Kamp, 091583 CAAGO, AGO 83-503

• Case Date: September 15, 1983
• Court: California

JOHN K. VAN DE KAMP Attorney General JOHN T. MURPHY Deputy Attorney General AGO 83-503 No. 83-503 California Attorney General Opinion Office of the Attorney General State of California September 15, 1983          THE HONORABLE ROBERT H. PHILIBOSIAN, DISTRICT ATTORNEY, LOS ANGELES COUNTY, has requested an opinion on the following question:          Must provisions of the California Public Records Act which except from public disclosure certain law enforcement intelligence and investigatory records be interpreted to substantially conform with federal court interpretations of similar provisions in the federal Freedom of Information Act?          CONCLUSION          Provisions of the California Public Records Act which except from public disclosure certain law enforcement intelligence and investigatory records need not be interpreted to substantially conform with federal court interpretations of similar provisions in the federal Freedom of Information Act. However, the history of the federal act and the federal court decisions interpreting it are used as extrinsic aids in interpreting the California provisions.          ANALYSIS Government Code1 section 6254, subdivision (f), a part of the California Public Records Act ( 6250 et seq., hereafter PRA), sets forth descriptions of certain law enforcement records which are not subject to public disclosure under the provisions of the act. In relevant part, this provision excepts from public disclosure:

"Records of complaints to or investigations conducted by, or records of intelligence information or security procedures of, the office of the Attorney General and the Department of Justice, and any state or local police agency, or any such investigatory or security files compiled by any other state or local police agency, or any such investigatory or security files compiled by any other state or local agency for correctional, law enforcement or licensing purposes . . . ."

In American Civil Liberties Union Foundation v. Deukmejian (1982) 32 Cal.3d 440, the California Supreme Court determined that the term "intelligence information" as used in section 6254, subdivision (f), may not be construed so broadly as to preclude...