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Showing 461 - 470 of 1793 results

Asked and Answered

CPRA School Records

School personnel campaigning on public dime

[…] the public can request public records directly without any legal assistance.California's Public Records Act is designed to allow members of the public inspect documents related to the government's handling of the public business and does not require much at all in the way of formalities.There is not even a requirement that requests be made […]

October 27, 2010
Asked and Answered

Brown Act

Charter board meetings flout Brown Act rules

[…] §54957.7. You may want to review the various circumstances under which closed sessions may be held, which are contained in the sections 54956.7 - 54957.8 of the Government Code. As for reporting out, the Act embraces the idea that action taken in permissible closed sessions should, in most circumstances, be reported to the public […]

June 8, 2011
Asked and Answered

First Amendment

Can businesses ban Google Glass?

[…] prohibition by a private entity would pass muster. That is because First Amendment standards are much lower when it comes to private individuals and businesses. Thus, while the government would have to meet a very high standard to justify the prohibition of the wearing of Glass on government property, the same standard would not apply […]

August 15, 2014
Asked and Answered

Brown Act First Amendment

City Council allowing presentation not on the agenda

At our last City Council meeting our mayor personally invited a federal government agent to speak during our public comment session, although this presentation was not on the agenda. Our mayor allowed him to speak over the allowed three minute time period and allowed City Council members to ask questions of this man, but […]

August 24, 2011
Asked and Answered

Brown Act

Closed door meetings benefitted labor union at cost of public tidelands

[…] or standing committees of legislative bodies. See Gov’t Code §§ 54952(a) – (b). However, in certain situations, private bodies can also be subject to the Brown Act. Government Code § 54952 indicates that a legislative body includes a private corporation or entity that either: (1) is created by the elected legislative body to exercise […]

November 15, 2011
Asked and Answered

Brown Act CPRA

Water agency contractors’ calculations “trade secret”?

[…] file a formal Public Records Act request in order to demand a copy of the employment contract between the county water agency and the consultant. Pursuant to Government Code § 6254.8, the employment contracts of public employees are expressly a matter of public record. I can’t think of a reason of why this provision […]

January 16, 2012
Asked and Answered

CPRA

CPRA request won’t be fulfilled unless we show documents we’ve already received

[…] messages contained on personal devices such as smartphones are subject to disclosure under the Act. The issue was litigated in 2013, and in a trial court victory for government transparency, the judge ruled that the Act applies to government officials’ emails and texts about government business, even if such messages were sent or received using […]

June 16, 2016
Asked and Answered

Brown Act CPRA

Redaction of investigative report

[…] access to meetings and provides exemptions for when meetings may be held in closed session. Unfortunately there is no section of the Brown Act that requires a government body such as the city council to meet for discussion regarding a particular topic. The Public Record Act governs which government records must be disclosed and […]

August 12, 2014
Asked and Answered

Brown Act CPRA

Are a city manager’ meetings with his staff covered by the Brown Act?

[…] the Public Records Act, including a sample request letter, on the FAC’s website here. Bryan Cave LLP is general counsel for the First Amendment Coalition and responds to FAC hotline inquiries. In responding to these inquiries, we can give general information regarding open government and speech issues but cannot provide specific legal advice or representation.

January 18, 2015
Asked and Answered

Brown Act First Amendment

Public right to to speak denied at school board meetings

[…] "limited public forums," or areas that traditionally have not been made open to the public, but have become public forums for at least some purposes because the government body that regulates a particular area has made it available for use by the public. The same high standard that applies to public forums -- the […]

November 2, 2010