Bill Text: CA SB1034 | 2023-2024 | Regular Session | Amended

California Senate Bill 1034

Bill Title: California Public Records Act: state of emergency.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 2-0)

Status: (Engrossed) 2024-05-06 - Referred to Com. on JUD. [SB1034 Detail]

Download: California-2023-SB1034-Amended.html

Amended IN Senate April 04, 2024

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2023–2024 REGULAR SESSION

Senate Bill

No. 1034

Introduced by Senator Seyarto
(Coauthor: Assembly Member Chen)

February 06, 2024

An act to amend Section 7922.535 of the Government Code, relating to public records.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST

SB 1034, as amended, Seyarto. California Public Records Act: state of emergency.

The California Public Records Act requires state and local agencies to make their records available for public inspection, except as specified. Existing law requires each agency, within 10 days of a request for a copy of records, to determine whether the request seeks copies of disclosable public records in possession of the agency and to promptly notify the person of the determination and the reasons therefor. Existing law authorizes that time limit to be extended by no more than 14 days under unusual circumstances, and defines “unusual circumstances” to include certain circumstances.

This bill would revise the unusual circumstances under which the time limit may be extended to include the need to search for, collect, appropriately examine, and copy records during a state of ~~emergency~~ emergency, as defined, proclaimed by the Governor when the state of emergency has affected the agency’s ability to timely respond to requests due to decreased staffing or closure of the agency’s ~~facilities.~~ facilities, except as specified.

The California Constitution requires local agencies, for the purpose of ensuring public access to the meetings of public bodies and the writings of public officials and agencies, to comply with a statutory enactment that amends or enacts laws relating to public records or open meetings and contains findings demonstrating that the enactment furthers the constitutional requirements relating to this purpose.

This bill would make legislative findings to that effect.

Existing constitutional provisions require that a statute that limits the right of access to the meetings of public bodies or the writings of public officials and agencies be adopted with findings demonstrating the interest protected by the limitation and the need for protecting that interest.

This bill would make legislative findings to that effect.

Vote: MAJORITY Appropriation: NO Fiscal Committee: YES Local Program: NO

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.

Section 7922.535 of the Government Code is amended to read:

7922.535.

(a) Each agency, upon a request for a copy of records, shall, within 10 days from receipt of the request, determine whether the request, in whole or in part, seeks copies of disclosable public records in the possession of the agency and shall promptly notify the person making the request of the determination and the reasons therefor. If the agency determines that the request seeks disclosable public records, the agency shall also state the estimated date and time when the records will be made available.

(b) In unusual circumstances, the time limit prescribed in this article and Article 1 (commencing with Section 7922.500) may be extended by written notice from the head of the agency or a designee to the person making the request, setting forth the reasons for the extension and the date on which a determination is expected to be dispatched. No notice shall specify a date that would result in an extension for more than 14 days.

(c) As used in this section, “unusual circumstances” means the following, but only to the extent reasonably necessary to the proper processing of the particular request:

(1) The need to search for and collect the requested records from field facilities or other establishments that are separate from the office processing the request.

(2) The need to search for, collect, and appropriately examine a voluminous amount of separate and distinct records that are demanded in a single request.

(3) The need for consultation, which shall be conducted with all practicable speed, with another agency having substantial interest in the determination of the request or among two or more components of the agency having substantial subject matter interest therein.

(4) The need to compile data, to write programming language or a computer program, or to construct a computer report to extract data.

(5) The need to search for, collect, appropriately examine, and copy records during a state of emergency proclaimed by the Governor when the state of emergency has affected the agency’s ability to timely respond to requests due to decreased staffing or closure of the agency’s facilities. The time to respond to a request for records created during and related to the state of emergency shall not be extended unless the request involves one or more of the unusual circumstances described in paragraphs (1) to (4), inclusive.

(A) This paragraph shall not apply to a request for records created during and related to the state of emergency proclaimed by the Governor.
(B) For purposes of this paragraph, “state of emergency” means a state of emergency proclaimed pursuant to Section 8625 of the California Emergency Services Act (Chapter 7 (commencing with Section 8550) of Division 1 of Title 2).

SEC. 2.

The Legislature finds and declares that Section 1 of this act, which amends Section 7922.535 of the Government Code, furthers, within the meaning of paragraph (7) of subdivision (b) of Section 3 of Article I of the California Constitution, the purposes of that constitutional section as it relates to the right of public access to the meetings of local public bodies or the writings of local public officials and local agencies. Pursuant to paragraph (7) of subdivision (b) of Section 3 of Article I of the California Constitution, the Legislature makes the following findings:

This act balances the right of the public to access public records in a timely manner while affording public agencies adequate opportunity to satisfy information requests during a declared state of emergency.

SEC. 3.

The Legislature finds and declares that Section 1 of this act, which amends Section 7922.535 of the Government Code, imposes a limitation on the public’s right of access to the meetings of public bodies or the writings of public officials and agencies within the meaning of Section 3 of Article I of the California Constitution. Pursuant to that constitutional provision, the Legislature makes the following findings to demonstrate the interest protected by this limitation and the need for protecting that interest: