SB-1236 • 2026

State Records Management Act.

Passed Legislature

This bill passed both chambers and reached final enrollment, even if later executive action is not shown here.

Sponsor: Committee on Governmental Organization (S) - (Senators Rubio (Chair), Alvarado-Gil, Archuleta, Ashby, Blakespear, Cervantes, Dahle, Hurtado, Ochoa Bogh, Padilla, Richardson, Smallwood-Cuevas, Valladares, Wahab, and Weber Pierson)
Last action: 2026-04-16
Official status: In Assembly. Read first time. Held at Desk.
Effective date: Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

The official source material does not provide details on how the Secretary of State will enforce confidentiality and public access to transferred records, leaving this aspect unclear.

State Records Management Act

This act updates rules for managing records in state agencies, including how the Secretary of State determines if documents should be kept and transferred to a special archive.

What This Bill Does

Updates the duties of people who manage records in state agencies to ensure they are organized and efficient.
Changes how the Secretary of State decides which documents have long-term value and need to be saved.
Requires that valuable documents, as determined by archival value, are transferred to a special place called the State Archives.

Who It Names or Affects

State agencies and their leaders
The Secretary of State

Terms To Know

Archival value: When a document is important enough to keep for a long time because it has historical or legal significance.
State Archives: A special place where valuable documents are stored and protected.

Limits and Unknowns

The bill does not specify the exact criteria used by the Secretary of State to determine archival value.
It is unclear what specific changes this act makes to existing laws about managing state records.

Bill History

2026-04-16 California Legislative Information
In Assembly. Read first time. Held at Desk.
2026-04-16 California Legislative Information
Read third time. Passed. (Ayes 38. Noes 0.) Ordered to the Assembly.
2026-04-14 California Legislative Information
Read second time. Ordered to consent calendar.
2026-04-13 California Legislative Information
From committee: Be ordered to second reading pursuant to Senate Rule 28.8 and ordered to consent calendar.
2026-03-27 California Legislative Information
Set for hearing April 13.
2026-03-24 California Legislative Information
From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on APPR. with recommendation: To consent calendar. (Ayes 14. Noes 0. Page 3658.) (March 24). Re-referred to Com. on APPR.
2026-03-09 California Legislative Information
Set for hearing March 24.
2026-03-04 California Legislative Information
Referred to Com. on G.O.
2026-02-20 California Legislative Information
From printer. May be acted upon on or after March 22.
2026-02-19 California Legislative Information
Introduced. Read first time. To Com. on RLS. for assignment. To print.

Official Summary Text

SB 1236, as introduced, Committee on Governmental Organization.
State Records Management Act.
Existing law, the State Records Management Act, generally requires the head of a state agency to establish and maintain an active, continuing program for the economical and efficient management of the records and information collection practices of the agency. The act requires the Secretary of State to determine, among other things, whether a record held by a state agency has archival value, as defined, and requires a record deemed to have archival value to be transferred to the State Archives. The act requires the Secretary of State to enforce all statutory requirements regarding the confidentiality of records transferred to the State Archives and to make the records available to authorized individuals or the public, as determined by applicable law.
This bill would revise and recast the duties of the head of a state agency and the Secretary of
State to determine and transfer a record deemed to have archival value.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text

Download Bill PDF