BILL ANALYSIS
AB 1245
Page 1
Date of Hearing: May 13, 2009
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Kevin De Leon, Chair
AB 1245 (Monning) - As Amended: April 13, 2009
Policy Committee: Governmental
Organization Vote: 16 - 0
Judiciary 10 - 0
Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program:
No Reimbursable:
SUMMARY
This bill establishes a process by which the Secretary of State
(SOS), on behalf of the State Archivist, can recover
governmental records belonging to the state or a local agency
that are found in the possession of non-governmental agencies or
persons. Specifically, this bill:
1)Authorizes the SOS to issue a written notice demanding that a
person or entity found in possession of government documents
either return the records or respond in writing and declare
why the records do not belong to the government within 20 days
of receiving the notice.
2)Authorizes the SOS to ask the Attorney General (AG) to
petition the relevant superior court for an order to return
the records if they are not returned within the 20-day
timeframe.
3)Authorizes the court to award attorney's fees and court costs
in that event that an AG recovers a record under this law.
FISCAL EFFECT
Absorbable costs for the AG, potentially offset by court-awarded
attorney's fees.
COMMENTS
1)Rationale . This bill, sponsored by the Secretary of State, is
intended to establish procedures by which the SOS can recover
AB 1245
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stolen government records.
2)Background . Existing law establishes that it is a crime for a
person to steal, remove, destroy, mutilate, deface, alter or
falsify a public record. However, the state does not have a
law that allows for the recovery of the stolen records. This
has created the misconception that once a public record is
removed from public custody, it is no longer a public record
and therefore can be sold or given to another person or
entity. The SOS provides as an example, the State Archives'
discovery of historical San Quentin and Folsom prison
registers and mug books for sale at public auctions.
This bill is modeled on an existing law in Maine and is part
of a national effort to ensure that states have laws
establishing a procedure for recovering stolen public records.
3)Related Legislation . This bill is substantially similar to AB
2595 (Laird) from 2008 that was vetoed due to the late passage
of the 2008-09 budget. In the message the governor wrote, "I
am only signing bills that are the highest priority for
California. This bill does not meet that standard and I cannot
sign it at this time."
Analysis Prepared by : Julie Salley-Gray / APPR. / (916)
319-2081