BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE COMMITTEE ON GOVERNANCE AND FINANCE
Senator Robert M. Hertzberg, Chair
2015 - 2016 Regular
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|Bill No: |SB 272 |Hearing |4/15/15 |
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|Author: |Hertzberg |Tax Levy: |No |
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|Version: |4/6/15 |Fiscal: |Yes |
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|Consultant|Weinberger |
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LOCAL GOVERNMENT DATA SYSTEMS
Requires local governments to catalog, and make publicly
available, information about their data systems.
Background and Existing Law
The California Public Records Act (CPRA) requires public records
to be open to inspection during office hours and gives every
person a right to inspect public records, with specific
exceptions. The Public Records Act also specifies procedures
for requesting copies of public records. When a person seeks a
record in an electronic format, an agency must, upon request,
make the information available in any electronic format in which
it holds the information (AB 2799, Shelley, 2000).
Although state law already guarantees the public's right to
access electronic records that are not otherwise exempt from
disclosure, it can be difficult for members of the public to
know exactly what types of data local governments collect, what
formats the data are in, and where the data are stored.
Advocates for government transparency and open data want
legislators to make it easier for the public to identify what
electronic records they can request from local governments
pursuant to the California Public Records Act.
Proposed Law
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Senate Bill 272 requires local agencies, in implementing the
California Public Records Act, to create a catalog of enterprise
systems.
SB 272 defines "enterprise system" as a system that is both:
A multi-departmental system or a system that contains
information collected about the public.
A system of record.
The bill defines "system of record" as a system that serves as
an original source of data within an agency.
SB 272 requires that the catalog prepared by each local agency
must:
List the enterprise systems utilized by the agency.
Disclose, for each enterprise system, all of the
following:
o Current system vendor.
o Current system product.
o A brief statement of the system's purpose.
o A general description of categories, modules,
or layers of data.
o The department that serves as the system's
primary custodian.
o How frequently system data is collected.
o How frequently system data is updated.
Be made publicly available in a specified manner.
SB 272 states that its provisions must not be interpreted to
limit a person's right to inspect public records pursuant to the
provision of the California Public Records Act.
The bill contains legislative findings and declarations
regarding the potential benefits of expanded public access to
electronic data gather and maintained by local agencies.
State Revenue Impact
No estimate.
Comments
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1. Purpose of the bill . Government agencies are rapidly
expanding their use of computer technologies to conduct the
public's business, including budgeting, mapping, and issuing
permits. Much of the electronic data that local governments
throughout California possess can be a powerful tool for
improving the lives of Californians. Harnessing the power of
local data will help to make government more transparent and
accountable to the public, foster collaboration among agencies
to deliver public services more efficiently and effectively, and
support policies that generate economic growth and improve
California communities. However, members of the public too
often are not aware of what data local governments collect, the
format the data is in, or the location where the data is stored.
Similarly, a lack of information about local agencies' data
systems may impede efforts among local agencies to collaborate
on projects to standardize and share public data sets. By
requiring local governments to share information about their
enterprise data systems, SB 272 takes a significant step towards
making California local government data more accessible to the
public.
2. Definitions needed . Some of the terms used in SB 272 are
ambiguous and not defined elsewhere in state law. For example,
the requirement that a catalog of enterprise systems must
describe categories, modules, or layer of data may need to be
explained in more detail. Similarly, the bill's definition of
an enterprise system as including a system that contains
information collected about the public may be open to different
interpretations. To ensure that SB 272's provisions are
implemented uniformly in the manner intended, the Committee may
wish to consider amending SB 272 to provide more specific
definitions of what is meant by the phrases "categories,
modules, or layers of data" and "information collected by the
public."
3. Deadlines matter . SB 272 requires local governments to
catalog information about their enterprise systems, but doesn't
specify when the catalog must be completed and made available to
the public. The Committee may wish to consider amending SB 272
to specify a date by which local governments must comply with
the bill's provisions.
4. Who pays ? The Legislative Counsel's Office says that SB 272
would impose a state-mandated local program because it requires
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local government officials to perform additional duties related
to creating and publicly releasing a catalog of enterprise
systems. The California Constitution generally requires the
state government to reimburse the costs of new or expanded state
mandated local programs. However, on June 3, 2014, California
voters approved Proposition 42, which amended the California
Constitution to require local agencies to comply with the
California Public Records Act. Proposition 42 also requires
local agencies to comply with any subsequent statutory enactment
amending the Public Records Act that contains specified findings
that the newly enacted statute furthers specified constitutional
provisions guaranteeing public access to public agency meetings
and records. SB 272 contains legislative findings that the bill
furthers the purpose of Section 3 of Article I of the California
Constitution "[b]ecause increased information about what data is
collected by local agencies could be leveraged by the public to
more efficiently access and better use that information." As a
result, SB 272 disclaims the state's responsibility for
reimbursing local governments' costs of complying with the
bill's requirements.
5. Double-referred . The Senate Rules Committee has ordered a
double-referral of SB 272 --- first to the Senate Governance &
Finance Committee which has policy jurisdiction over state laws
relating to local governments, and then to the Senate Judiciary
Committee, which plans to hear the bill at its April 21 hearing.
Support and
Opposition (4/9/15)
Support : American Federation of State, County, and Municipal
Employees, AFL-CIO; California Business Roundtable; California
Professional Firefighters; San Francisco Technology Democrats;
Sunlight Foundation.
Opposition : Unknown.
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