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Showing 1 - 10 of 39 results

  • Handbooks

    California Public Records Act Primer

    […] the renumbering of the California Public Records Act. The California Law Revision Commission has this table showing how previous sections of the Public Records Act were renumbered. This is for informational purposes only. It is not intended to constitute legal advice and does not form an attorney-client relationship. Questions or corrections: contact the First Amendment Coalition […]

    July 8, 2024

  • Asked and Answered

    CPRA School Records

    What portion of personnel files are exempt from CPRA disclosure?

    […] the California Public Records Act? Specifically, I am trying to find out whether our child's public school teacher — who was a probationary employee  resigned;  was terminated for cause, or  was "non-reelected" (no reason required per union contract). Our School District maintains that the vast majority of an teacher's personnel file is non-public, with […]

    April 22, 2017

  • Asked and Answered

    CPRA

    Can I appeal a records request denial from State Medical Board?

    I made a request to the California Medical Board for licensing application information. The Medical Board denied my request and offered no avenues for appeal. By my reading of relevant case law, and admittedly I am not a lawyer, this information is clearly not exempt from the Public Records Act. Are there avenues for […]

    August 22, 2011

  • Asked and Answered

    CPRA

    FOIA request California State Parks internal investigation

    […] the public and must be disclosed unless a specific provision of the Act or other law exempts them from disclosure.  If the agency is claiming a particular  exemption, it must not only cite the particular exemption, but how it applies to the requested records.  It is hard to imagine how the personnel exemption applies […]

    June 1, 2016

  • Asked and Answered

    CPRA Newsgathering

    Should complaints against belligerent councilman be public?

    I am a reporter trying to access public records  for two investigations regarding incidents involving a City Councilman— one at a city-owned clubhouse and the other at a local transit agency. Both of my public records requests have been rejected because officials say it is a personnel matter. In the transit agency’s rejection letter, […]

    August 19, 2011

  • Asked and Answered

    FOIA Police Records

    Accessing Information from ICE

    […] people have been arrested; who has been arrested; where they have been taken, etc. I've heard that ICE has invoked the federal Privacy Act as a reason for withholding even basic information. My question is: What are the rights of journalists, under FOIA or other authority, to demand this information? What advice can we […]

    June 14, 2009

  • Asked and Answered

    CPRA

    Personnel Files

    How do I access city personnel files? Particularly performance reviews?

    June 14, 2009

  • Asked and Answered

    CPRA

    Accessing Records of Parolees’ Addresses

    […] living. They would not, however, provide me their addresses, saying that it was their department's policy not to. A search of the Public Records Act discloses no exemption for parolee address information. And I would argue that given recidivism rates in the 70-percent range for California prisoners, the public's right to know what parolees […]

    June 14, 2009

  • Asked and Answered

    CPRA

    City Stonewalls CPRA Request for Sexual Harassment Complaints Against Council Member

    I recently submitted a public records act request asking for all complaints filed by city employees against sitting council members. As a local journalist, I got a tip that a council member may have had a number of sexual harassment complaints filed against him. After asking for several extensions, the city responded today. They […]

    November 8, 2018