What records are exempt from disclosure?

(Partial listing, for full listing, see California Government Code Section 6250)

  • Attorney-Client discussions are confidential, even if the agency is the client. (§§ 6254(k), 6254.25, 6276.04)
  • Preliminary drafts, notes and memos may be withheld only if: (1) they are “not retained…in the ordinary course of business” and (2) “the public interest in withholding clearly outweighs the public interest in disclosure.”
  • Home addresses of local agency utility customers and public employee records are exempt, as are addresses of certain crime victims.(§§ 6254(f),(u), 6254.1, 6254.3, 6254.4, 6254.16,6254.21)
  • Records concerning agency litigation are exempt, until the claim is resolved or settled. (§§6254(b), 6254.25)
  • Records not yet in existence. The CPRA covers only records that already exist, and an agency cannot be required to create a record, list, or compilation. “Rolling requests” for future-generated records are not permitted.
  • Police Incident reports, rap sheets and arrest records are exempt (Penal Code §§ 11075, 11105, 11105.1), but information in the “police blotter” must be disclosed unless disclosure would endanger an investigation or the life of an investigator.

Public records requests can be submitted online on the City’s CivicWeb Portal.

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