Government has a responsibility to abide by a most sacred and honorable code of ethics, sound doctrine and unified state of mind in all matters of justice, equity and legal, executive, and judicial matters. Government has enabled more transparency in their decision-making process. One law that enables a fair process and limits contributors from influencing officials is Section 84308, called “pay-to-play.”

First, in this section of the law, public officials may not be unfairly influenced. If they feel their rights are violated, they must challenge the issue with the contributor in question and may potentially bring the matter to a court proceeding. The law limits pay-to-play scenarios. As such, Section 84308 disfavors three specifically related actions. Continue reading →

Laws concerning transparency in California will once again require input from citizens. Providing information to the greater public about ethical behavior, lobbying, campaign finance and more has been affected steadily through amendments to the Political Reform Act (PRA) over the last 42 years. This has made for some meandering legal language that has made it nearly impossible for the layman to make sense of. Continue reading →

According to the Open Government Guide, people are keeping a close watch on government spending. Statistics show that government spending is getting out of hand and reaching $9.5 trillion in US. This sum equates to an astounding 15 percent global GDP yearly on infrastructure deals. Continue reading →

According to recent Canyon News, the City of Santa Monica has been uniquely committed to “Transparency, Collaboration and Third Party Applications Through Open Data,” and has now received national recognition for it in the Technology Solutions area, from The Public Technology Institute – a non-profit organization with a focus on technology issues such as those the Coachella Valley government law firm also believes will impact our locality. Continue reading →

SBEMP is a Coachella Valley government law firm that represents businesses and people that find it necessary to enforce litigation against a municipality in zoning and many other disputes. Continue reading →