The Open Data Opportunity: How Government Information Can Change the Way California Does Business

Legislative and Strategic Framework

• California Governor Jerry Brown signed two landmark open data bills last month (AB 169 and SB 272), now in effect.
  • AB 169 mandates that all data published by California state and local governments be in an "open format" that is machine-readable, easily downloadable, and reusable by computer scripts.
  • SB 272 requires all agencies to create and publish an online inventory index of all their data systems.
• Secretary of State Alex Padilla characterizes this legislation as a critical "culture shift" moving government from a default mindset of data hoarding to a default of sharing.
• The primary goal is to transform data from a static resource into an active economic and operational asset for the state.

Economic and Operational Impact

• Private Sector Utilization: Trulia (Deep Varma) employs approximately 50 engineers to normalize disparate government data (e.g., real estate, crime, schools) from 33 counties into a unified, searchable platform.
  • Without open formats, engineers spend significant resources converting data rather than building consumer-facing features.
  • Standardized data allows Trulia to provide value-added metrics like neighborhood crime scores and school rankings.
• Government Efficiency: The City of Los Angeles closed a specific map-sharing system costing $240,000 annually simply by redirecting interdepartmental traffic to its open data portal.
• Public-Private Partnerships: The Secretary of State's office partnered with MapLight to build "PowerSearch," a campaign finance tracker, bypassing the state's traditionally slow and costly IT procurement process at no taxpayer cost.
• Code for America Model: This organization embeds Silicon Valley engineers ("Peace Corps for geeks") into government to implement user-centered design, with the specific constraint that projects must demonstrate a clear Return on Investment (ROI) or end-user benefit to justify opening data.

Challenges and Barriers

• Data Quality: Many government datasets are currently of poor quality; the requirement to publish forces departments to modernize and clean their internal systems, though this process is difficult without upfront investment.
• Talent Gap: There is a significant disparity in compensation, with Silicon Valley engineers earning six-figure salaries to solve problems that government departments often cannot fill internally due to budget constraints.
• Cultural Resistance:
  • Some agencies view open data as an additional workload rather than an efficiency tool, fearing exposure of poor performance (e.g., response times, service delays).
  • A "silo mentality" persists where departments hide budget or operational data from other government entities.
• Legal Ambiguities:
  • Local school districts were explicitly exempted from the new state open data laws.
  • The LAPD interprets case law to only require the release of the most recent six months of crime data, resisting the release of historical records despite their digital availability.
  • A parallel effort to gut the California Public Records Act (PRA) for budgetary reasons created tension with the new open data mandates.

Future Vision and Standards

• Standardization: Speakers advocate for a national "common language" for data (similar to HTML for web pages) to ensure interoperability across cities and states (e.g., standardizing crime or transit data for regional analysis).
• Contextualization: Merely publishing data is insufficient; success requires providing metadata, narrative context, and end-user utility (e.g., interactive charts rather than raw spreadsheets).
• Next-Gen Features: The City of LA is piloting online reporting for minor crimes (e.g., stolen bicycles) via mobile apps to replace 311 calls and paper forms.
• Measuring Success:
  • Tangible: Increased interdepartmental data sharing, reduced IT maintenance costs, and the volume/quality of published datasets.
  • Intangible: Improved transparency and the ability to trace public requests back to self-serve solutions.
• Privacy vs. Transparency: Agencies must balance openness with security, masking specific details (e.g., undercover vehicle license plates) while maintaining broad accessibility.

Audience Q&A Highlights

• Consumer Value: Citizens gain "time back" and improved decision-making power (e.g., identifying safe neighborhoods or school districts) rather than direct monetary compensation.
• Citizen-Generated Data: Governments are willing to publish compelling private citizen data (e.g., recycling stats) provided it does not mimic official records or violate privacy.
• Accessibility: Open data initiatives must utilize visualizations (e.g., color-coded alerts) to serve functionally illiterate or non-English-speaking populations.
• Policy Integration: New legislation like "New Motor Voter" demonstrates how data sharing between DMVs and the Secretary of State can automate voter registration, saving taxpayer dollars and increasing democracy.