A PEEK AT LEGISLATORS' BUDGETS

These are excerpts from the Inside Opinion blog by Press Democrat editorial writers Paul Gullixson and Jim Sweeney. The blog can be found on WatchSonomaCounty.com.

If you drop by City Hall and ask to see the mayor's expense claims or a detailed accounting of the city manager's office expenses, the response may not be quick and it may not be enthusiastic, but if you don't give up, you're going to see those records. They're public by state law, and lest you think my comments about the process are unfair and unfounded, they're based on annual audits by First Amendment groups that send people into government offices -- cities, counties, schools, community colleges -- to ask for records. They don't always get a warm welcome, but they usually get the records.

Don't bother trying at the statehouse.

As we described in an editorial last week, the Assembly leadership informed Assemblyman Anthony Portantino, D-La Ca??ada Flintridge, that legislative office budgets are exempt from public records laws. Portantino asked for the records when his staff got furlough notices after he voted against the state budget. Assembly Speaker John P??rez says Portantino was overspending, but he wasn't willing to produce the records to prove it.

On Thursday, however, three Republican legislators released their own office budgets to the Associated Press. Chances are they were motivated by the chance to embarrass P??rez, who is richly deserving of public humiliation on this issue, rather than any great commitment to open government. Be that as it may, here's a tip of the cap to Assembly members Shannon Grove of Bakersfield, Tim Donnelly of Hesperia and Kristin Olsen of Modesto.

-- Jim Sweeney

On the last day of the Sonoma County Fair, my kids and I were in line at the Clover Stornetta booth for a free ice cream cone -- the finest of fair traditions in our view -- when we were approached by a man with a clipboard asking if we wanted "to stop unfair Internet taxes."

Those who have been following this issue know this is a petition drive sponsored by Amazon.com, which is in a snit over the Legislature's decision to require online retailers to collect sales taxes. For years, Amazon has had an advantage over "bricks and mortar" stores because they haven't had to collect these taxes.

Let's just say that I was not in the mood to deal with this issue or this guy at that moment, especially when it became clear he had little idea -- or was being deliberately deceptive -- about who was funding his campaign and what it was about.

"No, I do not want to sign your petition," I ended up telling him. "I think it is entirely fair and about time that Amazon starts collecting sales taxes. Look around you. You see all of these retailers selling everything from beach balls to hot tubs? They all are having to collect sales taxes. Most, unlike Amazon, are struggling to make ends meet. I see no reason why Amazon should get a pass."

He quickly walked off grumbling that he was not working for Amazon -- and started bugging people in another line. I ended up having a brief discussion with a guy in front of us who agreed with me.

What's particularly maddening is that Amazon is paying these petition workers -- who essentially will say almost anything because they're paid by the signature -- to stand in front of retail stores, the very businesses Amazon and other online giants are putting out of business with the help of this tax break.

Some call that chutzpah. I would call it something else.

-- Paul Gullixson