A&A: Accessing contracts to sub-consultants on public projects

Q: We are trying to obtain records from an engineering contractor on a multi-billion dollar project they have with the state. In addition, we are seeking contracts, correspondence, etc. pertaining to the project between this engineering firm and multiple sub-consultants they have hired. Will FOIA allow us to obtain contracts between prime consultants and their [...]

California appeals court rules sexual harassment complaint against teacher public record

A Santa Monica math teacher lost a lawsuit in a California appeals court to keep a sexual harassment complaint against him private. The court found substantial public interest in the release of details of the investigation into a parent’s charge that the teacher sexually harassed his thirteen-year-old daughter. The charge was not fully substantiated. -db [...]

California: Newspaper seeks information on robbery in Alameda

After tipsters told the Action Alameda News that the Alameda Police Department was trying to cover up a robbery at a restaurant in December of 2011, the newspaper made a public records request on the incident. The police denied that there was a coverup and denied access to 911 tapes saying that they were exempt [...]

A&A: Accessing a school district’s settlement agreements

Q: To what extent are school district settlement agreements public when they contain confidential student information? A:  Copies of settlement agreements that school districts enter into are subject to disclosure under the Public Records Act. Although it should generally be possible to draft a settlement agreement without including material so sensitive that it qualifies for [...]

A&A: How long does the agency have to reply to my records request?

Q: I requested documents regarding disciplinary action taken against me by my employer, a metro department of transportation. It’s  been more than a month and I’ve not received a reply.  What would be the next course of action? A: The Public Records Act gives local agencies 10 days to respond to a request for a [...]

A&A: Can I access emails sent between county “task group” and “oversight committee”?

Q: A recent CPRA to obtain correspondence from the individual elected members of the a natural resource oversight committee and the individual appointed members of the  Wastewater Task Group either among themselves or to third parties was denied by the Community Development Commission (CDC) on the basis that neither neither entity was a “public agency.” [...]

A&A: Are government contractors’ 1099′s disclosable?

Q: I am considering a request for the 1099 form issued by a local agency to their general counsel. They are the worst violators of CPRA I have ever experienced. If I do not cite very specific statute and write the request so carefully that virtually all possibilities of misconstruction are eliminated, I will get [...]

A&A: Water agency contractors’ calculations “trade secret”?

Q: A county water agency has hired a consultant for a major capital project and has released the feasibility study done by the consultant but has not responded for a request to review the consulting contract itself. This isn’t academic: the agency asserts that the consultants’ excel spread sheet originals containing the actual cell-by-cell math [...]

A&A: City avoiding disclosure of personal email

Q: A council member has claimed in public meetings and in the press to have received email regarding a particular issue. Our PRA requesting those email have been rejected by the city because they do not have email accounts for council members. However on the city website the link to contact council members is the [...]

A&A: Fees assessed for electronic data

Q: I’m trying to obtain records for the LA United School District’s spending for 2010 in digital format, but the LA USD Office of the 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 [...]

A&A: Sheriff refuses access to complaint

Q: Two years ago, I filed a citizens complaint with the Sheriff’s Department. This complaint was against the sheriff and his deputies. I have requested copies of all documents compiled in their internal investigation and they have informed me that documents concerning personnel are exempt. I just want copies of my complaint plus any correspondence [...]

California state senator introduces covey of open government bills

California Senator Leland Yee of San Francisco intends to introduce a number of bills in 2012 to give the public greater access to the workings of their government. The bills include SB 1000 keeping the California Public Utilities Commission from withholding information about their regulation of PG&E responsible for a recent catastropic fire and SB [...]

California: Anaheim looking into order to purge records

The Anaheim City Attorney is investigating an e-mail sent by a planning department official ordering employees to purge unnecessary records at the risk of disciplinary action. The order came after the Voice of OC filed a California Public Records Act request for communications to and from city council members. -db From the Voice of OC, [...]

A&A: Police deny request for 911 tape

Q: My CPRA request to review the 911 recording/transcript of a 2003 death was denied by the LAPD. While the cause of death was determined to be a knife wound the coroner declined to rule on whether the incident was a suicide or homicide. Prior to my formal request, the police refused to discuss the [...]

A&A: Denied access to file detailing code violations

Q: The city department of Code Enforcement wants to fine me $2500 per day up to $100,000 for code violations at my resident. When I made a public record request to see the evidence that the City’s has gathered on my property, it was denied stating that the case is still open and considered an [...]

A&A: Denied records of homicide investigation

Q: Two family members were involved in a murder/suicide. On the night of the incident the homicide detective told me I would be able to get copies of the investigation once done. The investigation is done, but I am being told that I have no right to files and that the homicide dept. does not [...]

A&A: Can a private company profit by selling public information

Q: Can a private company make a profit by selling public information? Or is there a law that says they cannot take public information and charge people to look at it? A: There is no restriction on a private entity that obtains public records from charging someone for copies of those records. The Public Records [...]

California: District judge orders state legislators to disclose budget records

In a case brought by the Los Angeles Times, the Pasadena Sun and the Sacramento Bee, a Sacramento Superior Court judge ordered the California Assembly to release budget records under the California Public Records Act. Lawyers for the Assembly did not participate in oral arguments before the judge last week. -db From the Los Angeles [...]

California: Citizen loses suit to gain access to domestic violence registry

A California appeals court ruled that a man who wanted to find out if he were registered in the Domestic Violence Restraining Order System could not have access under the Information Practices Act of 1977. A judge had earlier ruled that the registry was exempt under the California Public Records Act. -db From the Metropolitan [...]

Group challenges California government agencies for increasing fees for duplicating documents

A California research group says that government agencies trying to cope with budget shortfalls are resorting to increasing fees for copies of public documents in violation of the state’s Public Records Act. The act prohibits charges for retrieving public records to the costs of duplication. But Sacramento County charges $13 for page 1 and $3 [...]

A&A: Denied access to supervision records of high-risk parolee

Q: Message I’m trying to obtain 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 [...]

A&A: Reporter denied access to a court decision made against a school district

Q: I’m a reporter trying to access information regarding a lawsuit against the local school district. A decision was made but so far, no documents of that decision have reached the court records department. The only document filed is a single-page notation that the case was heard. There’s no indication the records have been sealed. [...]

A&A: Should I need authorization to access arrest records?

Q: I submitted a request arrest and incident reports from a police department for a case involving my client but I got a call from someone in the Records Department who said that I needed to submit signed authorization from my client. Is that the case in your practice? A: If a person were submitting [...]

A&A: Does a councilmember use of personal email address mean all messages are exempt?

Q: I was wondering if a city councilmember uses his personal email address as his primary source of contact, lists it on a city’s website as his email address, if any communication done on that email address is still exempt from the California Public Records Act? Is any legislation is coming down the line to [...]

A&A: Can I access emails of city employees using personal emails for city business?

Q: Our newspaper made an public records request for ”all emails to and from city employees” regarding a new parking meter system the city is using.  Our intention is to see whether employees have written emails stating that the system is not working properly. In response, the city attorney exempted an unspecified number of emails [...]

A&A: Accessing county’s payments to a doctor now under arrest for molestation

Q: I am a journalist and victims advocate. I wanted to know about whether it was possible to get records of payments made by all  County agencies–including the District Attorney’s office–to a child psychiatrist. The psychiatrist was arrested for molesting hundreds of boys and was under contract to the courts for four decades. We have [...]

A&A: Police refuse to release report on shooting

Q: The police are refusing to release a report it is doing on a shooting. Many months have passed since the incident. They give no explanation for their actions. What would be the best way to proceed to get them to release the report? A: As you may know, under California’s Public Records Act, public [...]

A&A:Trouble obtaining arrest records and mugshots

Q: We are attempting to obtain arrest logs and mugshots or the booking photos associated with each arrest from local police jurisdictions for the purpose of crime statistical data gathering. We are asking for data on a consistent basis, i.e. daily email, weekly spreadsheets etc. Some jurisdictions have supplied the arrest logs but no photos. [...]

A&A: Can public access city’s internal investigation report?

Q: Can an internal investigation conducted by a city be obtained by an individual. The essence of the investigation is the purchase of equipment from a company and paying twice the amount quoted by another company for the same exact equipment. The difference in price was $25,000. The copy of the outcome of the investigation [...]

A&A: Who is allowed to access arrest records?

Q: I submitted a request for  arrest and incident reports from a police department for a case involving my client but I got a call from someone in the Records Department who said that I needed to submit signed authorization from my client. Is that the case in your practice? A: If a person were [...]

A&A: Is it legal to charge fees for viewing a transcript?

Q: My organization is being charged a fee to view parole hearing transcripts–not copy; simply view. We are also told we will be charged to view the complete parole board’s response to a public hearing. We would like an opinion on the legality of this policy A: It sounds like you know that under the [...]

A&A: How can I get around the CPRA “catch-all” exemption?

Q: A recent CPRA request  to the  California Department of  Justice resulted in a partial denial of responsive records; they claimed the deliberative process exemption for the records not provided (citing Times Mirror). If a process is not related to something truly requiring secrecy, are there any options to pursue this information and what would [...]

A&A: When government outsources program are documents public?

Q: I have asked the city for a particular statistical report about their red light camera system. They have refused to provide the records, and have ignored my offer to pay (per GC 6253.9(b)). The requested report is one which a city can obtain by going to the website of their red light camera vendor, [...]

A&A:Request for documents on Tax Lien Sale denied. Why?

Q: How do I request in writing all records and e-mail communication on a property that was removed from a Tax Lien Sale from the time the first code enforcement violations to the present time. I have been refused an informal request without a good explanation. I would like to see the law that would [...]

A&A: Can’t access documents because the staff member in possession is on extended vacation

Q: I requested e-mail records from a  public agency months ago. I am still waiting for many of these records and have been informed that the person who has access to these records will be on vacation for at least another month. Does the government have the right to delay responding to my request for [...]

A&A: Sheriff’s office denies access to 2004 arrest documents saying too much time has elapsed

Q: I recently requested information pertaining to a 2004 arrest of a man by the Sheriff.  I was told by their Discovery Officer that my request would be denied because the records are so old and I’m no longer entitled to the information under the Public Records Act. She cited 6254 f(1) and (2) which [...]

A&A: How can I get the police dept. to release a shooting report?

Q: The local police department is refusing to release a report on a shooting. Many months have passed since the incident. They give no explanation for their actions. What would be the best way to proceed to get them to release the report? A: As you may know, under California’s Public Records Act, public records [...]

A&A:Denied access to county’s seismic studies

Q: I have been seeking access to seismic studies performed as part of the county’s subway extension process but my request has been denied. I would like to make the request under the FOIA. How should I do this? Does the County have its own FOIA? A: Since it sounds like the agency you are [...]

San Diego: Dispute over release of wrong documents in public records request

The Tri-City Healthcare District is asking a court to stop the San Diego Union-Tribune from publishing what they say are “privileged and confidential communications.” Tri-City accidentally provided the records in response to a public records request. The contents of the communications are not known, but among other things, Tri-City is upset that the Union Tribune [...]

A&A: Can I reqest public staff time cards?

Q: My community has a special water district. There is a manager and a five-person elected board. Would the manager’s time-card be public information? Also, the board has not approved the minutes for months. Is there a time limit to approve minutes from meetings? A: Under the California Public Records Act, public records, including “any [...]

Next Page »