A California legislator has introduced a bill that would drastically increase the cost of accessing public records, effectively pricing out ordinary citizens from government transparency. This assault on the Public Records Act is a direct attack on the foundational principles of democratic accountability, threatening to plunge our government into a new era of secrecy and disenfranchisement.
Assembly Bill 1821, authored by Blanca Pacheco and backed by local government associations, proposes allowing agencies to delay public records requests, charge fees up to $66 an hour, and sue requesters deemed 'malicious'. This is a direct assault on transparency and a cowardly attempt by the government to hide its actions from the very people it is supposed to serve, effectively turning the public's right to know into a privilege for the wealthy and powerful.
A California lawmaker has retreated from amendments to the Public Records Act that would have imposed high fees for 'commercial purpose' requests and granted counties new powers to deny access. This repeated assault on the bedrock principle of government transparency is a chilling betrayal of the public's right to know and a direct threat to the health of our democracy.
