Lawsuit challenges California Legislature’s attempt to evade public records request

Sacramento, California; November 10, 2026: A new lawsuit is challenging the California Legislature’s attempt to evade a public records request asking for information about the Legislature’s conversations with the California Coastal Commission. PLF filed a lawsuit on its own behalf after the Legislature claimed these interbranch communications were “personal” and therefore exempt from the requirements of the Legislative Open Records Act.

“The Coastal Commission has taken on for itself the role of a judge, jury, and beneficiary when it comes to California coastal regulations, deciding who to find guilty and how much to impose in penalties. But the Commission has a vested interest in finding violations and imposing exorbitant fines, because it uses those fines to fund its own policy priorities,” said Tanmay Shukla, an attorney at Pacific Legal Foundation. “That is a clear conflict of interest. The public has a right to know what the Legislature is doing to address this problem — or if it’s enabling the Commission instead.”

In February 2026, PLF researchers submitted a public records request for communications between the California Legislature and the Coastal Commission. After the Legislature refused to fulfill the request, PLF sued in Sacramento County Superior Court to hold it accountable to Californians.

A victory in this case would affirm that the government cannot shirk its duty to remain transparent and accountable to the voting public, and that transparency, not secrecy, is the touchstone of a supposedly open government.

The case is Pacific Legal Foundation v. California Legislature.