Civic Openness In Negotiations


Civic Openness in Negotiations is a set of Collective Bargaining rules involving government agencies and public labor unions intended to ensure transparency and accountability. The process allows for independent fiscal analysis and public scrutiny with a goal of reducing conflicts of interest, accounting for the full cost of agreements, ensuring adequate board review of contracts, and reducing long-term unfunded liabilities and unplanned expense.
COIN is also known as OPEN.

Description

COIN processes vary but usually have five distinct components:
The first COIN ordinance was written by Mayor pro-tempore Stephen Mensinger and adopted by Costa Mesa, CA in 2012. In subsequent years, it was also adopted by Beverly Hills, Fullerton, Fountain Valley, Rancho Palos Verdes, and Orange County, CA. It has been strongly championed by California State Senator, John Moorlach.
In 2015, a Civil Grand Jury in Marin County recommended the adoption of COIN by county agencies including the operator of the Golden Gate Bridge.
Generally, COIN has been opposed by organized labor. In 2015, California Governor, Jerry Brown, signed an act officially called CRONEY in the California Public Contract Code, intended to reduce the number of California municipalities adopting COIN. Referring to Crony Capitalism, the official title was changed through an opposing legislator's last minute amendment without public disclosure or comment to illustrate the problems of closed and nontransparent government practices.