AB 2611: The California Public Records Act: visual or audio recording of peace officer’s death: conditional exemption from disclosure.
- Session Year: 2015-2016
- House: Assembly
- Latest Version Date: 2016-06-22
Existing law, the
(1)The California Public Records Act, Act requires a public agency, defined as any state and or local agencies agency, to make their its public records available for public inspection, inspection or to provide copies of its public records upon payment of specified fees, unless an exemption from disclosure applies. The act declares that access to information concerning the conduct of the peoples business is a fundamental and necessary right of every person in this state. Existing law also requires every public agency to comply with the California Public Records Act and with any subsequent statutory enactment amending the act, or enacting or amending any successor act.
Existing law
Among other exemptions, the act exempts from disclosure any investigatory or security file compiled by any other records of complaints to, or investigations conducted by, any state or local police agency, or any investigatory or security files compiled by any other state or local agency for correctional, law enforcement, or licensing purposes. agency.
Existing law requires state and local law enforcement agencies to disclose the names and addresses of persons involved in complaints or investigations and various other information related to an incident to a victim or any person who suffers bodily injury or property damage or loss as the result of specified incidents or crimes unless the disclosure would endanger the safety of a witness or other person involved in the investigation.
This bill would specify that the disclosure exception applies to disclosures about a victim.
The
This bill would exempt from disclosure any audio or video would prohibit a public agency from disclosing a visual or audio recording depicting of the death of a peace officer killed in the line of duty, unless the disclosure is authorized to be released by the peace officers immediate family, and specified visual or audio recordings that depict death or serious bodily injury in such a morbid and sensational manner that the content is highly offensive to a reasonable person and any public interest or law enforcement purpose for disclosure is clearly outweighed by the public interest in nondisclosure, except as specified. The bill would also define terms for these purposes. in which case, the bill would require the public agency to disclose the visual or audio recording.
Existing constitutional provisions require that a statute that limits the right of access to the meetings of public bodies or the writings of public officials and agencies be adopted with findings demonstrating the interest protected by the limitation and the need for protecting that interest.
This bill would make legislative findings to that effect.
The California Constitution requires local agencies, for the purpose of ensuring public access to the meetings of public bodies and the writings of public officials and agencies, to comply with a statutory enactment that amends or enacts laws relating to public records or open meetings and contains findings demonstrating that the enactment furthers the constitutional requirements relating to this purpose.
This bill would make legislative findings to that effect.
The bill would also make other technical, nonsubstantive changes.
(2)Existing constitutional provisions require that a statute that limits the right of access to the meetings of public bodies or the writings of public officials and agencies be adopted with findings demonstrating the interest protected by the limitation and the need for protecting that interest.
This bill would make legislative findings to that effect.
(3)The California Constitution requires local agencies, for the purpose of ensuring public access to the meetings of public bodies and the writings of public officials and agencies, to comply with a statutory enactment that amends or enacts laws relating to public records or open meetings and contains findings demonstrating that the enactment furthers the constitutional requirements relating to this purpose.
This bill would make legislative findings to that effect.
The
(4)The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.
This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.
