California · Government Code

GOV §7923.601: (a) This division does not require the disclosure in response to a request for records filed under the California Public Records Act, of peace officer personnel files and background investigation file

What this law says, in plain English

This statute exempts peace officer personnel files and background investigation files from mandatory disclosure under California Public Records Act requests.

Read the full statutory text
(a) This division does not require the disclosure in response to a request for records filed under the California Public Records Act, of peace officer personnel files and background investigation files gathered by law enforcement agencies pursuant to Section 1031 that are in the custody of the Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training in connection with the commission’s authority to verify eligibility for the issuance of certification and investigate grounds for decertification of a peace officer pursuant to Section 13510.8 of the Penal Code, including any and all investigative files and records relating to complaints of, and investigations of, police misconduct, and all other investigative files and materials. (b) If the commission receives a request to disclose a public record that the commission is exempt from disclosing pursuant to subdivision (a), the commission shall forward the request to the agency that transmitted the record to the commission and shall notify the requestor of where the request was forwarded. That agency shall be responsible for complying with the request, subject to applicable disclosure laws. (c) In the event that the requested public record is no longer in the possession of the agency that previously transmitted the record to the commission, the agency shall request copies of the record from the commission, which shall provide the record to the agency if it is in the possession of the commission. The agency shall then be responsible for complying with the request, subject to applicable disclosure laws. (d) This section does not limit the obligation of another public agency to disclose records of police misconduct, or other public records, pursuant to Section 832.7 of the Penal Code or any other provision of law. (e) This section does not limit the disclosure of records created by the commission during its own investigations or decisionmaking, which are otherwise subject to disclosure under the law. (f) This section does not limit the disclosure of records pursuant to Section 13510.85 of the Penal Code. (g) This section shall remain in effect only until January 1, 2027, and as of that date is repealed. (h) It is the intent of the Legislature that upon repeal of this section, the commission shall comply with all applicable disclosure requirements, including any request for documents in the possession of the commission that were also in the possession of the commission during any time that this section was in effect.

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