VERIFIED PETITION FOR DECLARATORY RELIEF AND WRIT OF MANDATE TO ENFORCE THE CALIFORNIA PUBLIC RECORDS ACT; EXHIBITS A – D [Cal. Gov’t Code § 6250 et seq.; Code Civ. Proc. § 1085 et seq.] SUPERIOR COURT OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA FOR THE COUNTY OF VENTURA FIRST AMENDMENT COALITION, a California non-profit corporation, Petitioner, vs. COUNTY OF VENTURA, AND DOES 1-10 inclusive, Respondent.

 

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1WDlYdILUoGBjFIrOQ96ix0sF5NTUoEkX/view?usp=sharing

VERIFIED PETITION FOR DECLARATORY RELIEF AND WRIT OF MANDATE TO ENFORCE THE CALIFORNIA PUBLIC RECORDS ACT; EXHIBITS A – D

[Cal. Gov’t Code § 6250 et seq.; Code Civ. Proc. § 1085 et seq.] 

SUPERIOR COURT OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA 

FOR THE COUNTY OF VENTURA 

FIRST AMENDMENT COALITION, a California non-profit corporation, Petitioner, 

vs. 

COUNTY OF VENTURA, AND DOES 1-10 inclusive, Respondent. 

PRAYER FOR RELIEF

WHEREFORE, Petitioner First Amendment Coalition respectfully prays that this Court: 

A. Issue a writ of mandate directing the County to comply fully and without further delay with the California Public Records Act to provide FAC with those public documents responsive to the January Request and the March Request that are not subject to any exemption, and to specifically identify and describe any documents allegedly exempt from disclosure; 

B. Declare that the County has violated FAC’s rights under the CPRA, Gov. Code § 6250 et seq., and the California Constitution, Art. I § 3, by failing to substantively respond to FAC’s requests; 

C. Enter an injunction directing that because the County’s failure to comply with its obligations under the CPRA was without substantial justification, the County must waive all fees associated with FAC’s requests; 

D. Award FAC reasonable attorney fees and costs as authorized by Government Code § 6259, Code of Civil Procedure § 1021.5 and any other applicable provisions of law; and 

E. Grant FAC such additional relief as the Court may deem proper and just. 

DATED: April 22, 2021

LEAGUE OF CALIFORNIA CITIES Representing Almost 500 Cities Requests Governor ‘take immediate action to pause certain statutory requirements, so that cities can devote the resources necessary to protect the health and safety of all Californians,’ including ‘Suspend the provision of Government Code 6253(c) that limits the extension to respond to 14 days for all Public Records Act requests other than those for records created during, and relating to, the State of Emergency.’

ABSTRACT: In a letter dated March 22, 2020 from Carolyn M. Coleman Executive Director, League of California Cities, to The Honorable Gavin Newsom Governor, Coleman requests that Newsom “take immediate action to pause certain statutory requirements, so that cities can devote the resources necessary to protect the health and safety of all Californians” including “Requested Relief” for Review and Approval of Development Projects, Housing Elements, California Environmental Quality Act, Transportation Funding, Public Records Act, Political Reform Act - Form 700, California Government Claims Act, Solar Permits, Wireless Telecommunication Facilities, Financial Reports and Police Department Registration. Regarding the Public Records Act, Relief Requested: State that the phrase “unusual circumstances” found in Section 6253(c) includes the State of Emergency. Suspend the provision of Government Code 6253(c) that limits the extension to respond to 14 days for all Public Records Act requests other than those for records created during, and relating to, the State of Emergency. In response, David Synder, Executive Director, First Amendment Coalition, stated “I don’t think it’s necessary for the governor to do this,” “If the governor were to do this, it would open the door to further abuses of the Public Records Act by agencies." “There could — and I think likely would — be a massive."


REFERENCES:
California Cities Want Public Records Act Suspended
donal brown April 1, 2020

California cities ask Newsom to suspend public records deadlines due to coronavirus
By Aaron Leathley
03/28/2020 03:26 PM EDT

Climate and Environment

California cities want transparency rules waived in pandemic
By Juliet Williams | AP
April 1, 2020 at 1:07 AM EDT

https://firstamendmentcoalition.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/132-Organizations-Sign-Statement-on-Government-Coronavirus-Emergency-Transparency-and-Public-Access.pdf

132 Organizations Sign Statement on Government Coronavirus Emergency Transparency and Public Access 

March 20, 2020

City Government’s Lack of a Meaningful Public Servant/Service Ethic

In a response to a public records act request, Britt Avrit, MMC, City Clerk, stated, as follows:

“Due to the Shelter in Place order, City offices are closed. Services not considered essential for the protection of public health and safety, such as responding to public records requests within the statutory time frames, are impacted. A response to your public records request will be provided as soon as possible upon the City's return to providing nonessential services. “

No better evidence exists for our City government’s lack of a meaningful public servant/service ethic.

Importantly, the First Amendment Coalition articulated in a Statement entitled “Coalition Urges Compliance With California Public Records Law Amid COVID-19 Crisis,” dated March 23, 2020, “In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, some government agencies in California have announced that they intend to stop responding to California Public Records Act requests until the crisis passes. There is no legal basis for this extraordinary step. The California Public Records Act, Gov. Code § 6250, et seq., remains the law of the land, and Article I, section 3(b)(1) of the California Constitution provides that “The people have a right of access to information concerning the conduct of the people's business, and, therefore, the meetings of public bodies and the writings of public officials and agencies shall be open to public scrutiny.”

The public’s right of access remains and is crucial in times of crisis. Just as the government’s power is at its apex during a crisis, the importance of the public’s right to know how their government is wielding that power could not be greater.

We recognize and understand the difficult choices that government agencies must make right now. Delayed responses to Public Records Act requests may be inevitable. But agencies have an obligation to take all reasonable measures to preserve and effectuate the rights of Californians to understand their government — rights which our Legislature has recognized are “fundamental” and “necessary” and our Supreme Court has held are “essential to the functioning of a democracy.” (See Gov. Code § 6250 [access to information is "a fundamental and necessary right of every person in this state"]; Int’l Fed’n of Prof’l & Tech. Eng’rs, Local 21, AFL-CIO v. Superior Court (2007) 42 Cal.4th 319, 328 [“Openness in government is essential to the functioning of a democracy.”].)

The coronavirus pandemic is not California’s first major crisis, and the Legislature has never authorized the suspension of the California Public Records Act. It enacted that law specifically “to safeguard the accountability of government to the public, for secrecy is antithetical to a democratic system of government of the people, by the people and for the people.” (See San Gabriel Tribune v. Superior Court (1983) 143 Cal.App.3d 762, 771-72.) Moreover, the Governor’s recent emergency orders do not waive any of the California Public Records Act’s requirements.

While we acknowledge the extraordinary stresses that government agencies face right now, we urge all government agencies to comply with the California Public Records Act and the California Constitution and take all reasonable measures to continue to provide information to the public and the press during these exceptionally difficult times.

In declaring an “emergency in response to the COVID-19 crisis” and determining “that responding to public records requests within the statutory time frames are not essential services,” the City has not provided legal justification. To reiterate, with this action, the City has provided no better evidence for its lack of a meaningful public servant/service ethic.


REFERENCES:
FIRST AMENDMENT COALITION
Defending Free Speech & The Public’s Right To Know

Coalition Urges Compliance With California Public Records Law Amid COVID-19 Crisis
March 23, 2020

FAC Joins Nationwide Coalition Urging Transparency And Access In Response To COVID-19
March 20, 2020