No. SB 1546
Filed under Local Government.
Public Records/Commission on Ethics; Providing an exemption from public records requirements for the personal identifying and location information of current and former employees and commissioners of the Commission on Ethics and their spouses and dependents; providing for future legislative review and repeal of the exemption; providing for retroactive application of the exemption; providing a statement of public necessity, etc.
Plain English Summary
AI-GENERATEDCurrent and former employees and commissioners of the Commission on Ethics gain a public-records exemption for their home addresses, telephone numbers, and dates of birth, removing this information from public disclosure.
The same protection covers spouses and children of those employees and commissioners -- names, addresses, phone numbers, birth dates, photographs, and employers -- plus the schools and day cares the children attend.
The Legislature justifies this by citing threats and intimidation commission employees and commissioners have faced from complainants dissatisfied that an ethics investigation did not end in punishment for the public officer they accused.
The bill's own title describes the protected relatives as "spouses and dependents," but the enacted text protects only "spouses and children," a narrower group that leaves adult dependents unmentioned.
AIRemoves public access to the home address, telephone number, and date of birth of any current or former Commission on Ethics employee or commissioner, but not their photograph.
AIExtends protection to spouses and children of those employees and commissioners, covering their names, addresses, phone numbers, birth dates, photographs, and employers, plus the names and locations of schools and day care facilities the children attend.
AIThe exemption is subject to the Open Government Sunset Review Act and automatically repeals five years after taking effect unless the Legislature reviews and reenacts it first.