City of Gilroy v. Superior Court

Opinion of the Court by Guerrero, C. J.

“The California Legislature in 1968, recognizing that ‘access to information concerning the conduct of the people’s business is a fundamental and necessary right of every person in this state’ [citation], enacted the California Public Records Act, which grants access to public records held by state and local agencies [citation]. . . . The act has certain specific exemptions [citation], but a public entity claiming an exemption must show that the requested information falls within the exemption.” (Long Beach Police Officers Assn. v. City of Long Beach (2014) 59 Cal.4th 59, 66–67 (Long Beach Police Officers).) In these consolidated appeals, we address two issues involving this statute. First, does the California Public Records Act (CPRA; Gov. Code, § 7920.000 et seq.) authorize a superior court to grant declaratory relief for violations of its provisions when it is undisputed that an agency has disclosed all existing records that are responsive to a records request and not exempt from disclosure?1 Second, when an agency responds to a CPRA request by asserting that the requested records fall under a statutory exemption from disclosure, does…