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 September 2026
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The new CAL-ACCESS is currently scheduled to launch in November 2026. External user testing is underway. This month has two feature stories. What to Expect During External User Testing provides information about the type of testing that will be performed during external user testing. And the New CAL-ACCESS Public Portal highlights some of the search capabilities that will be available in the public portal.
Also in this edition:
- Celebrating Accomplishments
- Third-Party Software Vendors
- Getting Ready for Go-Live
- Upcoming Milestones and Activities
- Question of the Month
- Your Voice in the CAL-ACCESS Transition
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Eighty-five testers volunteered to participate in user testing and provide their perspectives on the proposed new functionality to submit, amend, and terminate filings for registration, as well as disclosure of campaign and lobbying submissions. The testers will also determine if frequently queried data can be easily located on the public portal. Partner agency staff will join the testing group to ensure the data they need is available to them. Testers will receive step-by-step instructions to perform a series of sample business processes. After becoming familiar with the system layout, the testers will have the opportunity to conduct exploratory testing based on their real-world experiences.
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The new CAL-ACCESS system enables filers, researchers, journalists, agencies, and members of the public to query and analyze campaign contributions and lobbyist activity.
Highlights include:
- Pre-defined reports to enhance the public’s ability to find frequently queried data.
- Ad hoc or customized searches that can be saved for future queries.
- Search results that can be exported to spreadsheet format for further review and analysis.
- Lobbying directory searches.
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The project achieved several significant accomplishments, including:
- More than 275 million data records were converted from the legacy data to the new system data schema and migrated to the new CAL-ACCESS system as of August 26.
- Third-party software vendors updated their systems to align with the new CAL-ACCESS system and conducted testing to ensure their submitted data successfully integrates into the new system.
- The new CAL-ACCESS system generates PDF documents in a new report format designed to be simple to read and understand. These new report formats will be reviewed at the October 15th Meeting of the Fair Political Practices Commission.
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- September 9 1:30-2:30pm PT: CARS Monthly External Stakeholder Meeting
- September 15 and 29: Third-Party Software Vendor meetings.
- Development and testing activities scheduled to conclude in October include:
- Completion of development of the public portal and the lobbying directory.
- Formal certification of third-party software vendors.
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Where can I access information about CARS going live?
Answer: Go to the CARS Go-Live Updates page for the latest information and resources. The webpage will continue to grow as information becomes available.
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Stakeholder input shapes upcoming newsletter content and project efforts.
What topic should we address in next month’s newsletter?
Please give us your thoughts in the poll linked here.
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What would you like to see included in the next CARS Stakeholder Bulletin issue? Email PRDCARS@SOS.CA.GOV to provide your ideas and feedback.
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The CARS Project Monthly External Stakeholder Meeting Series (MS Teams), PowerPoint Presentations, Q&As, and FAQs may be found on the CARS Homepage.
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