San Francisco Chronicle
By Bob Ryan (Letters to the Editor)
October 16, 2024

Regarding “California’s Capitol Annex project is exempt from CEQA, court rules” (Politics, SFChronicle.com, Oct. 8): As someone who worked in the Capitol Annex as a state Senate legislative staffer for several years during the 1970s, I’m baffled by the lack of transparency surrounding the plans to demolish and replace the building.

According to the story, “Legislators and state officials have required more than 2,000 people since 2018 to sign nondisclosure agreements that forbid them from providing information about the project.”

With all those NDAs, it’s not surprising that the estimated cost for the project has ballooned from $700 million to $1.2 billion. Secrecy begets waste and arrogance.

Political reform groups like Common Cause should push for a bipartisan bill to ban NDAs concerning all state legislative matters, including the lawmaking process, because they violate the basic democratic principle of open government.

Right now in the Legislature, NDA might as well stand for No Democratic Accountability.