The California Assembly voted 68-0 to allow counties to carve out a special exemption so that public officials can shield their name from public listings of property records, thus setting in motion an exemption that ultimately will undermine the whole purpose of public records. Expect this list to grow rapidly from police and judges to virtually every other member of a public sector union, just as another California program that allows public employees and their family members to keep their license plate information private has expanded to one group after another.
As the Sacramento Bee reported, "California lawmakers took a major step Thursday toward carving an exception in public records law that they said would enhance the safety of peace officers, judges and other law enforcement personnel. Without a dissenting vote, the Assembly passed legislation that would allow counties to create a program allowing law enforcement personnel to redact names from property records available to the public. Assembly Bill 2299 passed the lower house, 68-0. It now goes to the Senate. 'Let's make the protection of officers' families meaningful,' Assemblyman Mike Feuer, D-Los Angeles, said in floor debate on his bill."
Police unions claim that criminals can use these records to find their home addresses and then to commit acts of violence against them -- the same questionable rationale that led to the special license plate program that ultimately shields police and their family members from speeding and parking tickets.
As CalWatchdog's Katy Grimes explained, "By hiding their ownership information, these individuals would be able to conduct business outside of the scrutiny of the public, undoubtedly resulting in different classes of property owners, as well as the demise of California's constructive notice property rights system." Grimes quotes California Newspaper Publishers Association testimony explaining how this bill will promote corruption: "AB 2299 would bar journalists and the public from investigating the situation unfolding in Los Angeles where the assessor is accused of collecting campaign contributions from property owners in exchange for lowered property assessments. The bill would completely insulate and protect any public safety official who might be involved in this type of scheme and would eradicate any public scrutiny, oversight or accountability."
Many private sector professions are more dangerous than public sector ones, yet we continue to turn members of Public Sector Inc. into a protected class exempt from the same rules and standards as the rest of us. Ironically, the legislation is authored by Mike Feuer, a Los Angeles Democrat who admirably called for openness in children's courts. Supporters came from both parties, thus showing how deeply members fear the wrath of police unions, which continue to push for more special privileges even as public sentiment has been changing toward police unions amid pension and abuse scandals.
Police unions claim that criminals can use these records to find their home addresses and then to commit acts of violence against them -- the same questionable rationale that led to the special license plate program that ultimately shields police and their family members from speeding and parking tickets.
As CalWatchdog's Katy Grimes explained, "By hiding their ownership information, these individuals would be able to conduct business outside of the scrutiny of the public, undoubtedly resulting in different classes of property owners, as well as the demise of California's constructive notice property rights system." Grimes quotes California Newspaper Publishers Association testimony explaining how this bill will promote corruption: "AB 2299 would bar journalists and the public from investigating the situation unfolding in Los Angeles where the assessor is accused of collecting campaign contributions from property owners in exchange for lowered property assessments. The bill would completely insulate and protect any public safety official who might be involved in this type of scheme and would eradicate any public scrutiny, oversight or accountability."
Many private sector professions are more dangerous than public sector ones, yet we continue to turn members of Public Sector Inc. into a protected class exempt from the same rules and standards as the rest of us. Ironically, the legislation is authored by Mike Feuer, a Los Angeles Democrat who admirably called for openness in children's courts. Supporters came from both parties, thus showing how deeply members fear the wrath of police unions, which continue to push for more special privileges even as public sentiment has been changing toward police unions amid pension and abuse scandals.
Greetings
My newspaper Los Cerritos Community News broke the Noguez story back in February, not the LA Times. We released documents we obtained through
the FIA and published said documents on our site. We have been out in front of the LAT and will be publishing more documents Wed. Skeptical go to my site loscerritosnews.net and click on the Noguez Timeline. This bill must be stopped we have more documents to release.
Brian Hews
President and Publisher
Hews Media Group
Los Cerritos Community Newspaper Group