The California Bar and CPRA
Q: Is the California Bar subject to the California Public Records Act or any similar open access law?
A: No provision of the California Public Records Act (CPRA) specifically addresses the State Bar of California or its records. The State Bar does not clearly fall within the definition of a “state agency” or “local agency” in the CPRA. The California Supreme Court has stated as follows: “[Government Code] Section 6001 . . . provides: ‘No law of this State restricting, or prescribing a mode of procedure for the exercise of powers of state public bodies or state agencies . . . shall be applicable to the State Bar, unless the Legislature expressly so declares.’ Therefore, the so-called ‘open meetings’ and ‘public records’ laws applicable to specific state boards and state agencies do not apply.”
Chronicle Pub. Co. v. Superior Court In and For City and County of San Francisco, 54 Cal.2d 548, 573 (1960). This decision predates the current CPRA andBagley-Keene Act (the open-meetings act applicable to state agencies). However, Government Code section 6001 is still in effect, and appears to exempt the State Bar from the CPRA.Unfortunately, it therefore appears that there is no right of access to the records you seek under the CPRA.It can be argued that Proposition 59 (Article I, section 3(b) of the California Constitution), which created a constitutional right of access, establishes an independent right of access unaffected by the limitation created by Government Code section 6001. That is an argument, however, that is not likely to result in the disclosure of the information you seek short of litigation in the courts.