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Want government records? This California lawmaker wants you to pay more for them
Assembly Bill 1821 allows California public agencies to charge fees for record searches exceeding two hours, exempting journalists and institutions, amid resource strain concerns.
- Assemblymember Blanca Pacheco introduced Assembly Bill 1821, allowing California public agencies to charge fees for records searches exceeding two hours or 10 hours monthly, with exemptions for journalists and scientific institutions.
- Public agencies face complex, high-volume requests; a Fontana case cost more than $300,000 while a Chula Vista request required up to 300 staff hours, though the California Supreme Court currently prohibits charging for search or redaction time.
- David Snyder, executive director of the First Amendment Coalition, warns that fees threaten constitutional rights; he cited Mendocino County's past $84,000 bill to a journalist as evidence costs lack sufficient guardrails.
- Pacheco plans to amend the measure to be "narrowly tailored" with "appropriate thresholds" for fees, and the bill would extend agency response deadlines to 10 and 14 business days.
- Ben Adler, spokesperson for the California State Association of Counties, noted that high request volumes strain limited public resources, while Pacheco has previously pushed legislation limiting police misconduct record disclosure.
11 Articles
11 Articles
Want Government Records? California Lawmaker Wants to Raise the Price
This story was originally published by CalMatters. Sign up for their newsletters. By Yue Stella Yu CalMatters Want to know what your government is up to? Be prepared to pay up. A California state lawmaker wants to let public agencies charge an unspecified, uncapped fee if it takes their workers more than two hours to search for records to fulfill a public records request. The proposal is raising concerns among transparency advocates that the fe…
The Bakersfield Californian
Want government records? This California lawmaker wants you to pay more for them
Want to know what your government is up to? Be prepared to pay up.
Want government records? This California lawmaker wants you to pay more for them - Sonoma Valley Sun
by Yue Stella Yu This article was originally published by CalMatters Want to know what your government is up to? Be prepared to pay up. A California state lawmaker wants to let public agencies charge an unspecified, uncapped fee if it takes their workers more than two hours to search for records to fulfill a public
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