TO: BOARD OF SUPERVISORS
FROM: Executive Office
MEETING DATE: July 7, 2026
DEPARTMENT CONTACT:
Xuyen Mallela
PHONE:
707-463-4441
ITEM TYPE: Consent Agenda
TIME ALLOCATED FOR ITEM: N/A
AGENDA TITLE:
title
Ratification of Letter of Support for AB 1821 (Pacheco) California Public Records Act
End
RECOMMENDED ACTION/MOTION:
recommendation
Ratify letter of support for AB 1821 (Pacheco) California Public Records Act.
End
PREVIOUS BOARD/BOARD COMMITTEE ACTIONS:
The Board of Supervisors regularly issues support letters that align with the 2026 Legislative Platform.
SUMMARY OF REQUEST:
AB 1821 provides an important and practical clarification to the California Public Records Act (CPRA) response timelines. The bill's shift from "calendar days" to "business days" for initial determinations and extensions is a common sense update that reflects the operational realities of local agencies. Public agencies generally do not have staff available on weekends or holidays, yet current law continues to toll CPRA deadlines during these periods. A business day standard ensures agencies have the full, intended number of working days to conduct thorough and accurate searches for disclosable records.
Under existing law, agencies must determine within 10 days whether a request seeks disclosable records, with a possible 14 day extension in unusual circumstances. Neither timeframe accounts for weekends or holidays when staff are unavailable. AB 1821 corrects this discrepancy by converting these periods to business days, helping agencies comply with the law more effectively and consistently.
Local agencies across California have seen a sharp rise in both the volume and complexity of CPRA requests, reporting a 73% increase over five years and noting that more than 90% of agencies have had to divert staff time away from core services to meet these demands.
Modern government operations now generate far more disclosable records, including emails, texts, and int...
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