A&A: Mayor up for reelection wants to stifle public comment on candidates

Q: The mayor who is running for reelection is currently advancing a policy revision to stifle the public comments during City Council meetings of anyone who is speaking to a ballot initiative or on a candidate.
Recently the mayor discussed the changes she’s proposing in an interview with a local newspaper and mentioned email communication with [...]

A&A: Have been denied access to my own “Physician’s Notice of Birth”

Q: I am requesting a certified copy of the commonly referred to “Physician’s Notice of Birth” (PNOB) issued by the attending physician of the birth. The town where I was born has my birth certificate on record, but neither the city records office nor the hospital where I was born  claim to have access to [...]

A&A: School Board Trustees meeting with union reps in violation of Brown Act

Q: It’s come to my attention that three of the five members on the School Board meet privately with representatives of the teacher’s union to discuss items on the agenda for the upcoming board meeting. There are no public notices for these meetings. My feeling is that the board members will find a way around [...]

A&A: We’ve requested items added to agenda and been denied. Can they do that?

Q: Several property owners within a Community Services District have been denied items to be placed on the agenda for consideration. Can they continue to do this ?
A: The Brown Act itself does not mandate procedures for placing items on an agenda (though it does say that “a member of a legislative body, or the [...]

A&A: Is the list of employees taking voluntary buyouts a public document?

Q: I am a reporter covering the public district hospital. I want to know if a list of 74 employees who accepted voluntary buyouts is a public document. I requested this list from the hospital’s PR person, and she said she would provide it only on condition that I promise not to publish the names. [...]

A&A: Is there a law about distributing fliers near a courthouse?

Q: Is there any caselaw or information I can refer to regarding display of a sign, placard, or passing out fliers in the parking lot of a municipal courthouse? Would I have to keep a certain distance from the courthouse doors to stay within the law?
A: As a starting point, you may want to [...]

A&A: The mayor refused to let me make a public comment without identifying myself

Q: Before filing a Brown Act violation against the mayor for denying me the opportunity to speak on an item before the city council because I refused to identify myself before making a public comment.  I would like to get an opinion from your organization on my complaint and the city’s [...]

A&A: Can a letter be subject to the CPRA before it is given to the recipient?

Q: Is an intent to sue letter drafted by a special district’s attorney subject to the CPRA prior to it being given to the recipient?
A: The kind of letter you describe might be exempt from disclosure under the PRA under a number of different exemptions.

If it were kept confidential between the attorney and district [...]

A&A: Is there a statute of limitations on CPRA cases?

Q: I have read the California Public Records Act and I have been unable to find a statute of limitations. Are you aware of any authorities that indicate how long a plaintiff has to sue under the CPRA?
A: The Public Records Act (”PRA” or the “Act”) does not provide for a statute of limitations for [...]

A&A: The same agenda items on regular and “special meeting” agendas held minutes apart

Q: We had our regular agenda posted 72 hours before our city council meeting. The Mayor then called for a special meeting and moved several of the items on the regular agenda to the special meeting agenda. One of the items was an a sales tax increase which required an unanimous vote.
I never opened the [...]

A&A: I have been denied access to all records and the staff has been told not to speak to me

Q: We have a small fire protection district, and the board of directors (all volunteers) is getting out of control. Can you please give me some general advice about the following issues?

Do I need to file a “public record request letter,” or can I just go down to the district office and request [...]

A&A: Is CPRA 10-day deadline measured in calendar days or weekdays?

Q:The PRA provides that “[e]ach agency, upon a request for a copy of records, shall, within 10 days from receipt of the request, determine whether the request, in whole or in part, seeks copies of disclosable public records…” Govt Code § 6253(c)
Is that 10 business days or 10 calendar days? How long do I have [...]

A&A: How does the CPRA deal with emails between elected officials

Q: Can email sent by a California Special District elected official to other directors or the district office concerning district business be subject to examination using the Public Records Act? Would it make a difference if he used his personal computer to send an email to another elected official?
A: Under California’s Public Records Act, “any [...]

A&A: Is a weekly Rotary Club meeting a “Social or Ceremonial” event governed by the Brown Act?

Q: Is a weekly Rotary Club meeting considered a “Social or Ceremonial” event that would be governed by the Brown Act?
A:It seems unlikely that a Rotary Club meetings would be subject to the Brown Act. If such a meeting were to be considered the type of social or ceremonial event that would implicate the [...]

A&A: The DA gives information to other media, but refuses to make it available to our newspaper

Q: I uncovered an election-time irregularity in the office of the District Attorney. This news led to his assistant’s departure. Now, the DA refuses to provide public information on court cases that we can only get (and have gotten for 35 years) over the phone. I believe there is a statute somewhere that requires government [...]

A&A: DMV denied request for records previously accessed. What should I do next?

Q: I am attempting to identify information from the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV). The specific information is an identifying number on a driver’s license print out. The identifying number corresponds with a specific court in California. If you call DMV’s toll-free number, they will tell you what court belongs to the identifying number.
My public [...]

A&A: Requesting tax information from a non-profit organization

Q: I am a reporter currently working on a series of articles on a local nonprofit. I know that as a 501(c)3 nonprofits have to file financial information with the IRS and are required to show the 990 form to anyone who asks.
As a journalist and member of the public, can I request financial information [...]

A&A: “Briefings” on controversial project really serial meetings?

Q: The planning commission was given six days to review a 117 page packet for a very controversial project for the gateway of our city, which has not been developed.
The day before the commission hearing, the city manager held a series of “briefing” meetings with groups of the 2-3 planning commissioners at a time (our [...]

A&A: Agency won’t provide records in electronic format

Q: In response to our public records request for electronic data, public agencies have refused to release data in Excel format. They have instead given us pdfs or hard copies. Their reasons are vague, ranging from concerns we will manipulate the data to saying it’s not their policy to release data in that format. [...]

Bell’s princely salaries result of fewer reporters on the beat

How did the city officials of Bell, CA, manage to convince the mostly low-income citizens of their municipality to fund such outrageously high salaries?  Writer Conor Friedersdorf at Forbes.com argues that the townspeople never agreed, they didn’t even know about the high salaries.  The reason? There was no watchdog reporter covering city hall.
Why Every City [...]

Wikileaks didn’t just happen. It exists because journalists have lost control over their information.

BY PETER SCHEER–The New York Times’ front-page stories on the war in Afghanistan–based on a massive leak of classified US military cables and other documents–are not likely to change the course of the war. But they represent a sea change in the way journalists report on national security.
The records for the [...]

Apps Unchained: Copyright ruling legalizes smartphone ‘jailbreaks’

How smart is your smartphone?  Until yesterday your phone’s IQ was decided by the manufacturer (i.e., Apple) and/or wireless service provider (i.e., AT&T).  Monday the Library of Congress, responsible for making copyright decisions under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, made it legal to break the restrictions coded into smartphones–such as which apps you’re [...]

A&A: We had to wait for records; others received info with a phone call

Q: We have been cited for a barking dog complaint of one of our dogs. The complaining parties are our neighbors, one of which we have taken to court over an easement issue and there is an arbitration agreement in place for no harassment by either party.
We claimed that they were using the dog as [...]

A&A: How are attorney’s fees calculated in CPRA cases?

Q: First off thank you so much for providing such a boon to transparency in government.
I’ve found an attorney willing to take a CA Public Records Act (”CPRA”) case where the would-be defendant won’t disclose records that clearly should be or provide an exemption or other concrete reason for not providing the requested documents.
The attorney [...]

A&A: What’s the law regarding destruction of public records?

Q: What section of California law deals with retention and destruction of public records?
A: California has several statutes addressing document destruction/retention. With respect to city governments, Government Code Section 34090 requires that the city retain any record that is less than two years old:

Unless otherwise provided by law, with the approval of the [...]

A&A: Can plantiffs in a civil suit remain anonymous?

Q: I’m covering a civil lawsuit concerning development of a retail project. The suit was filed against the city by a group called ‘Concerned Citizens’ which consist of 10 John Doe’s. Can those John Doe’s remain anonymous? Is there a point or record on which they must identify themselves?
A: Generally speaking, there are two scenarios [...]

A&A: Records request regarding government contractors was denied on privacy grounds

Q:  I manage a small organization that helps teach people to use public records for their protection. Recently we made a request to several municipalities for records of payments made to people doing business with the muni’s.
We sought to discover the names of persons or companies who were paid by the county or city in [...]

A&A: A Group of City Council Staffers Can Constitute a Serial Meeting, too

Q: Our organization arranged a private meeting of some community stakeholders on a issue that will be coming before a city council committee, and we invited members of the staff of the three councilmen who make up that committee. However, we were told that only one staff member could attend, because any more would make [...]

A&A: Voting on an agenda item that was for discussion only

Q: On a recent City Council agenda was a discussion item on which  no action was called for. The summary recommendation was “that the City Council receive and file this report.” Yet without any public notice, the City Council took action on the item. Doesn’t the  Brown Act require items on which Council acts to [...]

A&A: Getting run around trying to access police report on son’s death

Q: My son was shot to death. It was ruled as an accident and the killer received four years for involuntary manslaughter and one year for felony possession of a firearm. I want to file a lawsuit against the defendant for wrongful death. I am trying to get a copy of the police report [...]

A&A: Engaged couple running for school board a conflict of interest?

Q: I am a journalist preparing a story about two potential members of the local School Board. One is the recent city manager of the city who quit the post and the other is a current councilwoman who is not running for re-election this Nov. Both, though are running for the school board, and the [...]

A&A: How much can I spend advertising against a ballot measure?

Q: I want to spend my own funds to buy newspaper ads to oppose a local ballot measure. Am I required to register and make campaign reports ?
A: The answer to your question will depend on whether you would be considered a “committee” under applicable campaign finance laws, and therefore would be required to [...]

BP, Government Criminalize Media Efforts to Access Spill

New Coast Guard restrictions make it a felony for the public including the media to come within 65 feet of any response vessels or booms on the water or on beaches, effectively outlawing coverage of the gulf oil spill. Now the press,  ACLU are beginning to fight the blackout.
July 3, 2010

BP, Government Blocking [...]

A&A: Arrested at meeting for commenting on no-public-comment rule

Q: I was arrested recently  while attending and covering as a journalist a wildlife protection meeting. The meeting is sponsored and regulated by the California Natural Resources Agency and the Dept. of Fish and Game. The facilitators illegally tried to establish a no public comment and no recording policy at these public meetings. I was [...]

A&A: Is a Salary/Wage Review Really A “Trade Secret”?

Q: Our District Hospital contracted with a company to do a salary/wage and benefit review of hospital employees. They are meeting in closed session and discussing this report as a “trade secret.” I have requested a copy of this report under the CPRA and was refused based on the trade secret exemption. Their response was, [...]

A&A: Does city’s “fee schedule” for public records violate CPRA?

Q: A media partner of ours reported that a municipality has adopted a “schedule of charges” for public records requests. The board voted that there will be a $25 administrative fee per request. The number of pages requested will generate additional fees.
The first 10 pages of records will cost $1 per page and each additional [...]

A&A:Board Conducting Public’s Business Via Private Emails

Q: It became apparent yesterday morning that the Board of Directors of our Community Services District is conducting a significant portion of its business via email.  The emails would have originated from at least six personal private computers. Such email has not been made part of the public record. Under CPRA I have [...]

A&A: Tax Document Exemptions from Public Records Requests

Q: We requested consultant contracts from the county office of education, but the information we received was incomplete.  We’ve thought of requesting the list of consultants who received an IRS 1099 form, but we’re concerned that we would be denied the information on the grounds that it falls under the “tax” exclusion section of the [...]

A&A: Can Golf Group Nix Magazine Give Away in Parking Lot?

Q: I publish a golf lifestyle magazine. We had planned to distribute our magazine free at the parking lots during the US Open. The general parking is at Cal State Monterey Bay and is free. Can the USGA (United States Golf Association) legally prevent us from accessing the lots and passing out the magazines? [...]

A&A: Shining A Light on Secretive Golf-Course Committee

Q: In our California community a golf course authority has been set up with a board of directors that is composed of city staff members (subordinates of the city manager), the city manager, an appointee of the city manager, and an appointee of the development company that developed the area around [...]

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