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A&A: Withholding “Requests for Proposals” from the public

FAC June 4, 2010

Q: A law enforcement commission released an RFP (Request for Proposals) some months ago. Two vendors responded but omitted required DVBE (Disabled Veteran Business Enterprise) participation so their proposals were not reviewed. The commission canceled the solicitation and has now put up a new one. Their response as to why they cannot show the old RFP’s: “Because the solicitation was canceled and an award was not made, the contractor proposals do not become public record

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A&A: Records request denied due to ongoing investigation

FAC June 4, 2010

Q: I made a CPRA request for information regarding enforcement of a housing ordinance.  The response was that “the matter is under investigation.” How long can the CPRA be denied with the explanation that the matter is “under investigation” ? A: Under the Public Records Act, public records — which include “any writing containing information relating to the conduct of the public’s business prepared, owned, used, or retained by any state or local agency regardless

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A&A: Reporting closed sessions decisions

FAC June 4, 2010

Q: The city council has had an item on its closed session agenda for several weeks regarding a condo’s violation of a development agreement. The city manager said publicly that the council had reached a decision that “involves litigation,” but he did not discuss the details. No decision was announced after that city council meeting. I assumed that would mean an announcement would come at the next city council meeting following closed session. Again, this

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A&A: When Can A Newspaper Publish Documents Meant To Be Private?

FAC May 28, 2010

Q: I’m a freelance writer pursuing a story about another publication, but I’m concerned because much of the info we have consists of leaked internal company documents from a disgruntled ex-employee (a notice of tax lien, e-mails, bill collection notices). This is a private company, not a public or governmental entity, so I have no way of independently acquiring or verifying these same documents. Are we within our rights to use the documents in the

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A&A: Public Comment Limits Don’t Allow Time To Make Case

FAC May 28, 2010

Q: Our Irrigation District Board asks for input from the pubilc on agenda items. However, the Board puts a five-minute limit on each individual. The staff has no limits on discussion time, but members of the audience are limited, even when making a case that disagrees with what staff is recommending. They are not very nice about this severe limit. I am the president of the local taxpayers association, and I often present input from

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