California Legislation Review

By Sean Roberts 28 Feb 2018

• Public records are required to be available for inspection, subject to certain exceptions, but are not required to be public by default.
• An open format is required, platform independent and machine readable, of delimited format or API.
• No references to a common accounting or metadata standards
• No references to annual reports or bi-annual meetings on standards development
• No references to city participation with incentives

It is likely this bill was meant to be the first to define open data definitions and additional laws are intented to fill in the gaps. Note the California Department of Finance has stated that their responsiblity extends to

• Continuously review business workflows and develop and/or upgrade systems, applications, and processes to achieve greater efficiencies within Finance and statewide.
• Examine critical fiscal policies to identify and implement opportunities to improve accuracy, effectiveness, and transparency.
• Leverage emerging technologies to make data and information easily accessible to policymakers and the public.

By turning these responsiblities into policy and then law, California can vastly increase it’s transparency score.