The Legislature's years-long record of woefully underfunding the state's chief political watchdog agency is a shameful act of negligence that few people have noticed. Not anymore. State Sen. Deborah Ortiz, D-Sacramento, has introduced legislation (SB 1120) that would give the Fair Political Practices Commission the $9 million annual budget it has long requested. A self-interested Legislature, wary of healthy scrutiny, has starved the agency of funds, forking over just $6 million annually in the past several years. Forced to cut costs, the FPPC has slashed the staff that keeps an eye on California's 15,000 elected officials from 91 in 1990...
