State of California v. Super. Ct.

BACKGROUND

1. EPI’s PRA request Alice Reynolds served as the Governor’s Senior Advisor for Energy from January 2019 to December 2021. The Governor appointed Reynolds to the CPUC presidency effective December 21, 2021. On January 14, 2022, EPI submitted a PRA request to the Governor’s office seeking “[t]he calendars of Alice Reynolds from January 1, 2021 through December 31, 2021.” David Sapp, the Governor’s Chief Deputy Legal Affairs Secretary at that time, responded to the request. He stated his office had identified responsive records, but the records “are exempt from disclosure as records that reveal the deliberative process of the Governor or his staff.” Sapp cited Government Code former section 6255, California First Amendment Coalition v. Superior Court (1998) 67 Cal.App.4th 159, and Times Mirror, supra, 53 Cal.3d 1325. After further correspondence between EPI and Sapp, EPI submitted a second, narrower PRA request. The second request sought “Alice Reynolds’ calendar events specifically with representatives of the following entities from January 1, 2021 through December 31, 2021.” The request then listed 10 entities: the CPUC, Sempra Utilities, San Diego Gas & Electric,…