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Brown Act

Does Brown Act allow City secrecy about power plant plans?

[…] disclosure, you will likely be able to recover your legal fees from the Commission. 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.

June 14, 2013
Asked and Answered

Brown Act

Are school district “fact-finding” committee meetings public?

[…] created by formal action, but falls under the ad hoc sub-quorum committee exemption, then the committee does not have to adhere to the Brown Act's meeting requirements. Government Code § 54952(b). On the other hand, if the committee is a standing committee, which has "continuing jurisdiction" over a particular subject matter (e.g., budget, finance, […]

March 8, 2016
Asked and Answered

First Amendment

1st amendment right to porn denied by senior center

[…] said, there are several conditions under which the the dissemination of non-obscene sexual materials may nevertheless be restricted. First, the First Amendment restricts only the acts of government. Thus if the senior center is a private facility, and not run by the government, the senior center would be free to adopt its own policies. […]

June 10, 2013
Asked and Answered

Court Records CPRA Police Records

Denied access to supervision records of high-risk parolee

[…] records of supervision for a high-risk parolee who is accused of murder. I sent a public records request and received a rejection letter that cites dozens of government codes in its defense. But I wonder if there's a way to fight that rejection. After all, that information has become public in several high-profile cases […]

November 30, 2011
Asked and Answered

CPRA

Agency claims my CPRA requests via email are “not public records act request”

[…] is no set form or process that must be followed to make a public records, except that a request must "reasonably describe an identifiable record or records." Government Code § 6253(b). Requests need not even be in writing, although doing so creates a record of when you made your request (in case you decide […]

March 30, 2012
Asked and Answered

CPRA

My PRA request denied, but Buzzfeed published documents on similar case

[…] of 2015, I received a letter from the CBOP citing me for a total of $5000. I was advised by my attorney that since it is a government agency, the citation cannot be fought like a criminal case or a civil case. He called it per se. So I am making payments on it. […]

September 2, 2016
Asked and Answered

First Amendment

How can I access records on decisions regarding promotions and tenure at UC?

[…] right to petition. The following general information may be useful for analyzing the question. As you seem to know, the First Amendment protects the right to petition the Government for a redress of grievances. The Supreme Court has "recognized this right to petition as one of ‘the most precious of the liberties safeguarded by the […]

July 3, 2015
Asked and Answered

CPRA

Did Prop. 42 eliminate fees for public records?

[…] Records Act, but strengthens the mandate requiring local governments to comply with the Act. 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.

October 12, 2014
Asked and Answered

CPRA

City Records–what does the CPRA say on security, period of retention, availability?

[…] they were lost. Enough records, were excluded, that there is a larger indication, that the records purposely withheld, than of being lost. As a question: What prevents a government from using the excuse of "lost," in every request for government documents, requested? Unavailable documents, are unavailable, right? For a simple request of accountability for … normal […]

July 20, 2016
Asked and Answered

CPRA

What rules apply to searching DMV database?

[…] may be room to argue about whether a particular hourly charge for copying is reasonable. There is also very little authority interpreting the "statutory fee" alternative of Government Code § 6253(b).The most relevant case would seem to be Shippen v. Department of Motor Vehicles, 161 Cal. App. 3d 1119 (1984), in which the Court […]

December 7, 2010