Question
I sent a public records act request to the City Clerk of my City and I have not received a call or response to my request. I am sending a second letter and attaching the first letter, but what can I do next if the city does not respond?
Answer
As you probably know, under Government Code section 6253(c), public agencies are supposed to respond to requests for public records within 10 days. The response time can be extended by up to 14 days (to a total of 24) in “unusual circumstances.” There are a number of possible informal actions you can take if the City Clerk does not respond. First, you may inquire directly with the City Clerk in person or by phone to ask them why they have not responded, and to try to elicit a response.
You may also want to consider contacting your City Councilmember or the City Attorney, to ask them to intervene with the Clerk.If the Clerk does not respond, however, you must bring a lawsuit in order to compel the Clerk to do so.
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.