BILL ANALYSIS
SB 359
Page 1
Date of Hearing: June 24, 2009
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATION
Joe Coto, Chairman
SB 359 (Romero) - As Amended: May 5, 2009
SENATE VOTE : 36-0
SUBJECT : Records: disclosure exemptions.
SUMMARY : Updates the statute within the California Public
Records Act (Act) that contains an alphabetical list of records
that are exempt from disclosure. The bill also requires that a
standing committee of the Legislature introduce a bill at the
beginning of each two-year session that updates this
alphabetical list of records exempt from disclosure under the
Act.
EXISTING LAW :
1) Governs the disclosure of information collected and
maintained by public agencies [Government Code Section 6250
et seq.].
2) Provides that all public records are open to public
inspection, unless the record requested is exempt from
public disclosure [Government Code Section 6254.].
3) Provides that a public record may be exempt from
disclosure if it is identified by statute or pursuant to
any other state or federal law that makes a particular
record confidential [Government Code Section 6254 (k)].
4) Creates an alphabetical index of the many code sections
that an agency can rely on to justify non-disclosure of
particular records. This provision declares the
Legislature's intent to, after January 1, 1999, list and
describe each addition or amendment to a statute that
exempts any information contained in a public record from
disclosure. However, the provision also declares that
listing of a statute in this alphabetical index does not,
in itself, create an exemption [Government Code Section
6275 et seq.].
5) Guarantees the constitutional right of the public to
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access public records, favoring transparency, open
disclosure, and the narrow reading of exemptions from
public disclosure provided by statute. As a result, each
statute that exempts records from disclosure contains
findings consistent with Proposition 59. These exemptions
are not necessarily contained within the CPRA, but may be
listed in the alphabetical index [California Constitution
Article I, Section 3].
6) Does not identify when the alphabetical index of the
records exempt from disclosure must be updated.
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS : Background . There are 30 general categories of
documents or information that are exempt from disclosure,
essentially due to the character of the information, and unless
it is shown that the public's interest in disclosure outweighs
the public's interest in nondisclosure of the information, the
exempt information may be withheld by the public agency with
custody of the information.
The California Public Records Act (Act) requires each state and
local agency, including a school district, to make its records
available to the public upon request unless the record is exempt
from disclosure. The Act lists many types of records that are
exempt from disclosure and also provides that a record may be
exempt from disclosure pursuant to any other state or federal
law that makes a particular record confidential.
SB 143 (Kopp, Chapter 620, 1998 Statutes) added to the Act an
alphabetical index of the many code sections outside the Act
that an agency can rely on to justify nondisclosure of
particular records. The index is a valuable tool for a person
requesting a record and for an agency that is required to
respond to a request for records within 10 days. However, the
index has not been updated in several years to reflect new
legislation that makes certain records confidential.
According to the author, this bill updates the alphabetical
index of other code sections that can provide a basis for non
disclosure of public records under the California Public Records
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Act (Act). The author states that this bill does not establish
any new exemption or create any new law. This bill seeks to
update the index to ensure that it remains a valuable tool for
persons requesting records and agencies responding to requests.
Prior legislation . SB 143 (Kopp), Chapter 620, Statutes of
1998 . This law makes various changes to the California Public
Records Act (Act) including establishing an index of public
records within the Act itself that are exempt from disclosure
under current law that is contained under various other codes.
AB 2749 (Gaines), Chapter 501, Statutes of 2008 . This law
reorganizes sections of the Financial Code relating to the
powers of the Commissioner of the Department of Financial
Institutions (DFI) and makes other technical changes intended to
ease administration of the law by DFI.
AB 1750 (Committee on Health), Chapter 577, Statutes of 2007 .
This law conforms state law to certain provisions of the federal
Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 (DRA) and the federal False Claims
Act related to Medi-Cal. This law makes various technical and
non-substantive changes in law related to health care service
plans and health insurers, the operations of the Managed Risk
Medical Insurance Board (MRMIB), Native American health, and
Proposition 99 programs.
SB 1743 (Bowen), Chapter 689, Statutes of 2006 . This law
exempts an action for name change, filed for the purpose of
avoiding domestic violence or stalking where the petitioner is a
victim of sexual assault, from the requirement for publication
for the order to show cause. Also, this law makes technical
cross-referencing changes in the Evidence Code dealing with
privileged communications between victims and counselors to
correctly refer to the privilege as the counselor-victim
privilege and the counselor as a sexual assault or domestic
violence counselor or human trafficking case worker.
AB 3081 (Committee on Judiciary), Chapter 182, Statutes of 2004 .
This law reorganizes civil discovery statutes by dividing the
statutes into short sections grouped in chapters according to
subject matter. Makes conforming changes in cross-references to
the discovery statutes in other code sections.
SB 111 (Knight), Chapter 193, Statutes of 2004 . This law
deletes obsolete reporting requirements and reflected statutory
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changes that occurred during the 2003 legislative year.
AB 1298 (Hancock), Chapter 750, Statutes of 2004 . This law
exempts contracts with blood factor manufacturers for the
Genetic Handicapped Person's Programs and the California
Children's Services from disclosure under public records laws.
AB 171 (Cohn), Chapter 424, Statutes of 2003 . This law provides
exemptions from the Public Records Act and the Ralph M. Brown
Open Meetings Act for a governing board of a Local Initiative
Health Plan to allow the board to meet in closed session to
consider and take action on matters pertaining to health plan
trade secrets, contracts, and contract negotiations by the
health plan with health care service providers.
AB 973 (Chan), Chapter 214, Statutes of 2001 . This law
prohibits individually identifiable confidential information
regarding a child or a child's parent, guardian, or other family
members that is provided to a county Children and Families
Commission (CFC), from being disclosed, except to specified
parties.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
California Newspapers Publishers Association
Edmund G. Brown Jr., Attorney General
California State Association of Counties
Opposition
None on file
Analysis Prepared by : Rod Brewer / G. O. / (916) 319-2531