Hold Caltrans Accountable for Nine-Month Public Records Delays
The Issue
Under California’s Public Records Act, Government Code § 7922.535, an agency “shall, within 10 days from receipt of the request, determine whether the request, in whole or in part, seeks copies of disclosable public records.” The law allows that determination period to be extended in specified “unusual circumstances,” but the extension cannot exceed 14 additional days.
We’ve been waiting nearly nine months.
In January, we submitted a public records request to Caltrans seeking information about a series of state-owned historic homes that have remained vacant and deteriorating. We wanted to understand what had been done, what decisions had been made, and what the state planned to do with these properties.
Caltrans received our request on January 7, 2026.
Since then, we’ve received extension after extension.
Other public agencies we contacted about these same properties delivered responsive records months ago. We raised that directly with Caltrans in June, when we asked why its request remained outstanding and whether records could be released on a rolling basis.
In August, Caltrans confirmed that it had “identified potentially responsive records.”
We still don’t have them.
Our experience is what brought us here, but this is much bigger than one request or one community.
Californians rely on public records to understand what state agencies are doing with public property, public money, and decisions that affect their communities. That transparency means very little if the public has to spend months chasing the state for records.
We’re calling on California lawmakers and the Governor’s Office to step in and hold Caltrans accountable for prolonged public-records delays.
Californians deserve timely access to public records, realistic timelines when delays occur, and accountability when requests are repeatedly pushed from one future date to another.
Nine months and counting is not meaningful transparency.
If public records belong to the public, the public should actually be able to get them.
Sign this petition and ask California’s leaders to address prolonged delays in Caltrans’s public-records process.
Paid partnership. Courtney + Matt Weil is a Change Ambassador who receives compensation in connection with this petition.
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The Issue
Under California’s Public Records Act, Government Code § 7922.535, an agency “shall, within 10 days from receipt of the request, determine whether the request, in whole or in part, seeks copies of disclosable public records.” The law allows that determination period to be extended in specified “unusual circumstances,” but the extension cannot exceed 14 additional days.
We’ve been waiting nearly nine months.
In January, we submitted a public records request to Caltrans seeking information about a series of state-owned historic homes that have remained vacant and deteriorating. We wanted to understand what had been done, what decisions had been made, and what the state planned to do with these properties.
Caltrans received our request on January 7, 2026.
Since then, we’ve received extension after extension.
Other public agencies we contacted about these same properties delivered responsive records months ago. We raised that directly with Caltrans in June, when we asked why its request remained outstanding and whether records could be released on a rolling basis.
In August, Caltrans confirmed that it had “identified potentially responsive records.”
We still don’t have them.
Our experience is what brought us here, but this is much bigger than one request or one community.
Californians rely on public records to understand what state agencies are doing with public property, public money, and decisions that affect their communities. That transparency means very little if the public has to spend months chasing the state for records.
We’re calling on California lawmakers and the Governor’s Office to step in and hold Caltrans accountable for prolonged public-records delays.
Californians deserve timely access to public records, realistic timelines when delays occur, and accountability when requests are repeatedly pushed from one future date to another.
Nine months and counting is not meaningful transparency.
If public records belong to the public, the public should actually be able to get them.
Sign this petition and ask California’s leaders to address prolonged delays in Caltrans’s public-records process.
Paid partnership. Courtney + Matt Weil is a Change Ambassador who receives compensation in connection with this petition.
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Petition created on October 4, 2026