California Public Records

By Ben Kingsley


Any records identified as public in nature are accessible by the public people. This is with regards to CA public records and is mandated by the State itself under the CPRA or California Public Records Act. Under the State of California Government Code Section 6250-6270 or otherwise known as the California Public Records Act, all records that are in "writing" and entered into by the government in its transactions with the public or for public interest are public property and can be accessed by the public. The Act aims to ensure that government agencies or those employed by the State are held accountable. All records which are deemed public are available for examination during the normal operation hours of the agency.

In the public's interest, all records that are considered public include those records that were retained by the government in its dealings with the public and can be in any form. These include records that are in different media format. Another would be records that were kept in the Governor's office during or after the 6th of January 1975. Records are available from different state agencies, bureaus, offices, departments as well as from the county clerks, municipal districts and other local agencies that served as agent of the State.

Although the State of California made access to public records a right for every individual, there are certain records that are excluded from the public. These records, according to the Government code 6255, are records of which the public disclosure is detrimental to the public interest and thus are restricted. Aside from this, other exclusions include the following: (a) reports or records that are pending litigation, (b) records that would constitute to invasion of one's privacy, (c) memoranda or drafts (d) banking regulations, (e) records by law enforcement agencies which include intellectual and confidential information, (f) records pertaining to tax information, (g) employee relations, (h) library circulation report and (i) internal security report. The personal information of the State's employees is also restricted from the public and only accessible by the State's agent as pursuant to Sec. 6254.3 (a) of the government code.

To get a copy of the reports, one can check out the website of the agency that one wants to obtain a report from. Each agency has their own set of guidelines and forms as well as fees. Some agencies can accommodate phone-in requests, however, in certain cases, submitting a form with the request is easier as one can receive the information within 10 days after the request was made. In certain cases, walk-ins are also much faster as the documents are available for the public during the operation hours of the agency. Fees are also cheaper when one requests copies personally. The state allows the agencies to set fees and other statutory fees to cover the expense, which can include photocopy services.

There are some instances where the law makes a leeway for the agencies. Under Sec 6253(c), agencies can extend the delivery time if and when - (1) records are kept in a different location, (2) the amount or volume of the request made is large, (3) if the records need the consultation of another agency or office before it is released and (4) the retrieval of the report would include computer coding to retrieve the files.

For those who want to access government public records such as death, birth or marriage records, a convenient way to do so is to check through online sites that offer public records services. This is the most convenient way to retrieve information without having to wait for the results. Records are readily available and for complete details, one can access those records for a minimal fee, which is really a great value for one's money.




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