in tax money to operate its offices and committees with no accountability or sunshine.