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Latest News

FAC News Press Release

FAC to Mentor Journalists for National Boot Camp

[…] rights and protest rights. Past workshops have been for groups pursuing law enforcement records, organizations training their members to hold local government accountable, and others. The First Amendment Coalition also offers a suite of published guides on police transparency laws, and using the California Public Records Act and open meetings laws to hold government accountable.

November 22, 2023
Posts

Brown signs SB 1300, but calls on Legislature to fix public access issues
- Government Transparency and Accountability
- Public Records
October 17, 2014
Latest News

Blog

No more slaps on the wrist: Public Spankings for violators of open-government laws

[…] A source of great frustration to advocates of government openness and accountability is the absence of any meaningful enforcement of California’s open government laws. Although in theory serial violators of the Brown Act and the Public Records Act may face prosecution for their offenses, the reality is that they face no real sanction at […]
- Government Transparency and Accountability
June 2, 2009
Asked and Answered

FOIA Police Records

Accessing Information from ICE

[…] a FOIA exemption. Nor does the Privacy Act provide a basis for withholding records through "Exemption 3" of FOIA (exempting from FOIA records specifically exempted by statutes meeting certain criteria). See 5 USC 552(b)(3). While the Privacy Act allows agencies to exempt certain records from disclosure under the Act (including certain law enforcement and […]

June 14, 2009
Latest News

Blog

California agencies have no business claiming copyright protection for public records

[…] intellectual property paid for with tax dollars. In 2015, the mayor of Inglewood claimed copyright infringement to silence a citizen who used video excerpts from city council meetings to criticize the mayor and his policies. A federal district judge threw out the city’s lawsuit, ordering Inglewood not only to desist in trying to censor […]
- Government Transparency and Accountability
- Public Records
June 22, 2016
Asked and Answered

CPRA

Can I use the Sunshine Act to access to state-controlled information?

Proposition 59 amended the California Constitution to add greater access to government records and meetings. You can find more information regarding Proposition 59 on the FAC website here: CA Proposition 59. However, if you seek records from a specific state agency, I suggest making a request in accordance with the California Public Records Act. Under the […]

April 7, 2016
Asked and Answered

Can A Public Record Be Copyrighted?

April 4, 2018
Latest News

FAC News Press Release

FAC teams up with New America Media and CA Black Media to assist ethnic journalists

[…] give them expert guidance and support in reporting on government. The Legal Hotline handles questions about freedom of speech, access to government records, attending court proceedings or meetings of government agencies, and many more matters involving journalists and their legal tools and rights. Examples . . . Suppose you need to examine documents for […]
- Government Transparency and Accountability
- Public Records
July 23, 2016
Latest News

FAC News Press Release

NEW name, NEW website, Bigger role, Same mission

[…] in a case before the Court of Appeals for the US fifth circuit (based in Texas), we filed our own amicus brief to defend local government open- meeting laws, like California’s Brown Act, from a potentially devastating national legal challenge. But make no mistake: California remains at the top of FAC's priorities, even if […]
- Government Transparency and Accountability
- Public Records
September 22, 2009
Asked and Answered

Brown Act

University of California Press

[…] am trying to obtain records from the University of California Press about a book they published. My hope is to obtain the minutes of the editorial committee meeting relating to the book's publication in 1968, as well as any documents they might have related to its re-release by the UC Press in 1998. Under […]

June 14, 2009