Proposition 42 is a state constitutional amendment to require local government to provide open meetings and public records access. These basic democratic practices are currently state government mandates, which require reimbursement. In the last budget crisis these mandates were suspended, allegedly to allow the state to save the money otherwise spent on reimbursing local governments’ costs of following the mandates.
We support Proposition 42. Openness in local governments shouldn’t be conditional on state budget deals.