Larry Klein
Mayor
Richard Mehlinger
Vice Mayor
Alysa Cisneros
Councilmember
Murali Srinivasan
Councilmember
Linda Sell
Councilmember
Charlsie Chang
Councilmember
Eileen Le
Councilmember
September 15, 2026
T
he Honorable Gavin Newsom
Governor of California
1021 O Street, Suite 9000
Sacramento, CA 95814
R
E: Assembly Bill 1821 (Pacheco): California Public Records Act: agency response time – REQUEST FOR SIGNATURE
D
ear Governor Newsom,
O
n behalf of the City of Sunnyvale, we respectfully request that you sign AB 1821 into law. AB 1821 (Pacheco), which would help strengthen local agencies’ ability to effectively comply with the California Public Records Act (CPRA).
Under current law, public agencies are required to review and respond to requests for public records within 10 calendar days, with an extension of no more than 14 calendar days permitted under unusual circumstances. However, these timelines include weekends and holidays when public agencies are often closed or operating with limited staffing. At the same time, cities continue to face increasing volumes of complex and time-intensive CPRA requests while absorbing the full costs associated with compliance.
AB 1821 would provide a practical and reasonable update by measuring response timelines in business days rather than calendar days. This adjustment would allow public agencies additional flexibility to thoroughly review requests, ensure that confidential or exempt information is appropriately protected, and provide more accurate and complete responses to the public.
This reform is especially important when requests involve sensitive information such as attorney-client communications, personal identifiers, or law enforcement records.
Allowing agencies to calculate timelines using business days would improve consistency, reduce administrative strain, and support more effective compliance without diminishing the public’s right to access records.
Importantly, AB 1821 also provides a mechanism by which agencies can seek relief from the Court if the agency has cause to believe the request was submitted with malicious intent, including for the purpose of delaying the agency. Public Record Requests are an important part of our democracy. Government belongs to the people. Public Record Attachment 13
The Honorable Gavin Newsom, Governor
September 15, 2026
Requests were never mean t to be used as an avenue to stall regulations, investigations, or a manner by which requesters could discover competitors’ trade information.
AB 1821 is also consistent with the City of Sunnyvale’s Long-Term Advocacy Positions under Council Policy 7.0, which support preserving local government administrative flexibility and reducing operational burdens associated with state mandates. The bill provides a reasonable modernization of CPRA timelines that would improve agencies’ ability to effectively and responsibly comply with public records request requirements while also providing agencies with protection from malicious actors.
For these reasons, the City of Sunnyvale respectfully urges you to sign AB 1821 into law.
Thank you for your consideration of the City of Sunnyvale's position on this important legislation. Please do not hesitate to contact me or David Carnahan, City Clerk, at [email protected] if you have any questions.
Sincerely,
Larry Klein
Mayor
cc: Assembly Member Patrick Ahrens
City Council
Tim Kirby, City Manager
Rebecca Moon, City Attorney
Sarah Johnson-Rios, Assistant City Manager
David Carnahan, City Clerk
Attachment 13