What is the Public Records Act?

Since 1968, the California Public Records Act has made available countless scores of documents created by local and state government agencies.

The law, heralded as a pathway toward openness and transparency in government, proclaims that in the Golden State, the ability to access information “concerning the conduct of the people’s business” is a “fundamental and necessary right” of all.

Though exceptions exist, the act grants the public access to documents within certain time frames. It can be applied to governmental bodies like cities and counties, school districts and other public agencies like water districts.

Once a request is submitted, the public entity must provide a response within 10 calendar days, though under certain circumstances the response can be extended to 14 days.

When used by activists and journalists, the law can hold government officials accountable for their actions and trace their spending of taxpayer money. In 2010, Los Angeles Times reporters, aided by the act’s ability to open the floodgates to seekers of information, used it to uncover bloated government salaries and waste in the city of Bell. Their Pulitzer Prize-winning reports prompted a nationwide awareness of the need to monitor public officials’ compensation.

In Costa Mesa, a Daily Pilot investigation using online government records going back months, made available thanks to the Public Records Act, provided the first public account of overspending involving the city’s 60th anniversary party in 2013. Records compiled in December 2013 showed that nearly $400,000 was spent at that point. The cost later increased to about $518,000 for a three-day party that garnered mild attendance numbers and widespread suspicion over its execution and planning.

The Public Records Act also helped uncover email correspondence tied to some unpermitted work in Costa Mesa’s Fairview Park that threatened an endangered species there. It also helped to reveal a link to city officials and prompted a federal U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service investigation, which is ongoing.