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Asked and Answered

CPRA

What does the CPRA say about an agency charging a $48 “clerical fee”?

I'm interested in getting some feedback from someone a little more experienced at filing public records act requests. I'm a little suspicious of the Department of Fair Employment and Housing charging a $48 "clerical fee"although their invoice does not list the amount of pages or mailing fee, implying the search has not yet been done. The request […]

September 15, 2015
Asked and Answered

CPRA

University fails to make good faith effort to respond to records request

[…] whether the scope of the request caused a delay in disclosure, and whether the agency was burdened by other duties that delayed its response." Motorola Communication & Electronics, Inc. v. Department of General Services, 55 Cal. App. 4th 1340, 1346 (1997) ("Based on the uncertainties inherent in Motorola's public records requests, and the timely […]

February 3, 2011
Asked and Answered

CPRA

Same fees assessed for electronic data as photocopies

I’m trying to obtain the school district’s 2010 spending records in digital form, but the USD's General Counsel is asking for 25 cents per page to send the digital information to us. They’ve explained that this is based on the usual fee rate for pages that are photocopied, but as we aren’t asking for […]

March 23, 2012
Latest News

Advocacy Blog

Pricing the Public Out of Public Records

[…] requesters for the direct costs of duplication, typically cents a page for copies. And there are circumstances when agencies can impose fees for producing or compiling certain electronic records, though the California Supreme Court has put guardrails on that. The county’s fee regime, however, went beyond that and relied on a state law outside of […]
- Government Transparency and Accountability
- Public Records
May 11, 2023
Asked and Answered

First Amendment Police Records

Requesting employee-related information

I am trying to access a criminal court’s calendar for a 3 month period of time in 2004. Is there is a different public records request when trying to access information from the courts?

June 14, 2009
Asked and Answered

CPRA

DMV License Plate Records

[…] DMV telephone help line operator told me the plate number was not in the DMV system. I submitted a broad CPRA request asking for all paper and electronic records for the license plate number as well as a photo of the vehicle showing the plates. DMV replied to my CPRA request: "There is no record […]

June 14, 2009
Latest News

Blog Cases

Major newspapers back CFAC/MAPlight lawsuit to expand public access to Legislative actions

[…] could fix this problem in a Sacramento minute if only it had the will. Public-records law seems to make clear that records should be available in their electronic format. If legislators have any question about the clarity of the law, they have the ability to change it. On Friday, Senate President Pro Tem Darrell […]
- Government Transparency and Accountability
- Public Records
June 2, 2009
Asked and Answered

CPRA

Can Agencies Be Required to Choose Least Costly Format for Electronic Record Reproduction?

[…] reasonableness of DVD or whatever duplication fees, mailing fees, etc. Of course, regardless of the CPRA's requirements, it's no secret that some public bodies are fond of using fees to discourage requesters. Understandably, those same agencies are very reluctant to join the 21st century and transfer electronic records electronically. And that's the context for my question.

November 27, 2018
Asked and Answered

CPRA

How Do I Determine If The Documents I Need Are Accessible By Making A CPRA Request?

[…] a written response. Written PRA requests are fairly straightforward, but typically ask for categories of records that include, but are not limited to, correspondence, emails, notes, memorandums, electronic records, etc. After the request is received, the agency will have 10 days to respond to the request, though it may claim an additional 14 days under […]

January 14, 2020
Asked and Answered

CPRA

City misses CPRA request deadlines “due to staff vacancies”?

My friend and I first requested financial records for two affordable housing projects receiving government subsidies on August 19. The City responded on August 27 informing us that due to staff vacancies they could not fulfill our request, and that they would provide a status update by October 1. On September 4, we responded to the […]

October 12, 2015