Politics
Bonta challenges federal plan to move San Bruno archives collection
California Attorney General Rob Bonta is suing to stop the planned closure of the National Archives facility in San Bruno. The federal plan would distribute more than 175 years of records among five facilities nationwide, a move Bonta says would make them harder for Californians to access.
California Attorney General Rob Bonta is taking the Trump administration to court over its plan to close the National Archives facility in San Bruno and move its collection to five federal archives elsewhere in the country.
Bonta said Wednesday, Oct. 14, that relocating the records would scatter more than 175 years of California history and make it harder for families, researchers and tribal communities to use them.
“We are here to protect generations of California history,” Bonta said. “Records that belong to the people of this state need to remain here to be accessible to the people of this state.”
The federal government has said the San Bruno facility would close as a cost-cutting measure, with its collection divided among five National Archives locations. Bonta argues the National Archives and Records Administration failed to adequately consider the effects of the closure or give the public a meaningful opportunity to comment before deciding to move the records.
The Trump administration did not immediately comment on the lawsuit.
The dispute concerns access to historical records used by communities across California, including people researching family histories and tribal communities seeking records relevant to their histories. Bonta said keeping the collection in the state is important to ensuring Californians can continue to access it.