California Access to Public Records Initiative (2024)
| California Access to Public Records Initiative | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Election date November 5, 2024 | |
| Topic Government accountability | |
| Status Not on the ballot | |
| Type State statute | Origin Citizens |
The California Access to Public Records Initiative (#23-0015) was not on the ballot in California as an initiated state statute on November 5, 2024.
The initiatives would have required public agencies to hold onto records for a minimum of five years, respond to requests for access within 30 days, and make public investigations into alleged misconduct by legislators.[1][2]
Text of measure
Ballot title
The ballot title was as follows:[2]
| “ | Increases requirements on government agencies and legislature when responding to records requests. Initiative statute.[3] | ” |
Petition summary
The summary provided for inclusion on signature petition sheets was as follows:[2]
| “ | Amends California Public Records Act and Legislative Open Records Act to:
|
” |
Full text
The full text of the initiative can be read here.
Path to the ballot
The state process
In California, the number of signatures required for an initiated state statute is equal to 5 percent of the votes cast in the preceding gubernatorial election. Petitions are allowed to circulate for 180 days from the date the attorney general prepares the petition language. Signatures need to be certified at least 131 days before the general election. As the verification process can take multiple months, the secretary of state provides suggested deadlines for ballot initiatives.
The requirements to get initiated state statutes certified for the 2024 ballot:
- Signatures: 546,651 were required.
- Deadline: The deadline for signature verification was 131 days before the general election, which was around June 27, 2024. However, the process of verifying signatures can take multiple months and proponents are recommended to file signatures at least two months before the verification deadline.
Signatures are first filed with local election officials, who determine the total number of signatures submitted. If the total number is equal to at least 100 percent of the required signatures, then local election officials perform a random check of signatures submitted in their counties. If the random sample estimates that more than 110 percent of the required number of signatures are valid, the initiative is eligible for the ballot. If the random sample estimates that between 95 and 110 percent of the required number of signatures are valid, a full check of signatures is done to determine the total number of valid signatures. If less than 95 percent are estimated to be valid, the initiative does not make the ballot.
Details about this initiative
- The initiative was filed on August 2, 2023, by Jerry Flanagan.[2]
- On October 9, the initiative was cleared for signature gathering.[2]
- The campaign did not submit the required number of signatures by the circulation deadline.[2]
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ California Attorney General's Office, "Full text," accessed August 4, 2023
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 California Secretary of State's Office, "List of petitions," accessed May 12, 2023
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
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