FAC—The First Amendment Coalition has filed a request under the Public Records Act for the speaking contract covering Sarah Palin’s planned appearance at a fundraising event for CSU Stanislaus in June. FAC has also requested the speaking contract for Bill Clinton’s appearance and speech at UC Berkeley in February.
Arrangements for Palin’s speech have come under scrutiny from students, public employee unions and State Senator Leland Yee. Unconfirmed reports put Palin’s fee for the June 25 appearance at $100,000. CSU officials, while not confirming the fee, contend that Palin will be paid from private funds raised by the CSU Stanislaus foundation, which they characterize as an independent and private entity not subject to the Public Records Act.
“This is about access to information, not politics,” said FAC executive director Peter Scheer. “That’s why we are simultaneously pursuing full disclosure about speeches to California university audiences given by both Palin and Clinton.”
“Palin has every right to speak at a public university campus in California, just like Clinton,” Scheer said. “The principle of access to information is nonpartisan and ideologically neutral”
The record requests for information about the Palin and Clinton speeches potentially raise several important legal issues.
One is the enforceability under access laws of a confidentiality clause in contracts entered into by public agencies. Another issue is the applicability of the Public Records Act to an ostensibly private entity, like the CSU Stanislaus foundation, that functions as an extension of a government entity.