BILL NUMBER: AB 169	AMENDED
	BILL TEXT

	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  APRIL 6, 2015
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  MARCH 26, 2015

INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Maienschein

                        JANUARY 22, 2015

   An act to add Section  6253.7   62  
53.10  to the Government Code, relating to local government.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 169, as amended, Maienschein. Local government: public records:
Internet.
   (1) The California Public Records Act requires a state or local
agency, as defined, to make public records available for inspection,
subject to certain exceptions. The act requires any agency that has
any information that constitutes a public record not exempt from
disclosure in an electronic format to make that public record
available in an electronic format when requested by a person, and
requires the agency to, among other things, make the information
available in any electronic format in which the information is held.
   This bill would require a local agency, except a school district,
that  chooses to post   voluntarily posts 
a public record  that is described as "open   "  on
its Internet Web site to post the public record in a format that
meets specified requirements, including, among others, that the
format is able to be retrieved, downloaded, indexed, and searched by
a commonly used Internet search application.
   (2) 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.
   (3) The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse
local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the
state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that
reimbursement.
   This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this
act for a specified reason.
   Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: yes.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  SECTION 1.  Section  6253.7   6253.10  is
added to the Government Code,  immediately following Section
6253.6   ,  to read:
    6253.7.   6253.10.   A local agency,
except a school district, that  voluntarily  posts a public
record  that is described as "open   "  on its
Internet Web site shall post the public record in an open 
file  format that meets all of the following requirements:
   (a) Retrievable, downloadable, indexable, and 
electrically   electronically  searchable by
commonly used Internet search applications.
   (b) Platform independent and machine readable.
   (c) Available to the public free of charge and without any
restriction that would impede the reuse or redistribution of the
public record.
   (d) Retains the data definitions and structure present when the
data was compiled, if applicable.
  SEC. 2.  The Legislature finds and declares that Section 1 of this
act, which adds Section  6253.7   6253.10
to 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  or   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:
   Because California's local agencies are increasingly releasing
information in an open format, because open format is not defined in
current law, and because data released by local agencies in an open
format should be as uniform and usable as possible, requiring local
agencies to follow standardized requirements when they elect to
release information in an open format furthers the purpose of Section
3 of Article I of the California Constitution.
  SEC. 3.  No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to
Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution because
the only costs that  my   may  be incurred
by a local agency or school district under this act would result from
a legislative mandate that is within the scope of paragraph (7) of
subdivision (b) of Section 3 of Article I of the California
Constitution."