Free Republic

Legislation to restrict public access to financial records in California divorce cases was placed on the Assembly's inactive file Thursday. State Sen. Kevin Murray, a Culver City Democrat who crafted the measure, Senate Bill 1015, shelved the bill after Assembly Speaker Fabian Núñez proposed major amendments in response to concerns by various female lawmakers and women's advocacy groups. The bill, as written by Murray, would not limit spouses' access to sensitive financial information but would allow automatic redaction from public files of net worth, annual salary, Social Security numbers, home addresses, and balances of bank or broker accounts upon request...

Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez has put the brakes on legislation that would require judges in some cases to censor personal and financial information from divorce records and is working to revise the bill. Assembly Democrats have been working behind the scenes this week to modify the bill so that judges could keep their discretionary powers and preserve the public's access to trial records, said Assemblywoman Noreen Evans, D-Santa Rosa. "I believe we need to have an open as possible process in our judicial system," said Evans, who is among the lawmakers seeking amendments to the bill. "Openness in judicial proceedings...

Despite the honest policy disputes over Kevin Murray's bill to seal financial records in divorce cases, the debate over S.B. 1015 has focused on just about everything but policy. The story of this bill is a story of how lawmakers and advocates make political calculations. It is about how to know when you're beat, and about cutting your losses to limit the political damage that your opposition may inflict on you down the road. To some, it is a tale of political cowardice. To others, it is a tale of the ultimate political pragmatism and democracy in action. It is...