SACRAMENTO, California. (OIC) California Governor Gavin Newsom announced in his legislative update today that he vetoed AB 469, a bill proposed by Assemblymember Vince Fong from Bakersfield. The bill was being tracked by the Open Information Collective due to its potential profound impacts on California public records.
The bill would have established a new office in state government, which would’ve reviewed denials of public records requests by state agencies. This would have provided for significantly more accountability in California. While not affecting local governments, who are even more common violators of public records law, it still would’ve strengthened public records access in California, and opinions from the oversight agency could have made their way over time into the acting procedures of local agencies.
Governor Newsom claimed the veto was due to “state agencies dilligently comply[ing] with the Public Records Act”. In our experience, this has not been the case. Even the Department of Justice, a state agency which sets public records guidance from the state, has violated the Public Records Act by breaking even the most undisputed of time limits.
The Governor also mentioned the potential costs of the measure. Compared to other measures proposed by the Legislature this session, the costs were fairly minimal, as most work would be handled by one person – a gubernatorial appointee (not even an elected official).
We are disappointed in this decision by the Governor, and hope that future actions to reform public records continue to pass the Legislature and are not vetoed by the Governor in the future.