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    Showing results for government bodies must comply brown act 54951 act90 54951 act 54951 act90 54951 54951 54951

  • Asked and Answered

    CPRA

    Can An Agency Extend Response to a CPRA Request Up to Eight Weeks Due to Covid?

    […] seeks disclosable public records, the agency shall state the estimated date and time when the records will be made available.") In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, some government agencies in California have stopped processing requests made under the CPRA. The First Amendment Coalition takes the position that there is no legal basis for that […]

    April 21, 2022

  • Latest News

    Blog

    Apple is right: the order requiring it to create code to defeat iPhone security is “coerced speech” forbidden by the 1st Amdt

    BY PETER SCHEER---The court battle between the FBI and Apple presents an important first amendment issue: whether the government can force a company to engage in expression—to wit, the writing of computer code—-that the company not only objects to, but views as inimical to its interests and its customers’ interests. Apple claims that this […]

    March 7, 2016

  • Latest News

    Cases Press Release

    FAC Sues Bakersfield For Open Meetings, Records Violations

    […] asserting the city had not violated the law. The city also failed to produce the documents FAC requested. The FAC-Cal Aware lawsuit followed. "The public can’t hold their government accountable unless they know what their government is doing," Snyder said. "We’re going to make sure they do." +++ Attorney Kelly Aviles of Los Angeles is […]

    December 22, 2017

  • Latest News

    Blog Cases

    Judge plugs ‘private email’ loophole in CA public records law

    […] Scheer told the Mercury News that he’s confident the appeal will reaffirm the original ruling:  "That will force all California cities and counties to treat emails about government business as public records, regardless of the status or ownership of the email accounts or devices. What matters is the substance of the message — is […]

    March 20, 2013

  • Asked and Answered

    Brown Act

    Getting information from closed sessions

    As a preliminary matter, it is not clear why your Board would have cited Government Code section 54956.9.  Section 54956.9 provides for closed sessions to discuss pending litigation, and does not apply to either of the items you listed in your inquiry. With regard to the first item, public employee discipline/dismissal/release, the Brown Act […]

    June 14, 2009

  • Asked and Answered

    First Amendment Social Media

    Can the City ban negative online posting by public employees, officials?

    The First Amendment, with some exceptions, generally prevents the government from limiting citizens’ speech. Employers, with some exceptions, generally have the ability to limit what their employees can say on behalf of the company or while engaged in work functions. Thus, an interesting dynamic is generated when, as in this situation, the government is […]

    March 5, 2015

  • Asked and Answered

    Brown Act

    Can new board member get updated on past closed sessions?

    […] disclose the information to the new member would be appropriate. Holme Roberts & Owen LLP is general counsel for the First Amendment Coalition and responds to First Amendment Coalition hotline inquiries. In responding to these inquiries, we can give general information regarding open government and speech issues but cannot provide specific legal advice or representation.

    November 28, 2011

  • Asked and Answered

    Brown Act

    Public comment limited to three items on Water Quality Board agenda

    […] not already been considered at a meeting where members of the public had been allowed to comment. While the spirit of open meetings and public access to government deliberation may have been better served by allowing the public to comment on the permit as a whole, if the criteria set forth in § 54954.3 […]

    April 14, 2010

  • Asked and Answered

    CPRA

    How long are routine County surveillance records archived?

    […] retention act, and is therefore silent on this front.  There are several other statutes that govern various agencies’ duty to retain records. With respect to City recordings: Government Code section 34090.6 requires: "the head of a department of a city or city and county, after one year, may destroy recordings of routine video monitoring…This […]

    May 6, 2016

  • Latest News

    Press Release

    Joint Statement from FAC and EFF on DOJ Leaks Investigations

    […] this threat to transparency is particularly grave." Sessions also raised the specter that the Justice Department will roll back internal DOJ protections against the overzealous use of government subpoenas against journalists, saying DOJ is "reviewing policies affecting media subpoenas." Current DOJ policies, substantially revamped in 2015 under then-Attorney General Eric Holder, recognize the critical […]

    August 4, 2017