Question
If a city formed a joint powers association with a private company, is this joint powers association subject the California Public Records Act? Can any member of the public get access to the records if the records are kept by the private company?
Answer
Joint powers associations (JPA) formed pursuant to the Joint Exercise of Powers Act are entities subject to the California Public Records Act. Thus, the documents pertaining to such associations are public records, unless they are exempt from disclosure under the Public Records Act (PRA) or some other applicable law.
Asked & Answered posts should not be relied on as legal advice, and FAC makes no guarantees about their completeness or accuracy. All posts carry a date of publication that readers should take note of in assessing their usefulness, given that laws and interpretations of them may change over time. Posts predating Jan. 1, 2023, that discuss the California Public Records Act may contain statute numbers no longer in use. Please see this page for a table showing how the California Public Records Act has been renumbered.