Sacramento Keeps Finding New Ways to Hide What the Public Has a Right to See

Assembly Rules Chair Blanca Pacheco — the same lawmaker who killed two lobbying transparency bills a month earlier — authored AB 1821, which would have let agencies haul public records requesters into court and bill them for it. After journalists and watchdogs raised alarms, Pacheco’s office committed to stripping the fees and court-petition power. The bill reverts to a narrower version for Senate Judiciary on June 30, but the pattern is unmistakable: the Legislature keeps testing how much public access it can quietly claw back.

Assemblywoman Mia Bonta (D-Alameda) introduced AB 2624, extending California’s Safe at Home address confidentiality program to immigration nonprofit workers — then adding a $4,000-per-violation penalty with no press exemption. A journalist who names a staffer at a government-funded nonprofit at a public event could face fines and attorney fees. The bill cleared the Assembly Public Safety Committee 7-2 on April 21 and was re-referred to Appropriations. It marked the first move in what became a months-long pattern of Sacramento shielding insiders from public scrutiny.