Lawmakers Want Secret Appointments

What are your elected officials up to? Well, if they have their way, you'll never find out.

The California Legislature has rejected a request by a coalition of media agencies to release their calendars. That means that politicians will be able to continue their practice of meeting in secret and withholding information from their constituents.

A handful of elected officials, including Gov. Jerry Brown, opposed the ruling. They feel that they have nothing to hide, and shouldn't engage in any activity that they wouldn't want anyone to know about.

But others support the ruling, claiming that secrecy is necessary for their meetings to be a success. According to those lawmakers, they would be unable to meet with certain groups if those groups thought that they might be subject to public scrutiny.

The denial also cited "security" as a concern.

The move comes following an investigation into the influence of lobbyists and corporations, according to the CC Times. Findings indicate that much of the California lawmaking process is actually performed by industry representatives who hold lawmakers' attention.