by Betsy Martyn on January 21, 2020
posted in Employment Law, Legislative Updates, Public Records Act, Public Utilities, Water,
Introduction The majority of the bills from 2019 addressed wildfires, affordable housing and emergency/homeless shelters. The housing bills from last year will be addressed in a separate post. A separate post on new bills affecting law enforcement will also be added. ... Continue Reading
by Steven Graham on October 25, 2018
posted in Law Enforcement, Public Records Act,
The Legislature has responded to public pressure calling for increased transparency into local policing by passing two new laws that mandate disclosure of records related to officer misconduct and use of force incidents. With Governor Brown’s signature, SB1421 and AB 748 will change how police departments respond to requests for certain personnel records and recordings of use of force incidents that were previously exempt from disclosure. ... Continue Reading
by Derek P. Cole on March 2, 2017
posted in Public Records Act, Recent Court Decisions,
The California Supreme Court has issued its long-awaited decision on whether public employee emails or text messages, sent and stored on the employees’ personal accounts, are public records. A unanimous Court held that such emails and text messages are disclosable records under the California Public Records Act. (City of San Jose v. Superior Court, decided March 2, 2017) ... Continue Reading
by Derek P. Cole on February 1, 2017
posted in Public Records Act, Recent Court Decisions,
On January 27, 2017, the Daily Journal published our article on the California Supreme Court’s recent decision regarding public agency legal bills, and whether they are privileged. The full article can be accessed at this link: Daily Journal Article January 27 ... Continue Reading
by Derek P. Cole on August 1, 2016
posted in Public Records Act,
In its July 25, 2016 edition, the Daily Journal published our article, Making Effective Public Records Requests. The article discusses city attorney Derek Cole’s perspective on how to streamline the records-request process and obtain records more quickly. A link to the article is here: Making Effective Records Requests Article ... Continue Reading