What is the CA Public Records Act and how to use it.

The California Public Records Act (PRA) was enacted in 1968 to help facilitate more accountability within the government to the public, and to promote the disclosure of governmental operations to the public. The fundamental idea behind the PRA is that secrecy is antithetical to a democratic system of governance. The California PRA was modeled after the federal Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) that was enacted one year prior in 1967. The California PRA is codified in California Gov. Code § 6250-6277.

The PRA allows the public to request information from California government agencies, which includes state and local municipal agencies. This gives the public access to information that enables them to monitor the functioning of their government. There is no standard format for a PRA request, the requestor simply needs to state that they are making their request pursuant to the California Public Records Act and their preferred delivery method. Many government agencies accept requests via email, or through an online portal system (such as GovQA). A few agencies still accept PRA requests through the mail or over the phone or via fax.

The PRA gives the public two different rights of access. One is the right to inspect public records, and the other is the right to copies of public records. Public records are available for inspection “at all times” during the office hours of the state or local agency and every person requesting records has the right to inspect the public records. Copies of public records include electronic versions of records as well.

The public records request process is, in many ways, cost-free for the requester, the agency can only charge a fee for the direct cost of duplicating a record when the requestor is seeking a copy. The agency may often require payment before production of the requested copies. The duplication costs of electronic records are limited to the direct cost of producing the electronic copy, however requestors may be required to pay additional costs of producing an electronic record for programming, or computer service costs, or if production of the record would require further data compilation/extraction or programming. Although agencies are permitted to charge a fee for duplication, the agency can choose to reduce or waive the fee.

Certain public records are exempt from disclosures by law, but the fundamental purpose of the PRA is that governmental records should be disclosed to the pubic upon request unless if there is a legal basis not to do so. However, the right to access public records under the PRA is not unlimited and it does not extend to records that are exempt from disclosure. The PRA contains approximately 76 exemptions from disclosure. The government agency must articulate express legal authority to justify the denial of access to public records. Requestors can challenge denials to PRA requests, and if needed litigation can also be used to resolve disputed PRA requests.

Time is very important in responding to a request for copies of public records. A local agency must respond promptly, no later than 10 calendar days from receipt of the request, to notify the requester whether the records will be turned over. If the request is received after business hours or on a weekend, the next business day will be considered the date of receipt. The 10-day response period starts with the first calendar day after the date of receipt. If the tenth day falls on a weekend or holiday, the next business day is considered the deadline for responding to the request.

Once an agency conducts a reasonable search for the requested records the agency only has a limited number of responses. If there are no responsive records then the agency must inform the requestor and if there is a responsive record, they must choose whether to disclose the record or withhold the record (only if there is an appropriate legal reason for withholding) or to disclose the record in redacted form (likewise there must be adequate legal reasoning for the redaction of specific information).

When a PRA request is accepted and the requested records are located, the records should be delivered in the method that is mutually beneficial to the agency and requestor. Delivery methods may include accessing through an online portal, electronically as email attachments, or hard copies through the mail.