Cities’ rights and the CPRA

Cities’ rights and the CPRA

Q: My city of residence explains to me that THEIR version of the Public Records Act supersedes the state’s. The specific question I am asking is “who is the owner or a taxi cab company.”  This, to me, is not a life threatening problem. Are they allowed to with hold this information? Second, I read the code as saying that every entity must have a posting of the law someplace AND a “person” responsible for handling request.  Am I correct in this or do state agencies have different rules that city’s.  I am hoping to get by the “dumb bunny” stage with this city and begin defining roles and responsibilities to the varied players.

A: Although cities may implement laws that provide even greater access rights than the California Public Records Act (for example, some cities have so-called “sunshine ordinances”), a city may not pass a law that takes away any of the rights guaranteed by the Public Records Act.  As you no doubt are aware, the Public Records Act does not provide a right of access to information per se; however, if the information you seek is reflected in a document collected, owned or maintained by the city, you have a presumptive right to it unless one of the Act’s exemptions to disclosure applies.
I am not aware of any exemption which would allow a city to withhold information pertaining to the owner of a taxicab company.  If you have not already done so, I suggest you submit a Public Records Act request for documents in the hands of the county reflecting the information you are seeking.  A sample public record request can be found on CFAC’s web site:

http://www.cfac.org/templates/cpraletter.html

If the agency has in its possession documents that satisfy the description you specify and does not contend that the documents are exempt from disclosure under one of the Act’s exemptions, it should provide you with immediate access to those records, and should also provide you with copies, if you desire them, for the cost of duplication.  If your request is in writing and the agency denies your request, it is required to provide you with a written response within 10 days, specifying the exemptions in the Public Records Act upon which the city is relying for its denial of your request.

As to your second question, although I am not aware of any provision of the Act which would require a city to post the Act and give the name of a specific person responsible for handling requests, you may be thinking of section 6253.4 of the Act, which provides that every agency “may” adopt regulations stating procedures to be followed when making its records available in accordance with the Public Records Act, and certain state and local bodies must establish written guidelines for accessibility of records, which must be posted in a conspicuous public place at the offices of these bodies, and a copy of the guidelines shall be available upon request. The agencies subject to this requirement are:

Department of Motor Vehicles
Department of Consumer Affairs
Department of Transportation
Department of Real Estate
Department of Corrections
Department of the Youth Authority
Department of Justice
Department of Insurance
Department of Corporations
Department of Managed Health Care
Secretary of State
State Air Resources Board
Department of Water Resources
Department of Parks and Recreation
San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission
State Board of Equalization
State Department of Health Services
Employment Development Department
State Department of Social Services
State Department of Mental Health
State Department of Developmental Services
State Department of Alcohol and Drug Abuse
Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development
Public Employees’ Retirement System
Teachers’ Retirement Board
Department of Industrial Relations
Department of General Services
Department of Veterans Affairs
Public Utilities Commission
California Coastal Commission
State Water Resources Control Board
San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District
All regional water quality control boards
Los Angeles County Air Pollution Control District
Bay Area Air Pollution Control District
Golden Gate Bridge, Highway and Transportation District
Department of Toxic Substances Control
Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment

In addition, section 6253.1 of the Act (section 6253.1 of the Government Code) requires an agency to assist members of the public in formulating their requests.  The text of that section is as follows:

6253.1.  (a) When a member of the public requests to inspect a public record or obtain a copy of a public record, the public agency, in order to assist the member of the public make a focused and effective request that reasonably describes an identifiable record or
records, shall do all of the following, to the extent reasonable under the circumstances:
(1) Assist the member of the public to identify records and information that are responsive to the request or to the purpose of the request, if stated.
(2) Describe the information technology and physical location in which the records exist.
(3) Provide suggestions for overcoming any practical basis for denying access to the records or information sought.
(b) The requirements of paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) shall be deemed to have been satisfied if the public agency is unable to identify the requested information after making a reasonable effort to elicit additional clarifying information from the requester that
will help identify the record or records.
(c) The requirements of subdivision (a) are in addition to any action required of a public agency by Section 6253.
(d) This section shall not apply to a request for public records if any of the following applies:
(1) The public agency makes available the requested records pursuant to Section 6253.
(2) The public agency determines that the request should be denied and bases that determination solely on an exemption listed in Section 6254.
(3) The public agency makes available an index of its records.