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Brown Act
The Ralph M. Brown Act is a California law that guarantees the public's right to attend and participate in meetings of local legislative bodies. Located at California Government Code 54950 ''et seq.'', it is an act of the California State Legislature, authored by Assemblymember Ralph M. Brown and passed in 1953. The Brown Act, originally a 686 word statute that has grown substantially over the years, was enacted in response to mounting public concerns over informal, undisclosed meetings held by local elected officials. City councils, county boards, and other local government bodies were avoiding public scrutiny by holding secret "workshops" and "study sessions." The Brown Act applies to “local agencies,” meaning a county, city, whether general law or chartered, city and county, town, school district, municipal corporation, district, political subdivision, or any board, commission or agency thereof, or other local public agency. The Act has been interpreted to apply to email co ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ralph M
Ralph (pronounced ; or ,) is a male given name of English, Scottish and Irish origin, derived from the Old English ''Rædwulf'' and Radulf, cognate with the Old Norse ''Raðulfr'' (''rað'' "counsel" and ''ulfr'' "wolf"). The most common forms are: * Ralph, the common variant form in English, which takes either of the given pronunciations. * Rafe, variant form which is less common; this spelling is always pronounced , as are all other English spellings without "l". * Raife, a very rare variant. * Raif, a very rare variant. Raif Rackstraw from H.M.S. Pinafore * Ralf, the traditional variant form in Dutch, German, Swedish, and Polish. * Ralfs, the traditional variant form in Latvian. * Raoul, the traditional variant form in French. * Raúl, the traditional variant form in Spanish. * Raul, the traditional variant form in Portuguese and Italian. * Raül, the traditional variant form in Catalan. * Rádhulbh, the traditional variant form in Irish. Given name Middle Ages * Ralp ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Freedom Of Information Law In California
The California Public Records Act (Statutes of 1968, Chapter 1473; currently codified as Chapter 3.5 of Division 7 of Title 1 of the California Government Code) was a law passed by the California State Legislature and signed by then-governor Ronald Reagan in 1968 requiring inspection or disclosure of governmental records to the public upon request, unless exempted by law. The law is similar to the Freedom of Information Act, except that "the people have the right of access to information concerning the conduct of the people's business" is enshrined in Article 1 of the California Constitution due to California Proposition 59 (the Sunshine Amendment, 2004). Purpose When the legislature enacted CPRA, it expressly declared that "access to information concerning the conduct of the people's business is a fundamental and necessary right of every person in this state." Indeed, in California "access to government records has been deemed a fundamental interest of citizenship" and has ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Freedom Of Information In The United States
Freedom of information in the United States results from freedom of information legislation at the federal level and in the fifty states. Federal level The federal government is bound by several laws intended to promote openness in government. However, these normally apply only to federal bodies, leaving many institutions exempt compared to their counterparts in other countries. Federal legislation The most important was the Freedom of Information Act, signed into law on July 4, 1966, by President Lyndon Johnson. * Administrative Procedure Actbr>PL 79-404; 1946* Freedom of Information Actbr>PL 85-619; 1966* Federal Advisory Committee Actbr>PL 92-463; 1972* Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Actbr>PL 93-344; 1974* Government in the Sunshine Actbr>PL 94-409; 1976* Inspector General Actbr>PL 95-452; 1978* Ethics in Government Actbr>PL 95-521; 1978* Presidential Records Actbr>PL 95-591; 1978* Electronic Freedom of Information Act Amendmentsbr>PL 104-231; 1996 Prop ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Freedom Of Information Legislation In The United States
Freedom is understood as either having the ability to act or change without constraint or to possess the power and resources to fulfill one's purposes unhindered. Freedom is often associated with liberty and autonomy in the sense of "giving oneself their own laws", and with having rights and the civil liberties with which to exercise them without undue interference by the state. Frequently discussed kinds of political freedom include freedom of assembly, freedom of association, freedom of choice, and freedom of speech. In one definition, something is "free" if it can change easily and is not constrained in its present state. In philosophy and religion, freedom is sometimes associated with free will, without undue or unjust constraints on that will, such as enslavement. It is an idea closely tied with the concept of negative liberty. Charles Taylor resolves one of the issues that separate "positive" and "negative" theories of freedom, as these were initially distinguished in Isa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
California Statutes
California Statutes (Cal. Stats., also cited as Stats. within the state) are the acts of the California State Legislature as approved according to the California Constitution and collated by the Secretary of State of California. A legislative bill is "chaptered" by the Secretary of State once it passes through both houses of the California State Legislature and has either been signed by the Governor or has become law without the Governor's signature. The secretary of state assigns a sequential chapter number to all bills that become law. Statutes are cited by chapter and year, but legislative bills are also referred to by the bill number assigned by the Assembly or Senate when the bill is introduced. Codification Since the 1950s, virtually all general laws enacted as part of the California Statutes have been drafted as modifications to one of the 29 California Codes, each covering a general area of the law. One legislative bill may make changes in the statutes in a number of co ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Californians Aware
Californians Aware, The Center for Public Forum Rights, also known as CalAware, is a Carmichael, California based nonprofit organization established to help journalists and others keep Californians aware of what they need to know to hold government and other powerful institutions accountable for their actions. Its mission, firmly rooted in supporting the protections guaranteed by the First Amendment of the United States Constitution, is to support and defend open government, an enquiring press and a citizenry free to exchange facts and opinions on public issues. Californians Aware was founded by Terry Francke, former executive director and general counsel of the California First Amendment Coalition. J.W. August is the current president, and board members include Richard McKee, CalAware President Emeritus, Cindy Ossias, the whistleblower known for exposing California Department of Insurance corruption, and Donna Frye, who narrowly missed election in 2004 as mayor of San Diego, runni ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Conflict Of Interest
A conflict of interest (COI) is a situation in which a person or organization is involved in multiple interests, financial or otherwise, and serving one interest could involve working against another. Typically, this relates to situations in which the personal interest of an individual or organization might adversely affect a duty owed to make decisions for the benefit of a third party. An "interest" is a commitment, obligation, duty or goal associated with a particular social role or practice. By definition, a "conflict of interest" occurs if, within a particular decision-making context, an individual is subject to two coexisting interests that are in direct conflict with each other. Such a matter is of importance because under such circumstances the decision-making process can be disrupted or compromised in a manner that affects the integrity or the reliability of the outcomes. Typically, a conflict of interest arises when an individual finds themselves occupying two soc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Politics
Politics (from , ) is the set of activities that are associated with making decisions in groups, or other forms of power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of resources or status. The branch of social science that studies politics and government is referred to as political science. It may be used positively in the context of a "political solution" which is compromising and nonviolent, or descriptively as "the art or science of government", but also often carries a negative connotation.. The concept has been defined in various ways, and different approaches have fundamentally differing views on whether it should be used extensively or limitedly, empirically or normatively, and on whether conflict or co-operation is more essential to it. A variety of methods are deployed in politics, which include promoting one's own political views among people, negotiation with other political subjects, making laws, and exercising internal and external force, including wa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Transparency (humanities)
As an ethic that spans science, engineering, business, and the humanities, transparency is operating in such a way that it is easy for others to see what actions are performed. Transparency implies openness, communication, and accountability. Transparency is practiced in companies, organizations, administrations, and communities. For example, in a business relation, fees are clarified at the outset by a transparent agent, so there are no surprises later. This is opposed to keeping this information hidden which is "non-transparent". A practical example of transparency is also when a cashier makes changes after a point of sale; they offer a transaction record of the items purchased (e.g., a receipt) as well as counting out the customer's change. In information security, transparency means keeping the arcane, underlying mechanisms hidden so as not to obstruct intended function—an almost opposite sense. It principally refers to security mechanisms that are intentionally undetectable ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Freedom Of Information Act (United States)
The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), , is the U.S. federal freedom of information law that requires the full or partial disclosure of previously unreleased or uncirculated information and documents controlled by the United States government, state, or other public authority upon request. The act defines agency records subject to disclosure, outlines mandatory disclosure procedures, and includes nine exemptions that define categories of information not subject to disclosure. The act was intended to make U.S. government agencies' functions more transparent so that the American public could more easily identify problems in government functioning and put pressure on Congress, agency officials, and the president to address them. The FOIA has been changed repeatedly by both the legislative and executive branches. Apart from the U.S. federal government's Freedom of Information Act, the U.S. states have their own varying freedom of information laws. The Freedom of Information Act is c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sunshine Law
Freedom of information laws allow access by the general public to data held by national governments and, where applicable, by state and local governments. The emergence of freedom of information legislation was a response to increasing dissatisfaction with the secrecy surrounding government policy development and decision making. In recent years Access to Information Act has also been used. They establish a "right-to-know" legal process by which requests may be made for government-held information, to be received freely or at minimal cost, barring standard exceptions. Also variously referred to as open records, or sunshine laws (in the United States), governments are typically bound by a duty to publish and promote openness. In many countries there are constitutional guarantees for the right of access to information, but these are usually unused if specific support legislation does not exist. Additionally, the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 16 has a target to ensure pu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
California Public Records Act
The California Public Records Act (Statutes of 1968, Chapter 1473; currently codified as Chapter 3.5 of Division 7 of Title 1 of the California Government Code) was a law passed by the California State Legislature and signed by then-governor Ronald Reagan in 1968 requiring inspection or disclosure of governmental records to the public upon request, unless exempted by law. The law is similar to the Freedom of Information Act, except that "the people have the right of access to information concerning the conduct of the people's business" is enshrined in Article 1 of the California Constitution due to California Proposition 59 (the Sunshine Amendment, 2004). Purpose When the legislature enacted CPRA, it expressly declared that "access to information concerning the conduct of the people's business is a fundamental and necessary right of every person in this state." Indeed, in California "access to government records has been deemed a fundamental interest of citizenship" and has ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
