BILL NUMBER: SB 1337 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN SENATE MAY 27, 2014
AMENDED IN SENATE APRIL 21, 2014
AMENDED IN SENATE APRIL 3, 2014
INTRODUCED BY Senator DeSaulnier
FEBRUARY 21, 2014
An act to amend Section 6253 of, and to add
Section 7550.7 to, to the Government
Code, relating to state government.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 1337, as amended, DeSaulnier. Public records and
reports. Reports.
(1) The California Public Records Act requires every state or
local agency to make public records open to inspection at all times
during regular office hours and provides that every person has a
right to inspect any public record, except as specified. Existing law
requires a state or local agency to determine whether a request
seeks copies of disclosable public records in the possession of the
agency within 10 days from the receipt of the request, except as
specified.
This bill would require a state agency to provide a public record
within 30 days of the date that the agency has determined that a
request is for a disclosable public record in the possession of the
agency, except in unusual circumstances, as provided.
(2) Existing
Existing law generally sets out the requirements for
the submission of written reports by public agencies to the
Legislature, the Governor, the Controller, and state legislative and
other executive entities.
This bill would require a written report, as defined, submitted by
any state agency or department to the Legislature, a Member of the
Legislature, or any state legislative or executive body to include a
signed statement by the head of the agency or department declaring
that the factual contents of the written report are true, accurate,
and complete to the best of his or her knowledge.
This bill would also make any person who declares as true any
material matter pursuant to these provisions that he or she knows to
be false liable for a civil penalty not to exceed $20,000.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 6253 of the Government Code
is amended to read:
6253. (a) Public records are open to inspection at all times
during the office hours of the state or local agency and every person
has a right to inspect any public record, except as hereafter
provided. Any reasonably segregable portion of a record shall be
available for inspection by any person requesting the record after
deletion of the portions that are exempted by law.
(b) Except with respect to public records exempt from disclosure
by express provisions of law and as provided in subdivision (e), each
state or local agency, upon a request for a copy of records that
reasonably describes an identifiable record or records, shall make
the records promptly available to any person upon payment of fees
covering direct costs of duplication, or a statutory fee if
applicable. Upon request, an exact copy shall be provided unless
impracticable to do so.
(c) 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. In unusual circumstances, the time limit prescribed in this
section may be extended by written notice by the head of the agency
or his or her 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. When
the agency dispatches the determination, and if the agency determines
that the request seeks disclosable public records, the agency shall
state the estimated date and time when the records will be made
available in accordance with subdivision (d). 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.
(d) Once a state agency has determined that a request is for a
disclosable public record in the possession of the state agency,
pursuant to subdivision (c), the state agency shall promptly provide
the requested public record, and the state agency shall not provide
the requested public record later than 30 days after the
determination. In unusual circumstances, as defined in subdivision
(c), the head of the state agency or his or her designee may extend
the time limit prescribed in this subdivision by providing written
notice to the person making the request that sets forth the reasons
for the extension and the date on which the state agency expects to
provide the disclosable public record. The notice shall not specify a
date that would result in an extension of more than 14 days.
(e) This chapter shall not be construed to permit an agency to
delay or obstruct the inspection or copying of public records. The
notification of denial of any request for records required by Section
6255 shall set forth the names and titles or positions of each
person responsible for the denial.
(f) Except as otherwise prohibited by law, a state or local agency
may adopt requirements for itself that allow for faster, more
efficient, or greater access to records than prescribed by the
minimum standards set forth in this chapter.
SEC. 2. SECTION 1. Section 7550.7 is
added to the Government Code, to read:
7550.7. (a) (1) Notwithstanding any other law, a written report
submitted to the Legislature, a Member of the Legislature, or any
state legislative or executive body by any state agency or department
shall include a signed statement by the head of that agency or
department declaring that the factual contents of the report are
true, accurate, and complete to the best of his or her knowledge.
(2) With respect to the Franchise Tax Board, the signed statement
described in paragraph (1) shall be made by the executive officer of
that board, and with respect to the State Board of Equalization, the
statement shall be made by the executive director of that board.
(b) Paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) shall apply to the head of
every state agency or department, including, but not limited to,
elected officials of state government, and any state official whose
duties are prescribed by the California Constitution.
(c) For purposes of this section, a "written report" is either of
the following:
(1) A document required by statute to be prepared and submitted to
the Legislature, or any state legislative or executive body.
(2) A document, summary, or statement requested by a Member of the
Legislature.
(d) The declaration in the signed statement as to the truth,
accuracy, and completeness of the factual contents of the written
report shall not apply to any forecasts, predictions,
recommendations, or opinions contained in the written report.
(e) Any person who declares as true any material matter pursuant
to this section that he or she knows to be false shall be liable for
a civil penalty not to exceed twenty thousand dollars ($20,000). The
civil penalties provided for in this section shall be exclusively
assessed and recovered in a civil action brought in the name of the
people of the State of California in any court of competent
jurisdiction by the Attorney General.