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Senate President Pro Tem Kevin de Leon in Sacramento Bee file photo by Randall Benton.
The Los Angeles News Group and its cousin the Bay Area News Group prevailed in a lawsuit demanding release of the office calendars for two senators facing federal criminal charges, Ron Calderon of Montebello and Leland Yee of San Francisco. "Following up on a tentative ruling issued in April, Judge Michael Kenny wrote that the public’s interest in seeing the records...outweighed the state Senate’s interest in keeping the records private," the papers reported. “The disclosure of the calendars may indicate whether others were aware of the activities, or whether the legislators worked to hide the purpose of the meetings and identities of those with whom they were meeting,” Kenny wrote.
“This is a significant victory for the First Amendment and for the people,” said Michael A. Anastasi, senior vice president and executive editor of the Los Angeles News Group. “The judge specifically noted in his ruling that ‘Transparency and openness in government are fundamental.’ Indeed they are. That is the American way. That is what the founders of our country envisioned, and those are the rights enshrined in the Constitution.”
The court released its ruling on Thursday. On Friday, Senate President Pro Tem Kevin de Leon said he directed the staff to work with the media companies and make the calendars available as soon as possible.
De Leon also said he was ending a controversial practice of providing free Senate drivers to senators after hours. Such as when they needed a ride home because they had been drinking. From the Sacramento Bee:
Two part-time employees were hired to offer round-the-clock rides to senators, the Bee reported last week, an amenity that came after multiple lawmakers had been stopped for suspected drunk driving in recent years. Senate President Pro Tem Kevin de León, D-Los Angeles, announced in a Friday email he was halting the program.
“The Senate after-hours emergency services program was reinstated at the recommendation of security experts for the safety and protection of our Senators and hundreds of staffers, but, given the confusion caused by recent media reports, I have asked the Chief Sergeant to discontinue the infrequent practice of providing late-night/early morning transportation for Senators, effective immediately,” de León said in an emailed statement.
