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Posts

FAC Condemns Sacramento Police Department’s Flawed Media Policy

[…] contrast, a draft that the media organizations proposed to the police department during negotiations last year afforded greater protection to journalists covering demonstrations: it spelled out an exemption for media representatives when officers close a disaster area, and clarified legal protections for journalists’ newsgathering materials. That thenew Sacramento policyshields police from public scrutiny is […]
- Press Freedom
July 23, 2020
Posts

FAC Urges California Highway Patrol to Release Public Records Relating to 2016 California State Capitol Violence

[…] public records it has refused to disclose regarding the violent clashes at the California State Capitol on June 26, 2016. The letter also calls CHP to task for the apparent use of a public records request as a bargaining chip in witness interviews for an ongoing criminal investigation. As disclosed in a transcript filed […]
- Government Transparency and Accountability
February 16, 2018
Posts

First Amendment

FAC Calls on Governor to Sign Bill Strengthening Press Protections at Protests

[…] SB 16 would expand on 2019's landmark police transparency law, SB 1421, which made certain categories of police personnel records accessible under the California Public Records Act for the first time in decades. Unfortunately, law enforcement agencies and labor unions took advantage of ambiguities in SB 1421 to stifle access to critical information. SB […]
September 30, 2021
Posts

Shasta News Outlets, FAC, and ACLU Demand Shasta County Repeal Unlawful Public Records Act Fee Ordinance

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE September 20, 2023 Contact: [email protected] SAN RAFAEL — The First Amendment Coalition and ACLU of Northern California, along with news outlets Shasta Scout and the Record Searchlight, today called on Shasta County to repeal an ordinance that imposes unlawful fees for public records that can run into the thousands of […]
- Government Transparency and Accountability
September 20, 2023
Posts

Legislature approves FAC-sponsored bill on cell phone privacy. Will Brown sign it?

[…] the Assembly in August. Police ordinarily have authority, following an arrest, to conduct a search--without a warrant--of the person arrested and materials and containers in his possession-- for example, a wallet, any weapons, or a cigarette pack. SB 914 alters this rule for "portable electronic devices" because of the volume and sensitivity of personal […]
- Government Transparency and Accountability
September 2, 2011
Asked and Answered

Can they stop me from gathering signatures in a city-owned building?

Are signature gatherers allowed to solicit signatures for an initiative petition in a City-owned building that is used for public meetings?
- Free Expression
June 30, 2015
Posts

First Amendment

FAC news: Prop 42 victory, amicus briefs on the Wrap, NCAA, fee waivers & more

June has been a busy month for FAC, both legislatively and judicially. Most gratifying: California voters on June 4 approved, by a comfortable 61 percent margin, Prop 42, which amends the state constitution to fortify state open meetings and FOI laws. FAC supported and sponsored Prop 42 to end funding disputes between local governments […]
- Government Transparency and Accountability
- Press Freedom
June 17, 2014
Posts

CFAC sponsors bill to prevent agencies from using anti-SLAPP law to deter citizens' open-gov suits

[…] these claims is not addressed, few will have the courage to pursue claims under California’s open government laws, and noncompliance will become even more ubiquitous. Indeed, it puts a punitive weapon in the hands of public agency members using public taxes for which they are not truly held accountable to pursue their vengeance. " -PS
- Government Transparency and Accountability
June 2, 2009
Posts

California’s Computer Privacy Laws Require a Critical Update: SB 178 is it.

Police need a warrant to rifle through papers in your desk drawer, so the same should go for sensitive digital data like email, text messages, location history and stored documents of all kinds. Tell your assemblymember to support S.B. 178 (text of bill), the California Electronic Communications Privacy Act (CalECPA), to protect our private digital […]
- Government Transparency and Accountability
August 20, 2015
Posts

Brown signs “Richard McKee bill” to tighten Brown Act enforcement

[…] and CNPA. It challenged the Tulare County Board of Supervisors' practice of holding over 46 regular lunchtime meetings outside of public view, without public notification and paid for with public funds. The appeals court ruled that the Brown Act did not allow a prospective remedy--like a declaratory judgment or injunction--based on past violations. The […]
- Government Transparency and Accountability
October 14, 2012