Asked & Answered

Q: I’m wondering whether my city violated the Brown Act (or other law) when the City Council decided in closed session to issue a statement criticizing the city’s mayor and defending an earlier vote. The background is that the mayor had attempted to veto an amended contract for the city manager, which the city attorney says is not allowed under the city’s charter. The mayor has said he is considering going to court to establish that

Q: I just want to know the types of records available for cell phone service providers in the California Lifeline program. I want this information so that I can craft a CPRA request that is as narrow as possible. I emailed the administrator of the California Lifeline program at the CA Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) and am awaiting a response. Should I make a CPRA request to get the information I need to create my

Q:  I am a reporter working on a story about medical care for in inmates at our county jail. I recently discovered that the county hired an outside consultant (a doctor) to conduct a review of those services. The consultant created a report that the county then used to implement reforms. Naturally, I requested the report but was denied. Here was the county’s response: “The Report you seek is a confidential document. [the doctor] was retained

Q: Are California public bodies required to use the least costly method reasonably available to them for duplicating and (if separate) for transferring records responsive to a CPRA request? Is there case law on that question? Context: I am a frequent requestor of video records from agencies across all levels of government and across the country, under various open records laws. I recently got a Dropbox Business account which allows me to create as many “file

Q: I am an elected official in the town where I reside. Recently, at the beginning of a Council meeting, after the meeting had been called to order but before any agenda item was undertaken, I made a statement about gun violence and my belief that stricter gun laws are in order. I made clear that the views were my own and not those of the City. A local second amendment rights advocate viewed the