(a) Notwithstanding Sections 7920.510, 7920.515, 7920.520, 7920.530, 7920.540, 7920.545, 7922.545, subdivision (a) of Section 7920.525, subdivision (b) of Section 7922.540, and Sections 7922.500 to 7922.535, inclusive, the following are not public records:

(1) A statewide, county, city, or district initiative, referendum, or recall petition.

Terms Used In California Government Code 7924.110

  • City: includes "city and county" and "incorporated town" but does not include "unincorporated town" or "village. See California Government Code 20
  • County: includes city and county. See California Government Code 19
  • petition: means any petition to which a registered voter has affixed the voter's own signature. See California Government Code 7924.100
  • proponent of the petition: means the following:

    California Government Code 7924.105

  • public records: includes any writing containing information relating to the conduct of the public's business prepared, owned, used, or retained by any state or local agency regardless of physical form or characteristics. See California Government Code 7920.530
  • State: means the State of California, unless applied to the different parts of the United States. See California Government Code 18
  • Subdivision: means a subdivision of the section in which the term occurs unless some other section is expressly mentioned. See California Government Code 10
  • writing: means any handwriting, typewriting, printing, photostating, photographing, photocopying, transmitting by electronic mail or facsimile, and every other means of recording upon any tangible thing any form of communication or representation, including letters, words, pictures, sounds, or symbols, or combinations thereof, and any record thereby created, regardless of the manner in which the record has been stored. See California Government Code 7920.545

(2) A petition circulated pursuant to § 5091 of the Education Code.

(3) A petition for reorganization of school districts submitted pursuant to Article 1 (commencing with Section 35700) of Chapter 4 of Part 21 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Education Code.

(4) A petition for reorganization of community college districts submitted pursuant to Part 46 (commencing with Section 74000) of Division 7 of Title 3 of the Education Code.

(5) A memorandum prepared by a county elections official in the examination of a petition, indicating which registered voters signed that particular petition.

(b) The materials described in subdivision (a) shall not be open to inspection except by the following persons:

(1) A public officer or public employee who has the duty of receiving, examining, or preserving the petition, or who is responsible for preparation of the memorandum.

(2) If a petition is found to be insufficient, by the proponent of the petition and a representative of the proponent as may be designated by the proponent in writing, in order to determine which signatures were disqualified and the reasons therefor.

(c) Notwithstanding subdivisions (a) and (b), the Attorney General, the Secretary of State, the Fair Political Practices Commission, a district attorney, a city attorney, a school district attorney, and a community college district attorney shall be permitted to examine the materials described in subdivision (a) upon approval of the appropriate superior court.

(d) If the proponent of a petition is permitted to examine a petition and a memorandum pursuant to subdivision (b), the examination shall commence not later than 21 days after certification of insufficiency, and the county elections official shall retain the documents as prescribed in § 17200 of the Elections Code.

(Added by Stats. 2021, Ch. 614, Sec. 2. (AB 473) Effective January 1, 2022. Operative January 1, 2023, pursuant to Sec. 7931.000.)

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