Enforcement of the CPRA
Q: Who enforces the California Public Records Act? I have been seeking information from a regional services district, but they refuse to provide me with the information I am seeking which would provide evidence of their misrepresentation of facts and directly and repeatedly lying to me. They say that the information (granted water permit applications) can be withheld from me because they contain names and addresses, but I only seek to discover the dates of these original applications, not the names or addresses or recipients. I have quoted to them the California Public Records Act in general and specifically the clause stating that agencies can disclose such information “in the public interest.” But they have rejected this assertion. I called the California Attorney General’s office and inquired as to who enforces the Act against public agencies accused of violating it, and they told me that a private attorney was my only recourse. If this is the case, then the Act is relatively meaningless for people who do not have funds to pay a lawyer to pursue their case. Without an enforcement provision, what is the use of the law other than misleading the public into believing they have some protection when, in fact, they do not.
A: As to who enforces the Public Records Act (“PRA”), it is true that the recourse in the event of an improper denial is to sue the agency. In order to facilitate such litigation, the PRA provides that prevailing parties in PRA litigation are entitled to their attorneys’ fees. Govt. Code § 6259(d) (“The court shall award court costs and reasonable attorney fees to the plaintiff should the plaintiff prevail in litigation filed pursuant to this section. The costs and fees shall be paid by the public agency of which the public official is a member or employee and shall not become a personal liability of the public official. If the court finds that the plaintiff’s case is clearly frivolous, it shall award court costs and reasonable attorney fees to the public agency.”). Sometimes reminding agencies of that they could be on the hood for your attorneys’ fees if you are forced to sue to obtain the records motivates them to reconsider their refusal to release the records.
With respect to your underlying request, you might also consider asking the agency for the records with names and addresses (and other information that is the basis for the agency’s refusal) redacted so that you get only the information that you are seeking. The PRA provides that “any reasonably segregable portion of a record shall be available for inspection by any person requesting the record after deletion of the portions that are exempted by law.” Govt. Code § 6253(a).
The PRA requires agencies to provide you with the documents requested, or notify you that your request has been denied, within 10 days. Gov’t Code § 6253. If the written request is denied, the agency is obligated to back its denial by citing an exemption in the PRA or other state or federal law allowing it to withhold the records you seek. Gov’t code § 6255. You might want to remind the agency of this obligation in a follow-up request, since to this point it sounds as though your request has been denied without citation to a specific exemption. A sample PRA request is available on CFAC’s website at: http://www.cfac.org/templates/cpraletter.html.