Now that Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has signed SB 1145, authored by Michael Machado (D-Linden), the State Compensation Insurance Fund will be held to some of the same standards of transparency and open meeting laws that apply to other state agencies. In the spirit of open government and in response to scandals that rocked the quasi-public insurance carrier last year, SB 1145 makes information available to the public that previously had been kept under wraps (see item below for how to file a PRA request with SCIF).
SB 1145 requires that SCIF comply with the California Public Records Act and that its board of directors be subject to the Bagley-Keene Open Meeting Act. Currently, SCIF’s five member board meets in private. SCIF is already setting up procedures on how to handle public records act requests.
The bill contains an urgency clause, which means organizations and individuals can start sending PRA requests immediately.
SB 1145 also allows the board of directors to appoint, five additional exempt positions. These include a chief financial officer and a chief operating officer, a chief information technology officer, a chief investment officer, a chief risk officer, and a general counsel. Currently, the only exempt position is the president. SCIF hired President Janet Frank last year, and recently put in place an employment agreement with a chief information technology officer. The bill also allows the board to set their salaries.
A companion bill AB 1874, authored by Joe Coto (D-San Jose), addresses the make up of SCIF’s Board of Directors. It increases the number of board members from 5 to 11. The governor would appoint 9 members one of whom would be from organized labor. The speaker would appoint one member from organized labor, and the Senate Committee on Rules would appoint a member had been a policy holder of SCIF. Each member will be paid $50,000 annually to be adjusted for inflation. That bill was also signed by Gov. Schwarzenegger.
Transparency Exemptions
Generally, the act considers all handwritings, photographs, film, and digital records, including computer files and e-mails, related to the conduct of the public business to be public documents. SCIF and Machado, however, did carve out some exemptions that it can use to deny access to certain records and the act also allows exemptions for attorney client privilege, medical privacy, and ongoing investigations.
But SCIF will not be able to keep secrets from regulators. The bill requires that the Joint Legislative Audit Committee, the Bureau of State Audits, Division of Workers’ Compensation and the Department of Insurance have access to the information deemed proprietary to guarantee compliance with applicable laws. The bill, however, does not require that a public report be made available after the inspection.
As far as open meeting requirements, SCIF would be permitted to keep a meeting closed if information related to the development of rates, underwriting, identifiable claims information, competitive strategy, audits, investigations, and the discussion of any matters that might prejudice the position of SCIF. But SCIF will also be required to provide an opportunity to any member of the public to be heard regarding the appropriateness of holding a closed meeting.
Filing a Public Records Act with SCIF
A basic tenet of the California Public Records Act is that members of the public must be allowed to inspect and/or obtain copies of public documents during normal business hours, copies must furnished (either for free or a modest fee) and a response to a request must be made within 10 calendar days except under extenuating circumstances when it may be extended to 14 days. (A copy of State Fund’s guidelines for submitting PRA requests, as well as a copy of its pre-formatted request form, are available in our resources section.)
Agencies do have some leeway in complying with the regulation – such as the amount of the fee charged for copying or faxing documents, although these must be tied to the direct cost of duplication – and SB 1145 created a major caveat to the act by its broad construction of what can be considered privileged information. Generally, however, the act considers all handwritings, photographs, film, and digital records-- including computer files and e-mails-- related to the conduct of the public business to be public documents.
Generally, a request for documents is made in writing, which is useful in establishing the start of the 10-day clock. The request should identify the documents or information being sought as clearly as possible, although agencies are obligated under the act to assist in making a more focused request. The letter should also clearly state that the request is being made under the California Public Records Act. Requests can also ask for documents in an electronic format, if they are available
Requests can be submitted to:
State Compensation Insurance Fund
Public Records Office
P.O. Box 423870
San Francisco, CA 94142-3870
Submissions can also be made via fax at 415-565-3806 or by e-mail at Publicrecords@scif.com.
A public records viewing room is also being established at SCIF’s headquarters at 1275 Market Street in San Francisco, although the carrier says it will make arrangements to view documents at other SCIF offices.
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