California’s Public Right to Know Act Will Protect the Public from Dangerous Secrets

Senator Connie M. Leyva (D-Chino) recently introduced legislation that will help ensure residents in California have all the information they need to make educated decisions about dangerous public hazards brought forth during litigation. 

SB 1149, will ban settlement agreements that limit what information is made public when it comes to a defective product or an environmental condition that poses a risk to public health or public safety. The bill, dubbed the Public Right to Know Act, will also make any provision in an agreement void and therefore not enforceable if it’s against public policy.

The proposed law also means that any court order that hides information is not allowed unless the court deems that keeping the information private is in the best interest of the public at large. It will also narrow how it decides such information to only that which is a "danger to public health or safety" and likely to cause "significant or substantial bodily injury or illness, or death."

The bill will help lift a veil of secrecy that’s rampant in litigation and creates precarious positions for those that are kept in the dark. It is again being championed by Leyva, who was the driving force behind SB 331, also known as the Silenced No More Act, becoming a statewide law that expanded protections against secret settlements and settlement agreements involving cases of harassment or discrimination. Similarly, the bill is also jointly sponsored by Consumer Reports and Public Justice.

A Senate hearing is scheduled for April 5th.