CA AB 541
deadCalifornia Public Records Act Ombudsperson.
California · 2025-2026 Regular Session · lower
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Quick answers
Did CA AB 541 pass?
No. CA AB 541 did not pass — it was defeated or died in the legislative process. Latest recorded action (2026-02-02): From committee: Filed with the Chief Clerk pursuant to Joint Rule 56.
What is CA AB 541 about?
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. The act declares that access to information concerning the conduct of the people's business is a fundamental and necessary right of every person in this state. This bill would, until January 1, 2029, and subject to appropriation, establish the Office of the California Public Records Act Ombudsperson. The bill would require the Governor to appoint the ombudsperson subject to certain requirements. The bill would require the ombudsperson to receive and investigate requests for review, as defined, determine whether the denials of original requests, as defined, complied with the California Public Records Act, and issue written opinions of its determination, as provided. The bill would require the ombudsperson to create a process to that effect, and would authorize a member of the public to submit a request for review to the ombudsperson consistent with that process. The bill would require the ombudsperson, within 30 days from receipt of a request for review, to make a determination, as provided, and would require the state agency to provide the public record if the ombudsperson determines that it was improperly denied. The bill would require the ombudsperson to create a process through which a person whose information is contained in a record being reviewed may intervene to assert their privacy and confidentiality rights, and would otherwise require the ombudsperson to maintain the privacy and confidentiality of records, as provided. The bill would require the ombudsperson to report to the Legislature, on or before March 31, 2027, and annually thereafter, on, among other things, the number of requests for review the ombudsperson has received in the prior year.
Who sponsors CA AB 541?
DeMaio is the primary sponsor of CA AB 541.
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. The act declares that access to information concerning the conduct of the people's business is a fundamental and necessary right of every person in this state. This bill would, until January 1, 2029, and subject to appropriation, establish the Office of the California Public Records Act Ombudsperson. The bill would require the Governor to appoint the ombudsperson subject to certain requirements. The bill would require the ombudsperson to receive and investigate requests for review, as defined, determine whether the denials of original requests, as defined, complied with the California Public Records Act, and issue written opinions of its determination, as provided. The bill would require the ombudsperson to create a process to that effect, and would authorize a member of the public to submit a request for review to the ombudsperson consistent with that process. The bill would require the ombudsperson, within 30 days from receipt of a request for review, to make a determination, as provided, and would require the state agency to provide the public record if the ombudsperson determines that it was improperly denied. The bill would require the ombudsperson to create a process through which a person whose information is contained in a record being reviewed may intervene to assert their privacy and confidentiality rights, and would otherwise require the ombudsperson to maintain the privacy and confidentiality of records, as provided. The bill would require the ombudsperson to report to the Legislature, on or before March 31, 2027, and annually thereafter, on, among other things, the number of requests for review the ombudsperson has received in the prior year.
- Introduced
- 2025-03-24
- Latest action
- 2026-02-02 — From committee: Filed with the Chief Clerk pursuant to Joint Rule 56.
- Bill type
- bill
- Last updated
- —
Subjects
Sponsors
- DeMaioauthor
Committees
Not provided by source.
Action timeline
Newest first
2026-02-02
From committee: Filed with the Chief Clerk pursuant to Joint Rule 56.
committee-passage,failure
2026-01-31
Died pursuant to Art. IV, Sec. 10(c) of the Constitution.
failure
2025-05-23
In committee: Held under submission.
2025-04-23
In committee: Set, first hearing. Referred to suspense file.
referral-committee
2025-04-08
From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on APPR. (Ayes 12. Noes 0.) (April 8). Re-referred to Com. on APPR.
committee-passage,committee-passage-favorable,referral-committee
2025-04-01
Re-referred to Com. on JUD.
referral-committee
2025-03-28
From committee chair, with author's amendments: Amend, and re-refer to Com. on JUD. Read second time and amended.
amendment-introduction,amendment-passage,committee-passage,reading-1,reading-2,referral-committee
2025-03-25
Re-referred to Com. on JUD.
referral-committee
2025-03-24
From committee chair, with author's amendments: Amend, and re-refer to Com. on JUD. Read second time and amended.
amendment-introduction,amendment-passage,committee-passage,reading-1,reading-2,referral-committee
2025-03-24
Referred to Com. on JUD.
referral-committee
2025-02-12
From printer. May be heard in committee March 14.
2025-02-11
Read first time. To print.
reading-1
Versions
Documents
- application/pdf
- application/pdf
- application/pdf
- text/html
- application/pdf(no extracted text yet)
- application/pdf(no extracted text yet)
Votes
Do pass and be re-referred to the Committee on [Appropriations]
2025-04-08 · pass · 12-0
Member-level votes (12)
- Dixon: yes
- Tangipa: yes
- Zbur: yes
- Kalra: yes
- Papan: yes
- Bryan: yes
- Pacheco: yes
- Connolly: yes
- Harabedian: yes
- Sanchez: yes
- Wicks: yes
- Stefani: yes
Related bills
No related bills recorded for this bill.
Official source
Attribution
Data from openstates_bulk_csv, retrieved 2026-07-24T01:34:27.960412Z
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