Schwarzenegger's NDA

Arnold's campaign requires every staffer to sign a five-page confidentiality agreement, including a clause that the agreement itself is a secret. The L.A. Times received a copy:

Schwarzenegger has devoted "substantial effort and expense to limit the constant efforts of the press, other media, and the public to learn of personal and business affairs" in which he is involved.

To protect his privacy, campaign staff members are required to agree not to reveal "information and items relating to or concerning (a) Arnold Schwarzenegger and his family, friends, associates and employees (collectively, "Related Parties"); (b) private and confidential matters concerning Employer or any Related Parties; (c) financial, business, medical, legal, personal and contractual matters and (d) any letter, memorandum, contract, photograph, film or other document or writing pertaining in any way to Employer or any Related Parties."

In particular, staff members are barred from taking "any photographs, movies, videos" or making "any sketches, depictions or other likenesses Of Arnold Schwarzenegger or Arnold Schwarzenegger's family, friends, associates or employees." The agreement not to "publish, disseminate, disclose or cause to be published, disseminated or disclosed" continues "during or after" the staff member's employment.

Staff members agree that Schwarzenegger has the right to obtain a court order blocking them from disclosing any information covered by the agreement, and that if they violate the terms they can be required to pay $50,000 for each violation. Such nondisclosure agreements are standard in the movie industry, but unusual in political campaigns.

On the other hand, he proposed Thursday to expand the open records law in California to include, among other things, the governor's calendar and some government e-mail.