George Chen

Weird, I didn’t get the invite to this press conference.

This week has been a prime example of why this is necessary. The tire efficiency vote happened as political/policy journalists are trying to track so much action at the state capitol in the final days of the legislative session, moves by the governor, attorney general, and the state's continued clashes with the Trump administration. My photographer and I were the only journalists in the hearing room when the California Energy Commission voted on the new tire standards. As the VP of the Capitol Correspondents Association of California and President of the Sacramento Press Club, I (personally) don't feel good about that. I've shared these thoughts with the state agency that oversees the CEC. According to my inbox, the commission did not advise reporters when public comment began on tire regulations and did not advise them when the vote was happening. There's nothing on the CEC's social media accounts to give anyone a heads up. I only found out because legislators and someone in the tire industry tipped me off about the vote. I want to be clear: I'm not saying the CEC did this intentionally, but the commission could have done more. If reporters didn't know about it, how could taxpayers in general? Had more journalists been there, the news perhaps would have had different perspectives, different interpretations, different ways of presenting the information. This state is filled with so many intelligent, bright journalists who have unique ways of presenting key information to the taxpayer. This issue is not unique to the California Energy Commission. There are several other state agencies and boards who could do way more to advise about upcoming votes. The High-Speed Rail Authority Board is one of them. There are agencies in California who have been doing a good job. The @AirResources board, for example. Most recently, their PR department gave journalists a heads up on the vote on Low Carbon Fuel Standards, and Cap and Invest votes. Several state lawmakers on both sides of the aisle also do a great job of letting reporters know when their legislation is up for a vote, or when their committee is holding an oversight hearing. Journalism and the ability to cover public votes is a key function of democracy- but you can't cover what you're not told is happening. Real transparency means reporters know what's coming and can report on it. That's a low bar, and a state like California in the 4th largest economy, should be able to clear it.