California First Amendment Coalition

AG Opinions

The following are opinions published by California's Attorney General about open government issues. How authoritative is a published opinion of the Attorney General -- how seriously will a court take it?

These comments by courts in recent cases are typical:

"Although an official interpretation of a statute by the Attorney General is not controlling, it is entitled to great respect."(Thorning v. Hollister School Dist. (1992) 11 Cal.App.4th 1598, 1604.)

"Opinions of the Attorney General, while not binding, are entitled to great weight. [Citations.] In the absence of controlling authority, these opinions are persuasive 'since the legislature is presumed to be cognizant of that construction of the statute.' [Citation.]"(Napa Valley Educators' Assn. v. Napa Valley Unified School Dist. (1987) 194 Cal.App.3rd 243, 251.)

AG Opinion 07-106 Under the Ralph M. Brown Act, the Superintendent of Schools of a high school district may not prohibit an administrative employee of the district from attending a public school board meeting. Under the Ralph M. Brown Act, the Superintendent of Schools of a high school district may not prohibit an administrative employee of the district from speaking during the public comment period of a public school board meeting on an agenda item concerning his demotion from assistant high school principal to a teaching position. (2007)

AG Opinion 06-1009 When the amount of a documentary transfer tax appears on a separate paper rather than on the recorded property conveyance document, the county recorder is not required to make a copy of the separate paper before returning it to the recording party. When the county recorder has not made a copy of the separate paper showing the documentary transfer tax amount, but the recorder’s accounting records include a payment receipt showing the tax amount, the recorder’s receipt is subject to inspection under the Public Records Act.(2007)

AG Opinion 06-203 In response to a public records request, a prosecutor may not produce records from a computerized data base that disclose: (1) whether a recently charged or soon-to-be charged defendant is currently on probation or parole, and details of his or her prior offenses; (2) an individual’s criminal history in the county, including all arrests and case dispositions; (3) the disposition of matters referred to the district attorney for filing of criminal charges; (4) criminal histories associated with a requested list of cases in which a specified witness has testified; or (5) numerous criminal histories associated with a request for the names and identities of all defendants charged with a specific kind of crime over a period of years. With respect to category (3) and in rare circumstances category (1), however, a prosecutor is required to make public certain limited current information derived from records in the prosecutor’s investigatory files. (2006)

AG Opinion 05-1004 Interim grading documents, including geology reports, compaction reports, and soils reports, submitted by a property owner to a city’s building department in conjunction with an application for a building permit are subject to public inspection and copying under the California Public Records Act at the time the documents are first received by the building department. (2006)

AG Opinion 05-903 The privilege for confidential marital communications does not apply when a married peace officer is being interrogated during a law enforcement agency’s internal affairs investigation of alleged police misconduct by the peace officer’s spouse. (2006)

AG Opinion #05-701 When the legislative body of a local agency meets in closed session to consider the proposed dismissal of a public employee but ultimately rejects that proposal and retains the employee, the legislative body is not thereafter required to publicly report its decision and the vote or abstention of each member. (2006)

AG Opinion 05-613 With respect to a request for the address of an individual arrested by a law enforcement agency, where the requester declares under penalty of perjury that the request is made for a journalistic purpose, the agency may not require that the requester present subscriber lists, distribution lists, copies of past publications, or proof of membership in a press trade association; display a press identification permit issued by a California law enforcement agency; or qualify as a journalist in a judicial action. (2006)

AG Opinion #05-1004 Interim grading documents, including geology reports, compaction reports, and soils reports, submitted by a property owner to a city’s building department in conjunction with an application for a building permit are subject to public inspection and copying under the California Public Records Act at the time the documents are first received by the building department. (2006)

AG Opinion #04-1105 Parcel boundary map data maintained by a county assessor in an electronic format is subject to public inspection and copying under provisions of the California Public Records Act. (2005)

AG Opinion #04-408 A county retirement board may meet in closed session to discuss and evaluate medical records submitted in connection with an employee's application for a disability retirement. (2005)

AG Opinion #03-1107 The governing board of a jointly administered trust fund, whose members are appointed equally by a city and a labor union representing city employees and whose purpose is to address labor-management issues relating to the health, safety, and training of city employees, is not required to hold its meetings open to the public. (2004)