A bill enrolled in California will change the required response time for public records requests from 10 days to 10 business days. Previous versions of the bill would have also allowed agencies to charge additional fees for commercial requests and go to court against requesters they believed had “malicious intent.”

Assembly Bill 1821, which we talked about when it was proposed in June, was sent to Governor Gavin Newsom at the end of August. In addition to extending response time in general, it allows agencies to take a further 14 business days “in unusual circumstances.”

These circumstances, as laid out by the bill, include voluminous search time, consultation across agencies, data compilation time or cyberattacks. The bill is supported by many state agencies, cities and counties.

The First Amendment Coalition organized opposition to the earlier versions of the bill, and Brechner Center Director David Cuillier told CalMatters it would “make California stand out as the most secretive state in the country.”

Posted: September 4, 2026
Category: Brechner News
Tagged as: Secrecy Tracker