Q: I recently attended a board meeting of the Grossmont Healthcare District. A staff person from the Sharp Grossmont Hospital gave a 15 min. update/report on several topics hospital (e.g., new employee and medical staff satisfaction surveys/results–and patient satisfaction regarding emergency dept. and inpatient services on different floors of hospital.
At the end of the hospital staff person’s pptI asked if a copy would be available for the audience. The response from the District CEO was noncommittal—i.e., maybe, maybe not.
My question: is the hospital’s slide presentation a public document, and doI have a right to secure a copy of what was a presented to the District board?
A: California’s Brown Act provides that “writings, when distributed to all, or a majority of all, of the members of a legislative body of a local agency by any person in connection with a matter subject to discussion or consideration at an open meeting of the body, are disclosable public records under the California Public Records Act …, and shall be made available upon request without delay.” Cal. Gov’t § 54957.5 (reproduced in its entirety below).
It is not entirely clear whether a PowerPoint presentation that is displayed at a meeting has been “distributed” to the members if they did not receive a paper or electronic copy. But if the agency has a copy of the presentation, then there would seem to be no basis for it to refuse to allow you to inspect or copy it.
If you wish you submit a Public Records Act request for the presentation, you can find a sample letter that you might want to take a look at on our website here.
Cal. Gov’t § 54957.5
(a) Notwithstanding Section 6255 or any other law, agendas of public meetings and any other writings, when distributed to all, or a majority of all, of the members of a legislative
body of a local agency by any person in connection with a matter subject to discussion or consideration at an open meeting of the body, are disclosable public records under the California Public Records Act (Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 6250) of Division 7 of Title 1), and shall be made available upon request without delay. However, this section shall not include any writing exempt from public disclosure under Section 6253.5, 6254, 6254.3, 6254.7, 6254.15, 6254.16, 6254.22, or 6254.26.
(b) (1) If a writing that is a public record under subdivision (a), and that relates to an agenda item for an open session of a regular meeting of the legislative body of a local agency, is distributed less than 72 hours prior to that meeting, the writing shall be made available for public inspection pursuant to paragraph (2) at the time the writing is distributed to all, or a majority of all, of the members of the body.
(2) A local agency shall make any writing described in paragraph (1) available for public inspection at a public office or location that the agency shall designate for this purpose.
Each local agency shall list the address of this office or location on the agendas for all meetings of the legislative body of that agency. The local agency also may post the writing on the local agency’s Internet Web site in a position and manner that makes it clear that the writing relates to an agenda item for an upcoming meeting.
(3) This subdivision shall become operative on July 1, 2008.
(c) Writings that are public records under subdivision (a) and that are distributed during a public meeting shall be made available for public inspection at the meeting if prepared by the local agency or a member of its legislative body, or after the meeting if prepared by some other person. These writings shall be made available in appropriate alternative formats upon request by a person with a disability, as required by Section 202 of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. Sec. 12132), and the federal rules and regulations adopted in implementation thereof.
(d) This chapter shall not be construed to prevent the legislative body of a local agency from charging a fee or deposit for a copy of a public record pursuant to Section 6253, except that a surcharge shall not be imposed on persons with disabilities in violation of Section 202 of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. Sec. 12132), and the federal rules and regulations adopted in implementation thereof.
(e) This section shall not be construed to limit or delay the public’s right to inspect or obtain a copy of any record required to be disclosed under the requirements of the California
Public Records Act (Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 6250) of Division 7 of Title 1).This chapter shall not be construed to require a legislative body of a local agency to place any paid advertisement or any other paid notice in any publication.
Bryan Cave LLP is general counsel for the First Amendment Coalition and responds to FAC hotline inquiries. In responding to these inquiries, we can give general information regarding open government and speech issues but cannot provide specific legal advice or representation. No attorney-client relationship has been formed by way of this response.