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Asked and Answered

First Amendment

In Texas, town hall meeting nixed videotaping

Is there an equivalent of a Brown Act for Texas? I was at a Congressional town hall meeting, and a member of the Congresswoman's staff told me I was not allowed to video record the meeting. Is that legal?

August 1, 2011
Asked and Answered

Brown Act

Is there a Posting Date Requirement for Minutes of Public Agency Meetings?

Is there a legal requirement that a Community College in California post Minutes for their Board, Special and Committee Meetings within a certain timeframe? They are not doing so by the next meeting and sometimes do not do so for many many months or at all. This is an ongoing issue.

January 20, 2021
Latest News

Blog

Behind the Headlines: How CBS Reporter Julie Watts Is Pushing for Police Transparency

CBS News California Investigates reporter Julie Watts spent more than a year demanding answers for her series Failed Policies. She has now taken one police department to court to enforce the public’s right of access to footage of police shootings.
- Government Transparency and Accountability
- Public Records
June 27, 2024
Asked and Answered

Brown Act

Authority to call school district special meetings

California Govt. Code Section 61221(c) states that as part of its internal organization, the board of a Community Services District shall "provide for the manner of calling special meetings." The School District should have adopted a rule about calling special meetings, and this rule presumably sets forth who is authorized to call an emergency […]

June 14, 2009
Posts

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

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE September 20, 2023 Contact: fac@firstamendmentcoalition.org 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
- Public Records
September 20, 2023
Asked and Answered

Brown Act

COVID-19 Prohibition On Public Gatherings Prevented Me From Speaking to the Public

[…] impliedly requiring the physical presence of members, the clerk or other personnel of the body, or of the public as a condition of participation in or quorum for a public meeting" during the COVID-19 crisis, so long as the public is provided some means of observing and commenting upon the proceedings "telephonically or otherwise […]

January 20, 2021
Asked and Answered

CPRA

Private attorney costs to public agencies and attorney-client privilege

[…] not disclose the amount of the retainer agreement. See Cal. Government Code section 54957.5(a) (records provided to a Board of Supervisors or other legislative body in preparation for a public meeting are public records that must be available to the public under the California Public Records Act); Cal. Government Code section 6253(a) (if an […]

June 14, 2009
Asked and Answered

Brown Act

School board closed session “under the guise of labor negotiations.”

[…] Board of Trustees meeting, the superintendent stated, and three trustees confirmed, that the district has come up with a plan to tackle the multimillion-dollar shortfall it's expecting for the next school year. The superintendent said the board discussed this in closed session "under the guise of labor negotiations." The problem is, they haven't entered […]

February 20, 2015
Latest News

Blog

Government officials use personal email and texting to avoid public access laws. Why not use technology to enhance accountability instead of to subvert it?

[…] PETER SCHEER---All public officials favor open government in principle. Who would dare say otherwise? In reality, however, they are in a perpetual search, guided by clever lawyers, for new ways to circumvent disclosure requirements--at best, because they view requests for records as a nuisance, and at worst, because they have something to hide (which […]
- Government Transparency and Accountability
- Public Records
August 22, 2009
Asked and Answered

First Amendment

Can CA legally charge fees for filming on private property?

Is it legal for Los Angeles County to charge a fee to film on private property when no public roads or public services are needed? Isn't this against constitutional rights to free speech?

May 14, 2015