The political world often predicts electoral success using a model of which voters actually cast ballots. Presidential election years are more likely to mean passage of liberal ideas, while other years lean more toward the conservative viewpoint.
And that's what might make the findings of a new poll so notable: No matter which voters you ask, there's broad support for shining some sunlight into how things are done under the state Capitol dome.
"This issue seems to cut through the partisanship," said Sam Blakeslee, a former Assembly Republican leader and now director of the Institute for Advanced Technology & Public Policy at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo.
A newly released poll commissioned by the institute finds an impressive breadth and depth of support among likely voters for five different changes in the way the Legislature conducts its business:
- Requiring all documents, including the state budget, to be online and easily searchable: 91 percent support
- Requiring the Legislature to produce a detailed report every quarter of its spending, including on travel and any perks: 90 percent support
- Requiring that all proposed laws be in print at least 72 hours before any final legislative vote: 89 percent support
- Requiring that video recordings of all legislative hearings be online within 24 hours of the event: 86 percent support.
- Requiring that all bill analyses be written by the nonpartisan Legislative Analyst's Office, not legislative staff: 82 percent support.
"It is clear that the public wants information, and they want it presented in a way that is quick and easy to find, understand and act upon," said Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom in a statement. Newsom is on the Cal Poly institute's advisory board.