SB 1970

Present law requires all state, county and municipal records to, at all times during business hours, which for public hospitals must be during the business hours of their administrative offices, be open for personal inspection by any citizen of this stat e, and those in charge of the records must not refuse such right of inspection to any citizen, unless otherwise provided by state law. Present law requires the custodian of a public record or the custodian's designee to promptly make available for inspection any public record not specifically exempt from disclosure. If it is not practicable for the record to be promptly available for i nspection, the custodian must, within 7 business days, (i) make the public record requested available to the requestor, (ii) deny the request in writing or by completing a records request response form developed by the office of open records counsel, or ( ii i) furnish the requester in writing, or by completing a records request response form developed by the office of open records counsel, the time reasonably necessary to produce the record or information. This bill provides that, notwithstanding the restriction in the present law described above limiting access to public records to citizens of this state, an individual who is not a citizen of this state is entitled to inspect or receive a copy of any law enforcement record or report pertaining solely to that individual, including an arrest report, incident report, crash report, or citation, if the individual submits all of the following:  A written request identifying the specific record sought.  A copy of a valid government-issued photo identification.  A signed affidavit affirming that the record requested pertains solely to the individual requester. However, this bill clarifies that its provisions do not authorize the release of a record that is otherwise confidential by law. ON MARCH 12, 2026, THE SENATE ADOPTED AMENDMENT #1 AND PASSED SENATE BILL 1970, AS AMENDED. AMENDMENT #1 removes the reference to present law that limits access to only public citizens of this state in certain circumstances. ON MARCH 26, 2026, THE HOUSE SUBSTITUTED SENATE BILL 1970 FOR HOUSE BILL 1911, ADOPTED AMENDMENT #1, AND PASSED SENATE BILL 1970, AS AMENDED. AMENDMENT #1 makes the following changes:  Clarifies that the bill also does not authorize the release of a record that is (i) privileged under the rules of criminal procedure or (ii) privileged under the investigative privilege.  Provides that the bill does not prohibit a records custodian from requiring a requester to pay the reasonable costs incurred in producing the requested material under present law.