Attorney General Becerra: Senate Bill 1421 Applies to Records Pre-Dating January 1, 2019

SACRAMENTO – California Attorney General Xavier Becerra today announced that, in line with the tentative guidance issued by the San Francisco County Superior Court, the California Department of Justice (DOJ) will begin to disclose DOJ records as covered under Senate Bill 1421 (SB 1421) that pre-date January 1, 2019. In light of privacy concerns raised in litigation around SB 1421, DOJ sought clarity from the courts prior to the disclosure of DOJ records pre-dating 2019. With today’s tentative ruling in First Amendment Coalition v. Becerra, DOJ will now begin to produce documents pre-dating January 1, 2019 relating to peace officers employed by DOJ in accordance with SB 1421 and the California Public Records Act.

“Transparency and accountability in policing are fundamental components to building safe and secure communities for all Californians,” said Attorney General Becerra. “With this court’s ruling, my office now has much of the clarity we have sought in our efforts to appropriately follow the letter of the law. At the California Department of Justice, we know that the work does not stop here, and we will continue our efforts to strengthen the trust that must exist between peace officers and those they serve.”

Today’s announcement follows a number of previous court filings submitted by DOJ, which asserted that SB 1421 should apply to records that pre-date January 1, 2019. In First Amendment Coalition v. Becerra, DOJ, both in April and earlier this month, noted SB 1421 is best construed as encompassing personnel records that were created, or relate to conduct that occurred, before the law took effect on January 1, 2019. Separately, in a friend of the court brief filed in February in ALADS v. Superior Court, a case that arose before SB 1421 was enacted, DOJ contended that SB 1421 applies to records that were created prior to the law’s effective date. Moreover, just days after SB 1421 came into effect, DOJ issued a bulletin instructing all California law enforcement agencies to preserve records that may be subject to disclosure under the new law.

Separately, on another point raised in First Amendment Coalition v. Becerra, DOJ maintains that SB 1421 does not apply to records obtained from other law enforcement agencies regarding those agencies’ employees. SB 1421 provides that the specific records listed in the statute will be disclosed by the agency that employs the peace officer whose records are at issue. Any other conclusion would result in duplication of efforts by local law enforcement agencies and a risk of inappropriately disclosing information that could affect the local agencies’ pending investigations or reveal the identities of witnesses that should remain protected. DOJ is also seeking additional clarification on the definition of a sustained finding under SB 1421. Court proceedings on these points are ongoing.

Attorney General Becerra is committed to building public trust between the people of California and law enforcement agencies by working to strengthen policies and training in areas such as the use of force, bias, community-oriented policing, accountability, and hiring and recruitment practices. Just yesterday, DOJ announced the release of an interim progress report looking at the San Francisco Police Department’s ongoing collaborative reform initiative. Earlier this month, Attorney General Becerra and members of the California Racial and Identity Profiling Advisory Board highlighted efforts to ensure the complete and accurate collection of data that will be used to better understand racial profiling in the state. In January, DOJ released a report providing the Sacramento Police Department with a range of recommendations on its use of force policies, training, and practices to help guide the department’s reform efforts.