A new public records transparency law that took effect on Jan. 1 might have pulled back the curtain of secrecy around police personnel records more than first realized.

Senate Bill 1421, authored by State Sen. Nancy Skinner, D-Berkeley, revised state open records laws to make previously confidential information about police shootings, uses of force resulting in great bodily harm, and sustained complaints of sexual assault and dishonesty against officers subject to disclosure under the Public Records Act. Previously, these types of records, maintained mostly in officers’ personnel files and internal affairs cases, have been closely guarded secrets that law enforcement agencies were prohibited from releasing to the public.