Following an outcry from both media organizations and an assortment of local politicians, the state Assembly retreated from including a controversial provision within their AB 76 bill, which would have made compliance with the Public Records Act optional on certain levels.
Passed in 1968, the PRA requires city and county agencies to provide timely and reliable access to public records. Under the original AB 76 provisions, agencies could unilaterally determine how and when they would provide access to public records. The main reasoning behind providing such a provision is cost, since the State is obligated to reimburse the cost of requests incurred by local agencies.
5th District Councilmember Gerrie Schipske, an advocate for government transparency, has long been critical of the bill, having sent a press release urging Mayor Bob Foster and others to take note of the bill’s PRA clause.
{loadposition latestnews}”Transparency should not be optional,” Schipske stated, noting that the PRA alterations within AB 76 would vastly affect domestic violence victims due to the bill’s provision that would make discretionary the requirement to keep complete records of domestic violence restraining orders.
After meeting with the governor along with nine other mayors, Mayor Bob Foster joined the list of those opposed to AB 76 and was adamant that–despite whether the bill was to be altered or not–that Long Beach would continue to respect public records requests.
“I think it’s safe to say all of these cities [standing up against AB 76] are going to comply with the Public Records Act,” Foster said. “Regardless of whether the Governor signs the budget or issues a veto, Long Beach will continue to process PRA requests as before. I don’t believe the City has ever even gotten reimbursement from the state on several of the provisions included in the trailer language anyways. As has been our practice, we will continue to cover PRA response costs in support of good government.”
Similarly, SB 71–a bill akin to AB 76 and moved to Assembly after passing through the Senate on May 13–has now been amended by the Assembly to exclude the same PRA provisions that mimicked AB 76’s mandates. Senator President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg stated he would block the Assembly’s version of SB 71 until lawmakers can introduce a bill that–while not making public records requests optional–will not place reimbursement costs on the State.