Asked & Answered

Q: I am working on a story about how two of our reporters were ejected from a college council meeting. The chair of the committee believes that their body is not subject to the Brown Act. This committee makes planning, budget and policy recommendations to the college president. A: The official student body associations of community colleges are subject to the Brown Act (see 75 Ops. Cal. Atty. Gen. 143 (1992), an opinion of the

Q: I can’t get addresses of crane construction inspectors.  Cal OSHA (Occupational Safety & Health Administration) responded to my CPRA request with a partial list of crane inspectors, with their addresses. I demanded the rest of the list and they gave me an alleged complete list without the requested addresses. They said the addresses were exempt as personal info. Is this true or not? A: The answer to your question may depend on whether the crane inspectors are Cal OSHA

Q: I am doing a story on the Community Association, which operates and maintains a number of parks that were dedicated originally to the county and then the city. The parks are considered public by city officials, but the association says those parks are private. My question has to do with the Brown Act. If the community association, a public benefit nonprofit corporation, holds board meetings to discuss these public parks, are these meetings considered

Q: We are holding a board retreat tomorrow and have received requests from several members of the public to attend and speak: Does the public have the option to attend? Must we allow them to speak? Thank you. A: The Brown Act, Govt. Code section 54950 et seq., generally requires that all “meetings” of a covered board, such as a local school board, conduct its meetings in a manner that is publicly noticed and agendized

Q: Does California release the names of corporations audited by the state tax collector and the time period audited? Do you have any information on the positions taken by other states? A: As far as I am aware, there is no exemption to the Public Records Act that specifically addresses the disclosability of records that reveal the identity of corporations that have been audited and the time period covered by the audit. However, for a definitive