CPRA

A&A: Records request denied due to “deliberative process privilege”

Q: My city is claiming “deliberative process privilege” in redacting the planning director appointment calendar. I’m wondering if there have been any successful challenges to the deliberative process privilege since Schwartznegger’s refusal to turn over appt calendars for two aides citing this privilege? A: It has been argued, and a state appellate court has rejected, that Prop. 59 was intended to eliminate the deliberative process privilege. See Sutter’s Place Inc. v. Superior Court, 161 Cal.

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A&A: Can I access history of code violations using the CPRA?

Q: I filed a code violation complaint in 2005 because of hoarding and abandoned vehicles on a neighbor’s easement.  Many things have transpired since but I cannot get an answer to why the County did not simply warn the owner; clean up and bill him as muni. code states & as building inspector has told me is normally the case. This is a mentally ill individual who has many restraining orders against him by County

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A&A: City finds many ways to deny CPRA requests for emails

Q: My newspaper has had difficulty accessing City emails via public records requests. Our city has a written policy of only making available email from the city server (city manager, city finance director, etc.) for a 30 day time period from the date of the submission of the public record request. PRA requests are repeatedly denied for documents (specifically email) outside the 30-day window even though that email still exists on city servers and are

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A&A: Does the CPRA cover CA Energy Commission applicants?

Q: Tricky CPRA question regarding photos taken during a study undertaken by an an applicant for a California Energy Commission license. The company submitted a report, but CEC staff had many questions, and wanted photos, notes, data from the study, and to speak with the biologist who conducted it; staff requested a subpoena for the data and to have him appear at a workshop. The biologist appeared at the workshop and the applicant submitted the

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A&A: Does the CPRA allow use of iPhone to photograph public records?

Q: The County Recorders Office prohibits the use of hand scanners or digital cameras in its Public Documents room and requires researchers to purchase document copies from them. Is this restriction legal ? A: The California Public Records Act (CPRA), in pertinent part, only requires that an agency’s records be “open for inspection”, Govt. Code section 6253(a), and that “upon request for a copy of records . . . [the agency] shall make the records

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