DATE:
April 21, 2026
19
TO:
Board of Supervisors
SUBJECTTitle
ESTABLISHING A FULLY STANDARDIZED PUBLIC RECORDS ACT REQUEST REVIEW, DOCUMENT COMPILATION AND RESPONSE PROCESS (DISTRICTS: ALL)
Body
OVERVIEW
The California Public Records Act (PRA) was enacted in 1968 to guarantee the public the right to access government records from state and local agencies in a timely and transparent manner. Once a request is submitted, agencies have ten days to respond, indicating whether they will provide the requested records or informing the requester they will need more time to comply with the request. An extension, which is allowable for unusual circumstances, such as voluminous or off-site records, is generally limited to fourteen days. Although agencies can withhold certain records, that action can only be taken if the requested information involves a specified exemption or privilege, such as personnel and medical files, preliminary drafts or notes, pending litigation or investigation records, or information protected by attorney-client privilege.
In 2022, the Board of Supervisors updated Board Policy A-54, "Public Access to County Records," directing the Clerk of the Board of Supervisors to establish a centralized Public Records Act Unit. This unit serves as the main point of contact for the public to request records and coordinates with County departments to provide timely responses to PRA requests. In 2024, the County implemented a software solution allowing the public to submit requests and assisting staff in managing and routing requests. Since then, the Clerk of the Board has coordinated responses to over 12,000 public records requests.
The County currently processes PRA requests through an online portal called NextRequest which requires the County to provide requestors an initial response within the required ten calendar days. These responses acknowledge requests while County staff determines if responsive and disclosable records exist. However, once a PRA...
Click here for full text