Public Records Act

[mpallamary]

As many of my associates know, I am a fierce advocate for disclosure of public records. The California Supreme Court just issued an important decision wherein all communications, including private communications related to government business, are subject to disclosure. The case cites another case I was involved in, in National City wherein the city withheld records from me after I asked for them. I would urge everyone who seeks public records to acquaint themselves with this area of law.

I have attached the National City Case.

Remember that the records produced by government employees are owned by the public and not the individual or department.

[coast]

1. What happens when I, as a private consultant, work under contract with a public agency? Are my records then open to disclosure?

2. What happens when I, as a private consultant, work under contract with another private consultant who is under contract with a public agency? Are my records then open to disclosure?

[E_Page]

Good questions. I'm not 100% certain, but I believe that the contract itself, any correspondence between you and the agency, and any records that were provided to the agency, including preliminary or draft versions which may have been retained by the agency are subject to disclosure. That's all documentation that would be in the possession of the agency. Unless it is part of your contract to store agency records, I doubt that a PRA request regarding a project that you have completed would affect you directly.

If a PRA request is made for a project while you are performing services for the project, there is a likelihood that you would be pulled in to the request in as much as the agency staff counsel determines that you hold records pertinent to the request. Unless your contract is the subject of the PRA, those documents would most likely be limited to correspondence, research and work product (final and/or preliminary) directly related to the contract and services provided in connection with that contract.

A PRA request needs to be pretty specific as to subject matter, but within that subject matter, the types of documents that must be provided can be pretty broad. The PRA is designed for government transparency, and the responsibility to respond and provide info to the requestor is on the agency. It is not meant to be a tool to go through an agency as a back door into the records of a private company or consultant. Any of the private company's or consultant's correspondence and records that would not be provided to the agency pursuant to the contract or in the typical course of business are most likely not reachable through the PRA. But if it's mentioned in the contract, is otherwise a condition of holding a public contract (i.e. payroll records), or is something that would typically be provided even though not specifically addressed in the contract (i.e. prelim working drawings & reports), then it likely is reachable.

Unless otherwise addressed in the contract, any efforts you might need to make to assist the agency in responding to a request related to services that you are currently providing might be something you could address as an extra services item, depending upon whether the efforts are significant and/or if assembling and preparing the materials was something that would have been done at some point as part of a deliverables package.

If an agency you are or were under contract with asks you to provide records, it would be a good idea to discuss the request with your attorney before responding if you have any concerns about specific types of documents.

[mpallamary]

Once your material is submitted to a public agency - whether preliminary or not - is a public record. If you have a contract with a public agency, your contract is a public record. There are rare circumstances when it can be protected. The intent of PRA law is to make EVERYTHING available to the public.

PERIOD. STOP.

Once in possession of a public agency, it is a public record.

[mpallamary]

Here is a little more information if anyone is interested.

http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/sdu ... story.html

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oCSiVtWUUWY