Assembly BillChaptered/SignedGovernment
AB 370: California Public Records Act: cyberattacks.
What AB 370 does, verified December 6, 2025
This bill amends the California Public Records Act to expand the definition of "unusual circumstances" that allow for a 14-day extension of the 10-day response time limit for requests for public records. The expansion includes situations where a state of emergency directly affects an agency's ability to respond to requests, as well as cyberattacks that prevent agencies from accessing their electronic servers or systems. The bill also makes legislative findings to demonstrate that the enactment furthers the constitutional requirements for public access to meetings and writings of public officials and agencies. Additionally, the bill provides that no reimbursement is required by the state for certain costs mandated by this act.
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Last action: Chaptered by Secretary of State - Chapter 34, Statutes of 2025. (2025-07-03)Alert me
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| Jul. 14, 2025 | Chaptered by Secretary of State - Chapter 34, Statutes of 2025. |
| Jul. 14, 2025 | Approved by the Governor. |
| Jul. 11, 2025 | Enrolled and presented to the Governor at 11 a.m. |
| Jul. 03, 2025 | Read third time. Passed. Ordered to the Assembly. (Ayes 35. Noes 0. Page 1931.). |
| Jul. 03, 2025 | In Assembly. Ordered to Engrossing and Enrolling. |
Latest bill textChaptered version, July 14, 2025 · 1,401 words
Assembly Bill No. 370
CHAPTER 34
An act to amend Section 7922.535 of the Government Code, relating to public records.
[ Approved by Governor July 14, 2025. Filed with Secretary of State July 14, 2025. ]
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 370, Carrillo. California Public Records Act: cyberattacks.
The California Public Records Act requires state and local agencies to make their records available for public inspection, except as specified. Existing law requires each agency, within 10 days of a request for a copy of records, to determine whether the request seeks copies of disclosable public records in possession of the agency and to promptly notify the person of the determination and the reasons therefor. Existing law authorizes that time limit to be extended by no more than 14 days under unusual circumstances, and defines “unusual circumstances” to include, among other things, the need to search for, collect, and appropriately examine records during a state of emergency when the state of emergency currently affects the agency’s ability to timely respond to requests due to staffing shortages or closure of facilities, as provided.
This bill would revise the definition of unusual circumstances as it applies to a state of emergency to require the state of emergency, in addition to currently affecting the agency’s ability to timely respond to requests as described above, to also require the state of emergency to directly affect the agency’s ability to timely respond to requests as described above. By restricting the time period in which a local agency may respond to requests, thus increasing the duties of local officials, this bill would create a state-mandated local program.
This bill would also expand the definition of unusual circumstances to include the inability of the agency, because of a cyberattack, to access its electronic servers or systems in order to search for and obtain a record that the agency believes is responsive to a request and is maintained on the servers or systems in an electronic format. Under the bill, the extension would apply only until the agency regains its ability to access its electronic servers or systems and search for and obtain electronic records that may be responsive to a request.
The California Constitution requires local agencies, for the purpose of ensuring public access to the meetings of public bodies and the writings of public officials and agencies, to comply with a statutory enactment that amends or enacts laws relating to public records or open meetings and contains findings demonstrating that the enactment furthers the constitutional requirements relating to this purpose.
This bill would make legislative findings to that effect.
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.
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
SECTION 1.
Section 7922.535 of the Government Code is amended to read:7922.535.
(a) Each agency, upon a request for a copy of records, shall, within 10 days from receipt of the request, determine whether the request, in whole or in part, seeks copies of disclosable public records in the possession of the agency and shall promptly notify the person making the request of the determination and the reasons therefor. If the agency determines that the request seeks disclosable public records, the agency shall also state the estimated date and time when the records will be made available.(b) In unusual circumstances, the time limit prescribed in this article and Article 1 (commencing with Section 7922.500) may be extended by written notice from the head of the agency or a designee to the person making the request, setting forth the reasons for the extension and the date on which a determination is expected to be dispatched. The notice shall not specify a date that would result in an extension for more than 14 days.
(c) As used in this section, “unusual circumstances” means the following, but only to the extent reasonably necessary to the proper processing of the particular request:
(1) The need to search for and collect the requested records from field facilities or other establishments that are separate from the office processing the request.
(2) The need to search for, collect, and appropriately examine a voluminous amount of separate and distinct records that are demanded in a single request.
(3) The need for consultation, which shall be conducted with all practicable speed, with another agency having substantial interest in the determination of the request or among two or more components of the agency having substantial subject matter interest therein.
(4) The need to compile data, to write programming language or a computer program, or to construct a computer report to extract data.
(5) The inability of the agency, because of a cyberattack, to access its electronic servers or systems in order to search for and obtain a record that the agency believes is responsive to a request and is maintained on the servers or systems in an electronic format.
(A) This paragraph does not relieve the agency of its obligation to comply with subdivision (a) when the requested record is maintained in a location other than on the electronic server or system affected by the cyberattack, or maintained in a nonelectronic format.
(B) This paragraph applies only until the agency regains its ability to access its electronic servers or systems and search for and obtain electronic records that may be responsive to a request.
(6) The need to search for, collect, and appropriately examine records during a state of emergency proclaimed by the Governor in the jurisdiction where the agency is located when the state of emergency currently and directly affects, due to the state of emergency, the agency’s ability to timely respond to requests due to staffing shortages or closure of facilities where the requested records are located.
(A) This paragraph shall not apply to a request for records created during and related to the state of emergency proclaimed by the Governor.
(B) For purposes of this paragraph, “state of emergency” means a state of emergency proclaimed pursuant to Section 8625 of the California Emergency Services Act (Chapter 7 (commencing with Section 8550) of Division 1 of Title 2).
SEC. 2.
The Legislature finds and declares that Section 1 of this act, which amends Section 7922.535 of the Government Code, furthers, within the meaning of paragraph (7) of subdivision (b) of Section 3 of Article I of the California Constitution, the purposes of that constitutional section as it relates to the right of public access to the meetings of local public bodies or the writings of local public officials and local agencies. Pursuant to paragraph (7) of subdivision (b) of Section 3 of Article I of the California Constitution, the Legislature makes the following findings:This act balances the right of the public to access public records in a timely manner while affording public agencies adequate opportunity to satisfy information requests during a cyberattack.
SEC. 3.
The Legislature finds and declares that Section 1 of this act, which amends Section 7922.535 of the Government Code, imposes a limitation on the public’s right of access to the meetings of public bodies or the writings of public officials and agencies within the meaning of Section 3 of Article I of the California Constitution. Pursuant to that constitutional provision, the Legislature makes the following findings to demonstrate the interest protected by this limitation and the need for protecting that interest:This act balances the right of the public to access public records in a timely manner while affording public agencies adequate opportunity to satisfy information requests during a cyberattack.
SEC. 4.
No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution because the only costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school district under this act would result from a legislative mandate that is within the scope of paragraph (7) of subdivision (b) of Section 3 of Article I of the California Constitution.Text of AB 370 as chaptered, from the official record. Connect Plus keeps every version and highlights what changed.Compare versions