The recent explosion of news coverage that the California Attorney General’s office, under Bill Lockyer, inappropriately hid millions of dollars in contracts should serve as a wake-up call to Californians. It is time to create some oversight and disclosure laws for the Attorney General’s office and the non-government parties it retains.
An Associated Press investigative report published in January revealed that, for at least two years, the Department of Justice under Lockyer failed to disclose numerous state contracts. These included sweetheart, no-bid contracts for legal and lobbying advice awarded to politically connected insiders, some of whom may have contributed to Lockyer’s campaign.
What is perhaps most troubling about the Associated Press report is that there are potentially hundreds more contracts the AG’s office has failed to disclose. Over 1,700 contracts were labeled confidential since 2003, but the AP report was based only on a sample of the 131 contracts the attorney general’s office permitted reporters to review. Of these 131 contracts, 107 should have been disclosed to the public. Those 107 totaled $44 million.
How many of the remaining 1,600 contracts contain sweetheart deals California taxpayers deserve to know about? The state should review these additional contracts immediately.
California is not the only state to face this problem, but unlike many other states we have so far failed to fix it. Other states had the foresight to enact legislation known as the Private Attorney Retention Sunshine Act (PARSA). Under PARSA, the attorney general must publicly disclose all contracts with private attorneys and subject such contracts to competitive bidding. This guarantees state taxpayers get the best value for their money and the attorney general doesn’t use contracts for legal work as a means to reward campaign contributors and friends.
It is understandable the AG’s office might seek assistance from private sector experts when it’s in the best interest of California taxpayers. Protecting California’s best interests, however, also includes providing the best service at the best price, and that’s what competitive bidding is all about. In all of this, public disclosure should be a given. Anything less is a disservice to the people of California and forsakes our reputation for responsible, progressive governance.
We have high hopes that our legislature, together with our new Attorney General, will take the necessary steps to ensure reforms are in place to protect against even the appearance of abuse in the future.
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Diann Rogers is the president of Central California Citizens Against Lawsuit Abuse.
CALA is a nonprofit, grassroots organization dedicated to educating consumers on the human and financial costs incurred when the legal system is abused for greed, harassment or publicity. For more information contact us at: www.StopBadLawsuits.com or CCCALA@comcast.net
