By Elena Q. Gerli, Partner at Burke, Williams & Sorensen, LLP
Assembly Bill 1785 (AB 1785) amended Government Code Section 7928.205, relating to public records. The California Public Records Act is codified as Sections 7920.000 to 7931.000 of the Government Code.
AB 1785 became effective on January 1, 2025 and amends section 7928.205 which prohibited posting of an elected or appointed official’s home address and phone number. The bill amended this section to specify that “no state or local agency shall publicly post the home address, telephone number, or both the name and assessor parcel number associated with the home address of any elected or appointed official on the internet without first obtaining the written permission of that individual.” AB 1785 specifies that “publicly post” means “to intentionally communicate or otherwise make available the information described in subdivision (a) on the internet in an unrestricted and publicly available manner.” The exemption does not apply to legally required notices.
AB 1785 also added findings to clarify the intent of the exemption, “to protect the personal safety and privacy of public officials and their families by limiting access to assessor’s parcel numbers in connection with the home address of those individuals.” The Legislature further clarified that the intent of the revised Section 7928.205 is not to limit access to “recorded documents, indices, and assessor data through electronic means by business entities,” and does not require databases that provide public access to such documents to be taken down, but ensures that a public official’s home address cannot be obtained through accessing publicly recorded documents.
Burke, Williams & Sorensen, LLP regularly advises clients on legal matters relating to the Public Records Act.
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