The press and public should not be priced out of public records. That’s why FAC and a press coalition are supporting AB 1524, a bill in the California Legislature that would ensure anyone visiting a state trial courthouse can make copies of publicly available documents using their own devices and avoid paying steep fees for copies.
AB 1524, authored by the Assembly Judiciary Committee, has bipartisan support and no official opposition on file. And for good reason: It’s a modest but meaningful proposal to remove financial barriers to already public records held in our state courthouses. The bill ensures that no matter what state trial court you visit, you can use your own device — a phone, a portable scanner — to make your own copy of the documents or files you are viewing on a computer or in a paper file.
This is standard in many courthouses. But it’s not a guarantee.
AB 1524 is modeled after a provision of the California Public Records Act that guarantees the public’s right to make copies using their own devices, so long as the copying doesn’t damage the record or cause other problems. The CPRA doesn’t apply to court case files, so AB 1524 is needed. The legislation should ease staffing burdens for court staff, as more court users can take advantage of self-service options.
We’ve heard from journalists across the state that too often they face steep fees to copy court records — records that help them do important reporting on issues everyone cares about. Often, state trial court records are not online, and even if some records are online, courts often charge high fees to access documents digitally. So reducing financial barriers to copying records in person is essential.
AB 1524 will ensure more meaningful access to records that belong to all of us.