Does the agency have to know why you want records
Q: An agency that I am requesting info from is pressing to know “what am I looking for”, e.g. why I want it. Do I have to say?
A: The answer to your question is “no.” You do not have to state the purpose for why you are seeking public records. The California Public Records Act (“PRA”) prohibits “limitations on access to a public record based upon the purpose of which the record is being requested, if the record is otherwise subject to public disclosure.” Gov’t Code § 6257.5. Moreover, state agencies cannot impose any limits on what you may do with public records obtained pursuant to the PRA. ACLU v. Deukmejian, 32 Cal. 3d 440, 451 (1982) (noting that the PRA “imposes no limits upon who may seek information or what he may do with it. … once information is held subject to disclosure under the Act, the courts can exercise no restrain on the use to which it may be put.”).