CA AB 343

enacted

California Public Records Act: elected or appointed officials.

California · 2025-2026 Regular Session · lower

Description

Existing law, the California Public Records Act, requires state and local agencies to make their records available for public inspection, unless an exemption from disclosure applies. That law exempts from disclosure specified information relating to elected or appointed officials, and makes specified disclosures of information relating to elected or appointed officials a crime. The law defines "elected or appointed official" for that purpose to include, among other things, a judge or court commissioner, a federal judge or federal defender, and a judge of a federally recognized Indian tribe. This bill would additionally include in the definition of the term "elected or appointed official," a retired judge or court commissioner, an active or retired judge of the State Bar Court, a retired federal judge or federal defender, a retired judge of a federally recognized Indian tribe, and an appointee of a court to serve as children's counsel in a family or dependency proceeding. By expanding a crime related to the unauthorized disclosure of information about elected or appointed officials, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. Existing constitutional provisions require that a statute that limits the right of access to the meetings of public bodies or the writings of public officials and agencies be adopted with findings demonstrating the interest protected by the limitation and the need for protecting that interest. This bill would make legislative findings to that effect. The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.

Introduced: 2025-07-01
Status date: —
Latest action: 2025-10-01 — Chaptered by Secretary of State - Chapter 142, Statutes of 2025.
Bill type: bill
Last updated: —

Subjects

Committees

Not provided by source.

Action timeline

2025-01-29
Read first time. To print.
reading-1
2025-01-30
From printer. May be heard in committee March 1.
2025-02-10
Referred to Com. on JUD.
referral-committee
2025-03-04
From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on APPR. with recommendation: To Consent Calendar. (Ayes 12. Noes 0.) (March 4). Re-referred to Com. on APPR.
committee-passage,committee-passage-favorable,referral-committee
2025-04-09
In committee: Set, first hearing. Referred to APPR. suspense file.
referral-committee
2025-05-23
From committee: Do pass. (Ayes 14. Noes 0.) (May 23).
committee-passage,committee-passage-favorable
2025-05-27
Read second time. Ordered to third reading.
reading-1,reading-2,reading-3
2025-06-02
Read third time. Passed. Ordered to the Senate. (Ayes 79. Noes 0. Page 1820.)
passage,reading-1,reading-3
2025-06-03
In Senate. Read first time. To Com. on RLS. for assignment.
reading-1,referral-committee
2025-06-11
Referred to Com. on JUD.
referral-committee
2025-06-25
From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on APPR. with recommendation: To Consent Calendar. (Ayes 12. Noes 0.) (June 24). Re-referred to Com. on APPR.
committee-passage,committee-passage-favorable,referral-committee
2025-07-01
From committee chair, with author's amendments: Amend, and re-refer to committee. Read second time, amended, and re-referred to Com. on APPR.
amendment-introduction,amendment-passage,committee-passage,reading-1,reading-2,referral-committee
2025-07-07
In committee: Referred to APPR. suspense file.
referral-committee
2025-08-29
From committee: Do pass. (Ayes 7. Noes 0.) (August 29).
committee-passage,committee-passage-favorable
2025-08-29
Read second time. Ordered to third reading.
reading-1,reading-2,reading-3
2025-09-02
Ordered to special consent calendar.
2025-09-04
Read third time. Passed. Ordered to the Assembly. (Ayes 39. Noes 0. Page 2520.).
passage,reading-1,reading-3
2025-09-04
In Assembly. Concurrence in Senate amendments pending.
2025-09-08
Senate amendments concurred in. To Engrossing and Enrolling. (Ayes 79. Noes 0. Page 3024.).
amendment-passage,committee-passage,committee-passage-favorable
2025-09-15
Enrolled and presented to the Governor at 4:30 p.m.
executive-receipt
2025-10-01
Approved by the Governor.
executive-signature
2025-10-01
Chaptered by Secretary of State - Chapter 142, Statutes of 2025.
became-law

Versions

01/29/25 - Introduced — 2025-01-29Compare
07/01/25 - Amended Senate — 2025-07-01Compare
09/10/25 - Enrolled — 2025-09-10Compare
10/01/25 - Chaptered — 2025-10-01Compare
AB343Compare
(document, no version)Compare

Documents

Votes

Do pass and be re-referred to the Committee on [Appropriations] with recommendation: To Consent Calendar
2025-03-04 · pass · 12-0
Member-level votes (12)
- Bryan: yes
- Connolly: yes
- Kalra: yes
- Essayli: yes
- Papan: yes
- Bauer-Kahan: yes
- Pacheco: yes
- Sanchez: yes
- Harabedian: yes
- Zbur: yes
- Chen: yes
- Stefani: yes
Do pass.
2025-05-23 · pass · 14-0
Member-level votes (15)
- Calderon: yes
- Elhawary: yes
- Dixon: yes
- Hart: yes
- Mark González: yes
- Arambula: yes
- Pacheco: yes
- Solache: yes
- Ta: yes
- Caloza: yes
- Wicks: yes
- Pellerin: yes
- Fong: yes
- Tangipa: yes
- Sanchez: other
AB 343 Pacheco Assembly Third Reading
2025-06-02 · pass · 79-0
Member-level votes (79)
- Rivas: yes
- Rogers: yes
- Wicks: yes
- Irwin: yes
- Arambula: yes
- Caloza: yes
- Ward: yes
- Nguyen: yes
- Patel: yes
- Solache: yes
- Chen: yes
- Bonta: yes
- McKinnor: yes
- Pacheco: yes
- DeMaio: yes
- Celeste Rodriguez: yes
- Castillo: yes
- Sanchez: yes
- Schultz: yes
- Hadwick: yes
- Lee: yes
- Bryan: yes
- Michelle Rodriguez: yes
- Mark González: yes
- Patterson: yes
- Carrillo: yes
- Muratsuchi: yes
- Papan: yes
- Jeff Gonzalez: yes
- Ransom: yes
- Wallis: yes
- Elhawary: yes
- Davies: yes
- Macedo: yes
- Sharp-Collins: yes
- Berman: yes
- Jackson: yes
- Wilson: yes
- Lackey: yes
- Bennett: yes
- Petrie-Norris: yes
- Harabedian: yes
- Ellis: yes
- Aguiar-Curry: yes
- Connolly: yes
- Quirk-Silva: yes
- Soria: yes
- Tangipa: yes
- Gipson: yes
- Alvarez: yes
- Hoover: yes
- Ta: yes
- Zbur: yes
- Flora: yes
- Valencia: yes
- Addis: yes
- Garcia: yes
- Gallagher: yes
- Krell: yes
- Ahrens: yes
- Stefani: yes
- Calderon: yes
- Blanca Rubio: yes
- Lowenthal: yes
- Schiavo: yes
- Gabriel: yes
- Dixon: yes
- Ávila Farías: yes
- Fong: yes
- Ramos: yes
- Pellerin: yes
- Kalra: yes
- Alanis: yes
- Haney: yes
- Hart: yes
- Boerner: yes
- Bauer-Kahan: yes
- Ortega: yes
- Bains: yes
Do pass, but first be re-referred to the Committee on [Appropriations] with the recommendation: To Consent Calendar
2025-06-24 · pass · 12-0
Member-level votes (13)
- Niello: yes
- Laird: yes
- Caballero: yes
- Wahab: yes
- Durazo: yes
- Wiener: yes
- Stern: yes
- Umberg: yes
- Arreguín: yes
- Weber Pierson: yes
- Ashby: yes
- Allen: yes
- Valladares: other
Placed on suspense file
2025-07-07 · pass · 6-0
Member-level votes (7)
- Cabaldon: yes
- Richardson: yes
- Seyarto: yes
- Caballero: yes
- Grayson: yes
- Wahab: yes
- Dahle: other
Do pass
2025-08-29 · pass · 7-0
Member-level votes (7)
- Richardson: yes
- Grayson: yes
- Wahab: yes
- Dahle: yes
- Seyarto: yes
- Caballero: yes
- Cabaldon: yes
Special Consent AB343 Pacheco et al.
2025-09-04 · pass · 39-0
Member-level votes (40)
- Stern: yes
- Durazo: yes
- Cabaldon: yes
- McGuire: yes
- Laird: yes
- Limón: yes
- Valladares: yes
- Menjivar: yes
- Wahab: yes
- Alvarado-Gil: yes
- Rubio: yes
- Pérez: yes
- Cortese: yes
- Gonzalez: yes
- Choi: yes
- Umberg: yes
- Allen: yes
- Smallwood-Cuevas: yes
- Richardson: yes
- Blakespear: yes
- Arreguín: yes
- Hurtado: yes
- Padilla: yes
- Caballero: yes
- Weber Pierson: yes
- Niello: yes
- Grove: yes
- Jones: yes
- Ashby: yes
- Ochoa Bogh: yes
- Archuleta: yes
- Grayson: yes
- Dahle: yes
- Wiener: yes
- Cervantes: yes
- Seyarto: yes
- Strickland: yes
- McNerney: yes
- Becker: yes
- Reyes: other
AB 343 Pacheco Concurrence in Senate Amendments
2025-09-08 · pass · 79-0
Member-level votes (80)
- Addis: yes
- Haney: yes
- Elhawary: yes
- Carrillo: yes
- Ransom: yes
- Berman: yes
- Bauer-Kahan: yes
- Schiavo: yes
- Alvarez: yes
- Caloza: yes
- Hoover: yes
- Ortega: yes
- Solache: yes
- Lowenthal: yes
- Petrie-Norris: yes
- Gabriel: yes
- Zbur: yes
- DeMaio: yes
- Hadwick: yes
- Irwin: yes
- Tangipa: yes
- Patel: yes
- Kalra: yes
- Sanchez: yes
- Johnson: yes
- Mark González: yes
- Gipson: yes
- Hart: yes
- Calderon: yes
- Wilson: yes
- Soria: yes
- Valencia: yes
- Celeste Rodriguez: yes
- Connolly: yes
- Papan: yes
- Bonta: yes
- Jeff Gonzalez: yes
- Alanis: yes
- Patterson: yes
- Jackson: yes
- Davies: yes
- Pellerin: yes
- Muratsuchi: yes
- Krell: yes
- Chen: yes
- Quirk-Silva: yes
- Bains: yes
- Michelle Rodriguez: yes
- Arambula: yes
- Bennett: yes
- Ávila Farías: yes
- Aguiar-Curry: yes
- Lee: yes
- Castillo: yes
- Wallis: yes
- Stefani: yes
- Ta: yes
- Blanca Rubio: yes
- Gallagher: yes
- Ellis: yes
- Macedo: yes
- McKinnor: yes
- Ramos: yes
- Rivas: yes
- Ahrens: yes
- Dixon: yes
- Rogers: yes
- Ward: yes
- Fong: yes
- Wicks: yes
- Schultz: yes
- Pacheco: yes
- Boerner: yes
- Sharp-Collins: yes
- Bryan: yes
- Harabedian: yes
- Lackey: yes
- Flora: yes
- Garcia: yes
- Nguyen: other

Related bills

No related bills recorded for this bill.

Official source

http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202520260AB343

Attribution

Data from openstates_bulk_csv, retrieved 2026-07-24T01:34:27.960412Z

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