9,322,156 / 83.3% Yes votes ...... 1,867,161 / 16.7% No votes

See Also: Index of all Propositions

• Provide right of public access to meetings of government bodies and writings of government officials.
• Provide that statutes and rules furthering public access shall be broadly construed, or narrowly construed if limiting access.
• Require future statutes and rules limiting access to contain findings justifying necessity of those limitations.
• Preserve constitutional rights including rights of privacy, due process, equal protection; expressly preserves existing constitutional and statutory limitations restricting access to certain meetings and records of government bodies and officials, including law enforcement and prosecution records.

Meaning of Voting Yes/No

A YES vote of this measure means:

Californians would have a constitutional right of access to government information. A government entity would have to demonstrate to a somewhat greater extent why information requested by the public should be kept private.

A NO vote of this measure means:

Access to government information would continue to be governed by existing laws.

• Official WWW Site
• Full Text
• Impartial Analysis from the Legislative Analyst

Summary of Arguments FOR Proposition 59:

California's government--all three branches, statewide and local--should be as transparent as possible to the public it asks for funding, power, and trust. But too often officials and judges choose secrecy over disclosure. Proposition 59 would make transparency a constitutional duty owed to the people, to whom officials are accountable.

Full Text of Argument In Favor

Summary of Arguments AGAINST Proposition 59:

The press and public must, indeed, have access to the workings of state and local governments to help ensure accountability; however, the question is whether Propostion 59 goes far enough in guaranteeing that critical access.

Full Text of Argument Against

Contact FOR Proposition 59:

Terry Francke
Californians Aware
2218 Homewood Way
Carmichael, CA 95608
916-487-7000
terry@calaware.org
http://www.prop59.org

Contact AGAINST Proposition 59:

Gary B. Wesley
Attorney at Law
707 Continental Circle
Mountain View, CA 94040
408-882-5070

Secretary of State

• Live Election Returns - also available by county; returns also posted to this Smart Voter page
• Voter Information Guide for Proposition 59

• Cal-Access - from the Secretary of State

• Detailed analysis of Prop 59

Easy Voter Guide

• Analysis of Proposition 59
• Easy Voter Guide - Download a Guide (PDF) in English, Spanish, Chinese, Korean, or Vietnamese

• Pros & Cons of Proposition 59 - or print all propositions - in PDF
• In Depth Analysis of Proposition 59 - for those who want more

• Institute of Governmental Studies Library - UC Berkeley - includes an analysis of each proposition and a list of organizations and their recommendations

• Criteria for Evaluating Ballot Propositions

LWV Pros & Cons Public Meetings

• Come to a meeting in your community where League experts discuss all state ballot propositions giving a nonpartisan analysis. Consult your Smart Voter county page for dates, times and locations.

California Connected

• About Proposition 59 - (opens in new window)

• Voter Minute - a video guide (with transcript) to help you decide (Windows Media Player; opens in new window)

• On Proposition 59