Frequently Asked Questions about Examining California Legislative Record

Frequently Asked Questions about Examining California Legislative Records By Chris Micheli

Members of the public can examine California legislative records based upon the provisions of the Legislative Open Records Act (LORA), which is found in the California Government Code. LORA was enacted in 1975 to allow public access to legislative records.

How are public requests for legislative records made? Requests by members of the public must be made in writing and be submitted to either the Senate Committee on Rules or the Assembly Rules Committee, depending upon the location of the documents being requested.

What happens when there are records held jointly by the Senate and Assembly? The Joint Committee on Rules is charged with the custody of records in the joint custody of the Assembly and Senate.

What does the Rules Committee do with LORA requests from the public? Generally, the Rules Committees respond within 3 to 10 days upon receiving written requests for legislative records.

What happens if the Rules Committee rejects a LORA request? If a request is denied, the individual requesting the information is entitled to a written explanation of why the request is being denied.

How does the public review legislative documents? Generally, the records may not be removed from the office that is designated for records inspection and must be inspected in the presence of a designated staff member from the Legislature.

Can copies of legislative records be obtained by the public? Yes, the public can request copies of records and are charged a nominal amount for the costs of photocopying.

Are there any legislative records exempt under LORA? Yes, the following categories of legislative records are exempt from mandatory public inspection under Government Code Sections 9072 and 9075:

 

1. Records prepared before December 2, 1974.

2. Records pertaining to certain claims against the Legislature until they are finally adjudicated or settled, and records pertaining to litigation to which the Legislature is a party until such litigation has been finally adjudicated or settled.

3. Personnel files, medical files, and similar files pertaining to the privacy of individuals.

4. Preliminary drafts, notes, or memoranda among Members and staff, other than committee staff analyses directed to all committee members.

5. Records of individual names and phone numbers of senders and receivers of telephone and telegraph communications.

6. Records of individual transactions for fuel or lubricants for committee leased cars.

7. Communications from private citizens to the Legislature.

8. Records of complaints to the Legislature, its investigations, and its security procedures.

9. Correspondence of Members and their staffs.

10. Correspondence to Members and their staffs on matters other than legislation.

11. Written commentary submitted to the committee on legislation and the commentary (a) was not utilized by the staff of a fiscal committee in the presentation of the analysis of legislation or (b) is otherwise determined by the committee or its staff to be confidential.

12. Records where, based on the facts of the particular case, the Joint Rules Committee believes the public interest served by their nondisclosure clearly outweighs the public interest served by their disclosure.

Can the public review committee records? Yes, members of the public are also allowed to gain access to legislative committee records concerning legislation.

Are there other rules applicable to gaining access to committee records? Many legislative committees have adopted written procedures concerning the public inspection of their records.

How does the public access committee records? Generally, interested parties must complete a form stating specifically what legislation records that want to inspect. If those records are not subject to inspection, then they are not released.

What happens if the records are available? The committee will arrange for inspection. The records are not removed from the office and are inspected in the presence of committee staff. Copies can be requested and the public are charged a nominal amount for the costs of photocopying.

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