Lodi Eye
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The Bill That Could Price Lodi Out of Its Own Public Records
UPDATE — JULY 11, 2026
The provisions this report warned about are out of the bill — for the second time.
At the June 30 Senate Judiciary Committee hearing, Assemblymember Blanca Pacheco again stripped AB 1821 of its fees, its purpose test, and its "malicious intent" lawsuit provision. The committee passed the reduced bill and sent it to the Senate floor. What remains is the narrow, original-intent version the Assembly approved in May: the initial response window would shift from 10 calendar days to 10 business days, and the "unusual circumstances" extension from 14 calendar to 14 business days. The three structural changes this analysis examines below — charging by the hour for "commercial" requests, letting agencies ask why you want records, and suing requesters for "malicious intent" — are no longer in the text.
Assembly Bill 1821, moving quickly through the Legislature, would rewrite California's 58-year-old Public Records Act — letting government agencies ask why you want records, charge by the hour for requests they label "commercial," and sue requesters they judge to be acting with "malicious intent." This analysis explains what the bill does, which Lodi and San Joaquin County records it would put at risk, and how its "representative of the news media" exemption would land on the small, shrinking set of outlets that still cover this region.
AB 1821 cleared the Assembly 55–12 on May 27 in a narrow form, then was rewritten in the Senate. The far-reaching provisions face their first vote today, June 30, in the Senate Judiciary Committee (9:30 a.m., 1021 O Street, Room 2100). No Senate floor vote is scheduled; a floor vote — and a return to the Assembly to concur in the Senate's changes — would follow only if the bill clears committee. The provisions described below are the current amended text and may still change.
Lodi Brings In Veteran Economic Developer to Jump-Start Strategic Plan
The City of Lodi is hiring retired economic development executive Donald Burrus to help implement its new Economic Development Strategic Plan, a five-to-ten-year framework aimed at expanding jobs, increasing city revenues, broadening local goods and services, and investing in infrastructure and community amenities. The move signals that City Hall is trying to translate a long list of strategic goals into near-term execution at a time when officials say economic development has been underemphasized and higher-paying job growth has become a central civic priority.
Lodi’s Leadership Vacuum: Five Senior City Hall Positions Open
City Attorney Katie Lucchesi’s resignation—effective at the end of March 2026—adds a fifth senior vacancy to what has become a prolonged administrative crisis at Lodi City Hall. The city now lacks a permanent City Manager, Assistant City Manager, City Attorney, Administrative Services Director, and Public Works Director. This analysis provides background, context, and a timeline for the departures, along with a look at how long similar California cities typically take to fill comparable roles.