The CPRA and State Employees
Q: I am a state employee in a California agency. Recently, I sent a request to my own agency requesting a record I believe to be public. I used the advice provided in your tri-fold PRA brochure (ask informally before invoking the law, etc.) After a week of no response, I wrote again yesterday (just a reminder). I thought the delay might have something to do with the nature of the document I requested and whether or not it was considered a public document. Not so. This is the brief answer I received via email from our Chief of Administration:
“Sorry we did not get back to you sooner. We had to determine if the Public Records Act applied to state employees. We have been advised that the Public Records Act does not apply to state employees. However, Budgets is determining what is available that can be released to you.”
I was surprised to get this response, having no idea that my state employment somehow precluded me from the PRA. I have now read GC 6252(g) which makes it appear this is accurate, but GC 6252.5 muddies the water for me.
Our Chief indicates in the quote above that she was “advised” that the PRA does not apply to state employees. I am certain that advice was provided by our internal legal staff, in whom I have little faith.
Can you clarify this for me?
A: The California Public Records Act (“PRA”) guarantees “member[s] of the public” the right to inspect and obtain copies of documents collected or maintained by state or local agencies. The phrase “member of the public” is defined as “any person, except a member, agent, officer, or employee of a federal, state, or local agency acting within the scope of his or her membership, agency, office, or employment.” Gov’t Code § 6252(g). Thus, the agency’s statement that the PRA does not apply to state employees is correct only in so far as the employee wanting access to such records is requesting them for the purpose of exercising his or her employment duties (i.e., “acting within the scope of his or her . . . employment”). If not, then you, as a “member of the public,” should have a right of access to public records of state or local agencies, even if you happen to also be an employee of the agency that possesses such records.
Moreover, if you are an “elected member or officer” of the agency that possesses the records you seek, then you are entitled to access those records (unless a PRA exemption applies) even if you are “acting within the scope” of your membership or office. See Gov’t Code § 6252.5 (“Nothing in this section shall limit the ability of elected members or officers to access public records permitted by law in the administration of their duties.”).