Friday, May 16, 2003 4:12 PM
BY KAREN OCAMB (KAREN@LAPRESSCLUB.ORG)
The Los Angeles Sunshine Coalition, which is pressing local governments to increase accessibility to government deci- sion-making and public records, earned widespread news coverage in April when the Coalition released a report card on Los Angeles County’s compliance with its own policies that slammed the County’s top lawyer for his persistent refusal to release requested public records.
The report card and analysis were released April 8, a year after the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors ordered numer- ous changes to their open government poli- cies under pressure from the coalition of journalists and other groups.
Although the report card granted an “A” for swift corrective action taken by county Public Information Officer Judy Hammond, and an “A-minus” to the Board of Supervisors and its deputies for going beyond requirements of the state’s open gov- ernment law, known as the Brown Act, it was the “F” that attracted most of the media attention.
The story got play from the Daily News, CBS News Marketwatch, City News Service, Marc Haefele on KPCC’s “All Things Considered,” Barbara Osborn’s “Deadline L.A.” on KPFK, and others, thanks in part to wide distribution by PR Newswire.
The “F” was given to County Counsel Lloyd Pellman because his department con- tinues to deny routine public records requests, claiming that an entire record must be withheld to protect various individuals mentioned in documents. In fact, First Amendment experts say the county merely needs to blackout such names and other confidential information.
Since the county counsel oversees open government policies for the powerful Board of Supervisors, the Coalition felt the coun- sel’s failure to comply with the Board’s own directives set a particularly bad example.
The Coalition, whose activities are led by the Los Angeles Press Club Board of Directors, felt that Los Angeles County’s powerful supervisors and government enti- ties should at least be achieving a “C” grade in making their public documents and pub- lic decisions clear and easily accessible to the public.
The five-member elected Board of Supervisors and its Executive Office received a “D” for posting unclear summaries of board actions. Specifically, the Coalition sited an extremely difficult to decipher motion regarding the important “whistle- blower ” ordinance.
PIO Judy Hammond received an “A” for being imminently helpful when journalists felt stonewalled seeking public records. The Coalition suggested that she be officially
designated as PIO Ombudsperson. The Coalition acknowledged that many depart- ments, including the Sheriff’s, have posted on their websites their own public records policy as well as some public records.
The Coalition believes that the Board of Supervisors should correct its policies and then adopt them as official code. Unless such a “Sunshine Ordinance” is adopted, the Coalition report noted, the policies can easi- ly be ignored or revoked. Currently, there is “no mechanism for accountability, enforce- ment or penalty should the policy be violat- ed,” it stated.
Hammond has since reported several changes: the auditor-controller posted “Whistle-Blower” information on his front page, a “whistle-blower” link now appears in the county Directory of Services and Information, and the term “whistle-blower” is being added to the search engine for the county code website. The auditor is also put- ting together a separate “whistle-blowers” page.
Hammond says the county counsel is redesigning its website to put online the Claims Board documents, agenda, back- ground papers and votes. Meanwhile, Hammond has added an “Audits” link under “Quick Resources” on the Los Angeles County homepage.
The Sunshine Coalition will continue to press for a Sunshine Ordinance.
