By Colleen Britton
Work on the Capitol Annex project began in 2016 under then-Gov. Jerry Brown, and has continued for the past decade.
The project replaces the original Capitol Annex, which was constructed in 1952 and demolished in 2023. Originally, in 2018, the project was estimated to cost $543 million. Progress on the annex, now estimated to cost around $1.2 billion, has been slow and surrounded by secrecy – including controversial non-disclosure agreements, NDAs.
In 2024, KCRA 3 reported that their three-month investigation revealed project leaders required more than 2,000 people to sign NDAs, nondisclosure agreements, including several current and former state lawmakers, government officials, dozens of state employees – including members of the Highway Patrol, hundreds of other consultants, contractors, architects, construction and utility workers.
The news media was stonewalled. Citizens and legislators alike were stonewalled. Public outrage ensued. The Annex project has become a textbook example of how not to run a public taxpayer funded project. Californians deserve transparency. They are entitled to know how their money is being spent.
Last year, Assemblyman Joe Patterson, R-Rocklin, introduced AB 1370 State Legislature: nondisclosure agreements.
The bill “prohibits members of the Legislature, acting in their official capacity from entering into, or requesting that another individual enter into, a nondisclosure agreement relating to the drafting, negotiation, or discussion of proposed legislation, and provides that any such nondisclosure agreement entered into or requested by a member of the Legislature, after the effective date of this legislation shall be void an unenforceable.”
According to Assemblyman Patterson, “People can only have faith in a government to the extent that they trust it. When elected officials sign non-disclosure agreements (NDAs), it not only creates a barricade to information that should be publicly available, it creates a level of distrust in the foundations of our democracy. This bill offers a simple, common-sense solution: it prevents legislators from signing NDAs pertaining to legislative matters, but permits safeguarding protected information such as trade secrets. AB 1370 provides necessary transparency for the public when it comes to decisions that impact legislation and the expenditures of tax dollars.”
Support for the bill was unprecedented. It passed unanimously in both the Assembly and Senate and was signed into law by Governor Newsom on October 1, 2025.
Following this success, Assemblyman Patterson introduced a similar bill this year, AB 1652. This time the bill is focused on the state’s executive branch and prohibits executive branch officials from signing nondisclosure agreements regarding the negotiation of legislation or regulations. It prohibits an elective or appointive officer of a state agency from entering into an NDA.
AB 1652 is still early in the legislative process. On March 10th it was approved unanimously 12-0 in the Assembly Judicial Committee and referred to the Appropriations Committee with recommendation to place the bill on the “Consent Calendar”. That means there is no registered opposition from either party. It’s off to a great start!
Across the aisle, Democrat State Senator Christopher Cabaldon introduced SB994 which addresses the NDA issue at another level of government, local. The bill would prohibit staff of a local government official acting in their official capacity from entering into, or requesting that another individual enter into, a nondisclosure agreement relating to public business that precludes their ability to share information with the local government official who they serve under.
The bill defines “local government official” as any public official serving on behalf of a city, county, local agency formation commission, special district, or local educational agency. Exempted from the provisions of the bill are officials serving on behalf of a charter city or charter county.
SB 994 will be heard by the Senate Judiciary Committee on March 24.
Let’s end “Back Room Deals” at all government levels.
To follow these and other important bills, reach out to your legislators with your opinions before they cast their vote in committee hearings.
