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Home My WebLink AboutMINUTES - 02071995 - H.6 TO: BOARD OF SUPERVISORS Contra FROM: JEFF SMITH, SUPERVISOR, DISTRICT II - " �► Costa ,< February 7 , 1995 ��,fr �� County DATE: ��i`oui+`� SUBJECT: PROPOSED "BETTER GOVERNMENT" ORDINANCE SPECIFIC REQUEST(S)OR RECOMMENDATION(S)&BACKGROUND AND JUSTIFICATION RECOMMENDATIONS: 1 . INTRODUCE the attached proposed "Better Government" Ordinance, WAIVE reading of the Ordinance, and FIX Tuesday, February 14, 1995 for adoption of the Ordinance. 2 . DIRECT the County Administrator to contact those organizations which are to nominate representatives to the Better Government Task Force and request their nominations . 3 . DIRECT the County Administrator to advertise for applicantsfor the other seats on the Better Government Task Force. 4 . DIRECT the County Administrator to return all nominations to the Board of Supervisors for further consideration and appointment to the Task Force. 5 . DIRECT the Better Government Task Force and the County Administrator to report to the Board of Supervisors on any implementation or operational problems and fiscal impacts which occur .with the Ordinance no later than three months after the effective date of the Ordinance and every three months thereafter until the Board decides whether further fiscal issues must be addressed. It is the Board' s intent to develop a system to recoup any staff costs involved in conducting extensive research for a requestor from the requestor. 6 . INVITE the District Attorney and Sheriff-Coroner to report to the Board of Supervisors on a three-month basis on any problems or conflicts regarding law enforcement issues in the Ordinance which come to their attention. CONTINUED ON ATTACHMENT: YES SIGNATURE: RECOMMENDATION OF COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR RECOMMENDATION OF BOARD COMMI E APPROVE OTHER SIGNATURE(S): ACTION OF BOARD ON APPROVED AS RECOMMENDED OTHER The Board held a hearing to discuss the draft ordinance. The following persons appeared to speak: Gary Yancy, District Attorney; Joseph V.A. Partansky, 1406 Barbis Way, Concord; Sharon Burke, 11 Kirk Court, Alamo, for the League of Women Voters; Jim Brelsford, 333 Market Street, Suite 3200, San Francisco, attorney for Lesher Communications; Terry Francke, 926 J Street, Suite 1406, Sacramento for California First Amendment Coalition; Clay Haswell, P. O. Box 5088, Walnut Creek, for Lesher Communications; and George Riggs, 2640 Shadelands Drive, Walnut Creek, for Lesher Communications, Inc. The Board closed the hearing and approved Recommendation No. 1 with modification as expressed in the attached proposed ordinance, and approved Recommendations No. 2, 3, 4. 5. and 6. VOTE OF SUPERVISORS I HEREBY CERTIFY THAT THIS IS A TRUE UNANIMOUS(ABSENT ) AND CORRECT COPY OF AN ACTION TAKEN AYES: NOES: AND ENTERED ON THE MINUTES OF THE BOARD ABSENT: ABSTAIN: OF SUPERVISORS ON THE DA SHOWN. cy ATTESTED U Contact: PHIL BATCHELOR.CLERK OF T BOARD OF cc: County Administrator SUPERVISORS AND COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR County Counsel All County Department Heads (Via CAO) Media (Via CAO) BY DEPUTY -2- BACKGROUND: On June 14, 1994, I presented to the Board a proposed "Better Government" Ordinance designed to improve the availability of documents and information to the general public as well as the media, make local government more open and responsive to the public and the media. The proposed Ordinance was referred to the County Administrator and County Counsel for their review and report back to the Board of Supervisors . On June 28, 1994, the Board of Supervisors further asked that we circulate the proposed Ordinance to all County Department Heads for their comments . I attended a meeting on July 14, 1994, to which all County Department Heads were, invited, to review the provisions of the Ordinance, raise questions and concerns and clarify the intent and application of the Ordinance. A series of subsequent meetings have been held with representatives of the media and County staff to work through each section of the Ordinance, identify areas where there were differences of opinion and then work through each of those differences in an effort to reach agreement or at least an acceptable compromise on each of the areas where there are differences . What has emerged is clearly a compromise among various interests, including the need of independently elected department heads to preserve their independence and their need to comply with State law. I have included some late comments which were received from the Sheriff ' s Department. These comments were received too late to be carefully considered and included in the attached draft of the Ordinance, although I have reviewed all of these comments . The Board of Supervisors may wish to consider whether additional changes to this draft of the Ordinance are appropriate in response to the comments from the Sheriff ' s staff . There are undoubtedly still some differences of opinion regarding even this draft of the Ordinance. However, rather than delay forwarding the Ordinance to the Board of Supervisors even longer, I have recommended that we try out the Ordinance for a period of three months and then ask the County Administrator and the Better Government Task Force which is created in the Ordinance to report back to the Board of Supervisors on any operational problems which have surfaced and to recommend any further changes to the Ordinance which are needed to overcome any problems which may be identified at that time. r DRAFT ORDINANCE 1 DIVISION 25 2 BETTER GOVERNMENT ORDINANCE 3 Chapter 25-2 4 MEETINGS 5 Article 25-2.2 General 6 7 25-2.202 Application to policy bodies; definitions 8 (a) For the purposes of this ordinance a "policy body" means: 9 the Board of Supervisors, or any permanent or temporary board, committee 10 or commission under the authority of the Board of Supervisors. Policy bodies do not 11 include committees entirely made up of County staff. 12 (b) A"delegated body" is any private'entity which receives a grant of governmental 13 authority, financial support, or property, pursuant to action by the Board of Supervisors; 14 and is governed by a multi-member body, which includes one or more members of=a 15 policy body. 16 (c) "County" includes the County of Contra Costa and all special districts, agencies 17 and authorities of which the Board of Supervisors is the governing body. 18 (d) "Permanent advisory committee" means a permanent committee created by 19 the County Administrator, or a department head to advise the County Administrator or a 20 department head. 21 1 2 25-2.204 Meetings to be open and public; 3 (a) All meetings of any policy body which is not currently governed by the 4 provisions of the Ralph M. Brown Act (Government Code section 54950 et. seq.) shall be 5 held in accordance with Section 25-2.205 of this ordinance. 6 (b) The governing body of a "delegated body" shall conduct its meetings pursuant 7 to Section 25-2.205 of this ordinance when it deliberates either the expenditure of funds 8 received from the County or any use of governmental authority delegated by the County. 9 (c) To the extent not inconsistent with state or federal law, any contract between 10 the County and a private entity that owns, operates or manages any real property in 11 which the County has a legal interest, including a mortgage, and on which the entity 12 performs a government function related to the furtherance of health, safety or welfare, 13 shall include a requirement that any meeting of the governing board of the entity to 14 address any matter relating to the property, or its government related activities on the 15 property, be conducted as provided by Section 25-2.205, except that closed sessions may 16 be conducted as provided for by Article 25-2.4. 17 (d) The following are considered to be passive access gatherings which the public 18 shall be permitted to attend: 19 (1) meetings of permanent advisory committees. 20 (2) social, recreational, or ceremonial occasions sponsored by or for the 21 policy body, to which a majority of the body has been invited. -2- 1 2 (e) Such "passive access" gatherings shall be accessible upon inquiry or request 3 to the extent possible consistent with the facilities and the purpose of the gathering. Such 4 gatherings need not be noticed formally, conducted in any particular space open to 5 spectators or provide for comment by spectators. 6 (f) Such passive access gatherings may exclude the public if their purpose is to 7 discuss information which is privileged by a specific State or Federal statute. 8 9 25-2.205 Expansion of Open Meeting requirements 10 (a) Policy bodies of the County which would not otherwise be subject to the Ralph 11 M. Brown Act (Government Code Section 54950 et seq.) shall hold all meetings in open 12 session. No closed sessions shall be allowed. 13 (b) No issues which are not included in the agenda may be acted upon or 14 deliberated by the policy body. No urgency items may be added to the agenda. 15 (c) Public comment must be allowed on each agenda item and during a general 16 comment period. 17 (d) Records or recordings of the meetings must be kept in a manner which 18 accurately reflects the agenda and decisions made at the meeting. These records do not 19 necessarily need to be verbatim records. 20 21 - 3- 1 2 25-2.206 Agendas and related materials; public records 3 (a) Staff material, consisting of agendas of policy body meetings, staff reports and 4 other material prepared or forwarded by staff which provide background information and 5 recommendations regarding agenda items, when distributed to all or to a majority of the 6 members of a policy body in connection with a matter subject to discussion or 7 consideration at a public meeting shall be made available to the public. All such staff 8 material must be distributed to the policy body and be made available to the public 96 9 hours before a scheduled meeting or 24 hours prior to a meeting when the agenda item 10 has been added to the agenda at a previous meeting of the policy body not more than 11 seven days prior to the scheduled meeting. However, the policy body may, by a 3/4 vote, 12 waive these time limits when, in its judgment, it is essential to do so, providing that the 13 County Administrator, appropriate Department Head or staff member furnishes to the 14 Board of Supervisors or other policy body a written explanation as to why the material 15 could not be provided to the Board or other policy body and the general public within the 16 above time limits. 17 (b) Records which are not exempt from disclosure and intended for distribution to 18 the policy body shall be made available for public inspection and copying upon request 19 whether or not actually distributed to or received by the body at the time of the request. 20 (c) Records which are releasable and which are distributed during a public meeting 21 but prior to commencement of their discussion shall be made available for public 22 inspection prior to and during, their discussion. -4- 1 (d) A policy body of the county may charge a duplication fee in accordance with 2 Section 25-4.610, for a copy of a public record prepared for consideration at a public 3 meeting. Neither this section nor the California Public Records Act (Government Code 4 section 6250 et seq.) shall be construed to limit or delay the public's right to inspect any 5 record required to be disclosed by this section, whether or not distributed to a policy body. 6 7 Article 25-2.4 Closed Sessions 8 9 25-2.402 Closed sessions: pending litigation 10 (a) A policy body covered by the Ralph M. Brown Act, based on advice of its legal 11 counsel, may hold a closed session to confer with, or receive advice from, its legal 12 counsel regarding pending litigation when discussion in open session concerning those 13 matters would prejudice.the position of the county in that litigation. 14 (b) Litigation shall be considered pending when any of the following circumstances 15 exist: 16 (1)An adjudicatory proceeding before acourt, administrative body exercising 17 its adjudicatory authority, hearing officer, or arbitrator, to which the county, an officer or 18 employee of the county, or an agency of the county is a party, has been initiated formally. 19 (2) A point has been reached where, in the opinion of the policy body on the 20 advice of its legal counsel, based on existing facts and circumstances, there is a 21 significant exposure to litigation against the county, or the policy body is meeting only to 22 decide whether a closed session is authorized pursuant to that advice. -5- 1 (3) Based on existing facts and circumstances, the policy body has decided 2 to initiate or is deciding whether to initiate litigation. 3 (c) Legal advice as to the potential risk of litigation of actions not yet taken, if 4 provided by counsel at a meeting of a policy body, is to be conveyed openly as a matter 5 of public record. 6 (d) A closed session may not be held under this section to consider the 7 qualifications or engagement of an independent contract attorney or law firm, for litigation 8 services or otherwise. 9 (e) Prior to holding a closed session pursuant to this section, the policy body shall 10 disclose the justification for its closure either by entries in the appropriate categories on 11 the agenda or, in the case of an item added to the agenda based on a finding of 12 necessity and urgency, by an oral announcement specifying the same information. 13 14 25-2.404 Closed sessions: employee salaries and benefits 15 (a) A policy body with authority concerning employee compensation and benefits 16 may hold closed sessions with the county's designated representatives regarding the 17 salaries, salary schedules, or compensation paid in the form of fringe benefits eft. its 18 represented and unrepresented employees. A policy body shall not discuss or negotiate 19 compensation or other contractual matters in closed session with one or more employees 20 directly interested in the outcome of the negotiations except as follows. The Board of 21 Supervisors may, in closed session, discuss and provide direction to the County 22 Administrator or other negotiators representing the County regarding the salary and -6 - 1 benefits of unrepresented management employees. The salary and benefits of members 2 of the Board of Supervisors, the County Administrator and department heads will be 3 discussed and acted on separately by the Board of Supervisors in open session. 4 (b) In addition to the closed sessions authorized by subdivision (a), a policy body 5 subject to Government Code section 3501 may hold closed sessions with its designated 6 representatives on mandatory subjects within the scope of representation of its 7 represented employees, as determined pursuant to section 3504. 8 (c) Closed sessions shall be for the purpose of reviewing the county's position and 9 instructing its designated representatives and may take place only prior to and during 10 consultations and discussions between the county's designated representatives and the 11 representatives of employee organizations or the unrepresented employees. 12 13 25-2.406 Report of closed session actions 14 (a) After every closed session, a policy body may in its discretion and in the public 15 interest, disclose to the public any portion of its discussion the disclosure of which is not 16 prohibited by federal or state law. The body shall, by motion and vote in open session, 17 elect either to disclose no information or to disclose the information which a majority 18 deems to be in the public interest. The disclosure shall be made through the presiding 19 officer of the body or such other person, present in the closed session, whom he or she 20 -designates to convey the information. 21 (b) A policy body shall publicly report any final action taken in closed session and 22 the vote or abstention of every member present thereon, as follows: -7- 1 (1) Real Property Negotiations: Direction or approval given to the policy 2 body's negotiator concerning real estate negotiations pursuant to Government Code 3 section 54956.8 shall be reported as soon as the agreement is final. If its own approval 4 renders the agreement final, the policy body shall report that approval, the substance of 5 the agreement and the vote thereon in open session immediately. If final approval rests 6 with the other parry to the negotiations, the county shall disclose the fact of that approval, 7 the substance of the agreement and the policy body's vote or votes thereon upon inquiry 8 by any person, as soon as the other party or its agent has informed the county of its 9 approval. 10 (2) Litigation: Direction or approval given to the policy body's legal counsel 11 to prosecute, defend or seek or refrain from seeking appellate review or relief, or to 12 otherwise enter as a party, intervenor or amicus curiae in any form of litigation as the 13 result of a consultation under Government Code section 54956.9 shall be, reported in 14 open session as soon as given, or at the first meeting after the adverse parties have 15 been served if, in the opinion of legal counsel, earlier disclosure would jeopardize the 16 county's ability to effectuate service of process or to conclude existing settlement 17 negotiations to its advantage, in a manner that identifies the adverse party or parties, any 18 co-parties with the county, and the substance of the litigation, including the circumstances 19 leading to the dispute. -8- 1 2 (3) Settlement: , Approval given to the policy body's legal counsel of a 3 settlement of pending litigation as defined in Government Code section 54956.9, at any 4 stage prior to or during a judicial or quasi-judicial proceeding, shall be reported as soon 5 as the settlement is final. If its own approval renders the settlement final, the policy body 6 shall report that approval, the substance of the agreement and the vote thereon in open 7 session immediately. If final approval rests with some other parry to the litigation, the 8 county shall disclose the fact of that approval, the substance of the agreement and the 9 policy body's vote or votes thereon upon inquiry by any person, as . soon as the 10 settlement is final. The county shall neither solicit nor agree to any term in a final 11 settlement which would preclude the release of the text and terms of the settlement itself 12 and any related documentation communicated to or received from the adverse party or 13 parties, or any other materials not originally constituting a confidential communication 14 between the county and its counsel. The county shall oppose any request for 15 confidentiality to which it is proposed the County would be a parry. 16 (4) Claim Payments: Disposition reached as to claims discussed in closed 17 session pursuant to Government Code section 54956.95 shall be reported as soon as 18 agreed upon by the claimant, in a manner that discloses the name of the claimant, the 19 substance of the claim, and any monetary amount approved for payment. 20 (5) Employee Actions: Action taken by a policy body to appoint, employ, 21 dismiss, transfer, accept the resignation of or otherwise modify the terms or duration of 22 the employment contract of a public employee in closed session pursuant to Government -9 - 1 Code section 54957 shall be reported immediately in a manner that names the employee 2 and position affected and specifies any change in compensation, job description, 3 assignment or other contract particulars and, in the case of dismissal for a violation of law 4 or of the policy of the county, the reason for dismissal. "Dismissal" within the meaning 5 of this ordinance includes any termination of employment at the will of the employer rather 6 than of the employee, however characterized, including a resignation tendered as an 7 alternative to involuntary termination. The proposed terms of any separation agreement 8 shall be disclosed, along with its final terms, immediately upon final approval by the policy 9 body. 10 (6) Collective Bargaining: Approval of a final agreement concluding labor 11 negotiations pursuant to Government Code section 54957.6 shall be reported as soon as 12 it has been approved and ratified by all parties in a manner that describes the item 13 approved, and identifies the other party or parties to negotiation. Such disclosure shall 14 include all formal offers and counter-offers made over the term of the negotiations. 15 (c) Reports required to be made immediately may be made orally or in writing, but 16 shall be supported by copies of any contracts, settlement agreements, or other affected 17 documents that were finally approved or adopted by both sides after action in the closed 18 session. These documents shall be provided to any person who requested such copies 19 in a written request submitted within 24 hours of the posting of the agenda, or who has 20 made a standing request for all such documentation as part of a request for notice of 21 meetings pursuant to Government Code sections 54944.1 or 54946. 22 - 10- 1 Article 25-2.6 Public Participation 2 3 25-2.602 Barriers to attendance prohibited 4 No policy body shall conduct any meeting, conference or other function in any facility that 5 excludes persons on the basis of actual or presumed class identity or characteristics, or 6 which is inaccessible to persons with physical disabilities, or where members of the public 7 may not be present without making a payment or purchase. Whenever the number of 8 spectators at a meeting of the Board of Supervisors, or a permanent board or 9 commission, or a permanent sub-quorum committee of the Board of Supervisors, exceeds 10 the legal capacity of the meeting room, any public address system used to amplify sound 11 in the meeting room shall be extended by supplementary speakers to permit the overflow 12 audience to listen to the proceedings in an adjacent room or passageway. If there be no 13 public address system, or if supplementary speakers are not available at the time, the 14 meeting shall be adjourned to a facility with capacity to accommodate all citizens present 15 and wishing to attend. 16 17 25-2.604 Public testimony at regular and certain special meetings 18 A policy body shall not abridge or prohibit public criticism of the policies, procedures, 19 programs or services of the county, or of any other aspect of its proposals or activities, 20 or of the acts or omissions of the policy body, on any basis other than reasonable and 21 uniformly applied time constraints provided in previously adopted rules. 22 - 11- 1 25-2.606 Public comment by members of policy bodies 2 Every member of a policy body retains the full constitutional rights of a citizen to comment 3 publicly on the wisdom or propriety of government actions, including those of the policy 4 body of which he or she is a member. This county shall not sanction, reprove or deprive 5 members of their rights as elected or appointed officials for expressing their judgments 6 or opinions, including those which deal with the perceived inconsistency of non-public 7 discussions, communications or actions with the requirements of state or federal law or 8 of this ordinance. The release of factual information made confidential by state or federal 9 law including, but not limited to, the privilege for confidential attorney-client 10 communications, may be the basis for a request for injunctive relief, a complaint to the 11 grand jury seeking an accusation of misconduct, or both. 12 13 Chapter 25-4 14 PUBLIC INFORMATION 15 Article 25-4.2 General 16 17 25-4.202 Definition of public information 18 As used in this ordinance, "public information" includes the content of "public records" as 19 defined in the California Public Records Act (Government Code section 6252), whether 20 provided in documentary form or in an oral communication. 21 - 12- 2 25-4.204 Release of documentary public information 3 (a) Release of documentary public information, whether for inspection of the 4 original or by providing a copy, shall be governed by the California Public Records Act 5 (Government Code section 6250 et seq.) in any particulars not addressed by this 6 ordinance. 7 (b) Inspection and copying of documentary public information stored in electronic 8 form shall be made to the person requesting the information in any form requested which 9 is reasonably available to the county, its officers or employees, including disk, tape, 10 printout, monitor or modem, at a charge no greater than the cost of the media on which 11 it is duplicated, plus the direct costs of equipment, supplies and labor costs associated 12 with duplicating the electronic file which is requested. 13 (c) To the extent permitted by law, nothing in this subdivision precludes a charge 14 to recover development and maintenance costs for providing a higher level of service in 15 providing access to computerized records when the cost has been approved by the Board 16 of Supervisors. In establishing this charge, the Board of Supervisors shall take into 17 account any savings to the County from the computerization of the service. In addition, 18 such a charge may be levied only when the original method of providing the service is 19 maintained and available to the public without the increased charge. 20 1 2 25-4.206 Release of oral public information 3 Release of oral public information shall be accomplished as follows: 4 (a) Factual information about the county, unless exempt from disclosure under 5 state or federal law or not disclosable under this ordinance, may be released to a 6 telephone caller or an office visitor by responsible employees conversant with the factual 7 information. One or more brief factual questions may be answered as soon as the 8 employee has obtained the information. More extensive information may be confined to 9 an interview by appointment or by reference to information in documentary form. 10 (b) Information concerning the county's policies, positions on public issues, plans 11 or intentions, or reactions to events may be released to a telephone caller or office visitor 12 by the person with primary policy responsibility for the subject matter or by his or her 13 designated spokesperson. Each Department Head shall, to the extent practicable, 14 designate one or more spokespersons to be available for this purpose during normal 15 business hours. Employees not authorized to provide such information may be prevented 16 from doing so. 17 (c) Public employees shall not be prohibited from or disciplined for the expression 18 of their legally protected personal opinions on any matter. Opinions should not be 19 represented as those of the County, misrepresent the County's opinion, or interfere 20 extraordinarily with the course of business of County departments. 21 - 14- 1 2 (d) Department Heads, with the advice and consultation of the County Counsel, 3 shall be encouraged to establish specific policies outlining legally protected opinions. 4 5 Article 25-4.4 Public Records 6 7 25-4.402 Public review file - policy body communications 8 (a) Every policy body supported by County staff shall maintain a file, accessible 9 to any member of the public during office hours, containing a copy of any letter, 10 memorandum or other communication sent to or received from a quorum of a policy body 11 irrespective of subject matter, origin or recipient, within the last 30 days except 12 commercial solicitations, periodical publications or communications exempt from 13 disclosure under state or federal law. 14 (b) The Clerk of the Board of Supervisors shall maintain a listing of the name, 15 address and telephone number of the custodian of all communications sent to or received 16 by each policy body under the jurisdiction of the Board of Supervisors. This list shall be 17 available to any individual upon request. 18 (c) Multiple-page reports, studies or analyses which are accompanied by a letter 19 or memorandum of transmittal need not be included in the file so long as a copy of the 20 letter or memorandum of transmittal is included. 21 - 15- 1 2 25-4.404 Non-exempt public records 3 The following policies shall govern specific types of documents and information: 4 (a) Drafts and Memos. 5 No preliminary draft or county memorandum shall be exempt from disclosure under 6 Government Code section 6254, subdivision (a) if it is normally kept on file. Preliminary 7 drafts and memoranda concerning contracts, memoranda of understanding, or other 8 matters subject to negotiation or pending Board of Supervisors' approval shall not be 9 subject to disclosure pursuant to this provision until final action has been taken. 10 (b) Litigation Material. 11 (1) No pre-litigation claim against the county shall be exempt from disclosure 12 under Government Code section 6254, subdivision (b). 13 (2) When litigation is finally adjudicated or otherwise settled, records of all 14 communications between the county and the adverse party shall be subject to disclosure, 15 including the text and terms of any settlement. Counsel for the county shall not solicit or 16 agree to any settlement term which would restrict public disclosure after settlement of all 17 terms and communication records between the parties, and any such term shall be void 18 and unenforceable. All such records shall be released as soon as reasonably possible. 19 - 16 - 1 2 (c) Personnel Information. 3 None of the following shall be exempt from disclosure: 4 (1) To the extent that such information is provided to the County and is 5 summarized by the County for its reporting purposes, job pool characteristics and 6 employment and education histories of the collective applicants, including the following 7 information: 8 i. sex, age and ethnic group; 9 ii. years of graduate and undergraduate study, degree(s) and major 10 or discipline; 11 iii. Years of employment in the private and/or public sector; 12 iv.whether currently employed in the same position for another public 13 agency; and 14 v. other non-identifying particulars as to experience, credentials, 15 aptitudes, training or education entered in or attached to a standard employment 16 application form used for the position in question. 17 (2) The professional biography or curriculum vitae of every employee who 18 has provided such information to the county, excluding home address, telephone number, 19 and social security number. 20 (3) The job description of every employee of the county. 21 (4) The exact amount of salary and county paid benefits of every employee 22 of the county. - 17- 1 (5) Any memorandum of understanding between the county and one or 2 more employees. 3 (6) In the case of non Merit System employees, the record of any confirmed 4 misconduct of a public employee involving personal dishonesty, misappropriation of public 5 funds, resources or benefits, unlawful discrimination against another on the basis of 6 status, abuse of authority, or violence, and of any discipline imposed for such misconduct. 7 (7) In the case of Merit System employees, the record of any arbitration or 8 Merit Board proceeding in which a county employee has been found to have committed 9 acts of dishonesty, misappropriation of public funds or property, unlawful discrimination, 10 unlawful abuse of authority or violence against another person, including the discipline 11 imposed. 12 (d) Law Enforcement Information. 13 (1) The District Attorney and Sheriff are encouraged to cooperate with 14 the press and other members of the public in allowing access to local records pertaining 15 to investigations, arrests, and other law enforcement activity. However, no provision of 16 this ordinance is intended to abrogate or interfere with the constitutional and statutory 17 power and duties of the District Attorney and Sheriff as interpreted under Government 18 Code Section 25303, or other applicable state law or judicial decisions. 19 _18_ 1 (2) Local records pertaining to any investigation, arrest or other law 2 enforcement activity shall be disclosed to the public after the District Attorney or court 3 determines that a prosecution will not be sought against the subject involved or the 4 statute of limitations for filing charges has expired, whichever occurs first. 5 Notwithstanding the occurrence of any such event, individual items of information in the 6 following categories may be segregated and withheld if, on the particular facts, the public 7 interest in non-disclosure clearly outweighs the public interest in disclosure: 8 (i) the names of juvenile witnesses (whose identities should 9 nevertheless be indicated by substituting a number or alphabetic letter for each individual 10 interviewed); 1, 11 (ii) personal or otherwise private information unrelated to the 12 reasons for which the law enforcement action was commenced or terminated if disclosure 13 would constitute an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy; 14 (iii) the identity of a confidential source; 15 (iv) secret investigative techniques or procedures; 16 (v) information whose disclosure would endanger law enforcement 17 personnel; or 18 (vi) information whose disclosure would-endanger the successful 19 completion of an investigation where the prospect of enforcement proceedings is concrete 20 and definite. -19- 1 2 (e) Attorney-Client Communications. 3 After the effective date of this ordinance, no record of a communication between 4 an officer, department or policy body of the county and a legal advisor to the county shall 5 be exempt from disclosure under Government Code section 6254, subdivision (k) as a 6 confidential attorney-client communication to the extent that it: 7 (1) Concerns an actual or potential conflict of interest, or 8 (2) Analyzes a proposed legislative action or position of the county; 9 (3) Analyzes or interprets the Ralph M. Brown Act (Government Code 10 section 54950 et seq.), the California Public Records Act(Government Code section 6250 11 et seq.), any other law supporting or abridging the public's right of access to information, 12 or any provision of this ordinance; or 13 (4) Reports to the Board of Supervisors on the progress of negotiation of 14 any matter, including a factual review of the positions taken to date by representatives 15 of the county and of the other party or parties to the negotiation, after the negotiation has 16 been completed. Legal advisors shall be instructed to prepare any such report in a 17 manner that separates factual information of this type, known to both parties, from 18 evaluative comments and recommendations, which may be withheld from disclosure as 19 a confidential communication. -20- 1 2 (f) Contract, Bids and Proposals. 3 Contracts, contractors' bids, responses to requests for proposals and all other 4 records of communications between the county and persons or firms seeking contracts 5 shall be open to inspection immediately after a contract has been awarded. 6 (g) Budgets and Other Financial Information. 7 Budgets, whether proposed or adopted, for the county or any of its departments, 8 programs, projects or other categories, and all bills, claims, invoices, vouchers or other 9 records of payment obligations as well as records of actual disbursements showing the 10 amount paid, the payee and the purpose for which payment is made, other than 11 payments for social, forensic or other services whose records are confidential by law, 12 shall not be considered exempt from disclosure under any circumstances. 13 14 Article 25-4.6 Public Records Access 15 16 25-4.602 Confidentiality waiver request 17 Whenever a county officer asserts, as a justification for nondisclosure of a public record, 18 the exemption protecting personal privacy in Government Code section 6254(c), the 19 exemption for names and addresses of crime victims in Government Code section 20 6254(f)(2), the exemption for taxpayer information in Government Code section 6254(i), 21 any confidentiality or privilege statute referenced under Government Code section 6254(k) 22 the exemption for personal financial data in Government Code section 6254(n), and any -21- I other claimed exemption based upon the personal or proprietary interests of a private 2 natural or corporate person, the officer shall cooperate with the requester's efforts to 3 communicate with the subject of the record as follows, upon request, if the requester 4 fulfills the related terms and conditions. 5 (a) If the requester is seeking information concerning an unknown number of 6 persons, the officer or designee shall inform the requester of the number or approximate 7 number of persons to whom the public record request pertains. If ascertaining that 8 number involves itemized labor or other costs reflecting more than ten minutes of staff 9 time in research, the requester may be required to pay those itemized costs. 10 (b) The requester shall prepare one stamped envelope for each of the persons 11 sought to be contacted, with the requester's return address on the envelope. Within the 12 envelope the requester shall place a letter explaining why the information is being sought 13 and asking the person to contact the requester. The requester may also include a self- 14 addressed, stamped envelope for that purpose. The envelope shall be presented to the 15 officer for mailing. 16 (c) The officer or designee shall affix to each envelope so received the mailing 17 address of the person who is the subject of the information request and shall mail it, 18 provided that a mailing address is included in the officer's records. Any staff time 19 required to do so shall be required to be paid by the requester, at the pro rata hourly rate 20 of the employee addressing the envelopes. 21 (d) If the subject of the record signs a privacy waiver, the record shall be released 22 to the requester if it could lawfully be released to the person authorizing release. -22- I (e) If the subject of the record is legally incompetent to waive privacy interests, the 2 officer shall address the requester's envelope to the parent, guardian, conservator or 3 judicial officer, as the case may be, if known, with the duty and authority to make such 4 decisions for the incompetent person. 5 (f) If, in the judgment of the department head, the requestor is someone who may 6 misuse the information, or if the records or the subjects of the records are of a sensitive 7 nature, the department head may include in the mailing a caution that the individual need 8 not waive his or her privacy interests. The requester shall be provided a copy of the 9 caution and an opportunity to include a response in the mailing. 10 11 25-4.604 Immediacy of response 12 Notwithstanding the 10-day period for response to a request permitted in Government 13 Code section 6256, a request for a public record described in any nonexempt category 14 under Section 25-4.204 which is received by a department head shall be satisfied no later 15 than the close of business on the day following the request unless the department head 16 advises the requester in writing that the request will be answered by a specific future 17 date. The statutory deadlines are appropriate for more extensive or demanding requests, 18 but shall not be used to delay fulfilling a simple, routine or otherwise readily answerable 19 request. If the voluminous nature of the information requested, its location in a remote 20 storage facility or the need to consult with legal counsel warrants an extension of 10 days 21 as provided in Government Code section 6456.1, the requester shall be noticed as 22 required within three business days of the request. -23- 1 254606 Minimum withholding 2 Information that is exempt from disclosure shall be masked, deleted or otherwise 3 segregated in order that the nonexempt portion of a requested record may be released 4 and keyed by footnote or other clear reference to the appropriate justification for 5 withholding required by Section 25-4.608 of this ordinance. 6 7 25-4.608 Justification of withholding 8 Any refusal to disclose a public record shall be justified, in writing, as follows: 9 (a) A withholding under a permissive exemption in the California Public Records 10 Act, this ordinance or other law shall cite that authority and explain in practical terms, 11 citing one or more examples, as to how the public interest would be harmed by 12 disclosure. 13 (b) No records or information shall be withheld on the basis of the public interest 14 balancing test in Government Code Section 6255, or by citing any case law application 15 of that statute. 16 (c) A withholding on the basis that disclosure is prohibited by law shall cite the 17 statutory authority in the Public Records Act or elsewhere. 18 (d) A withholding on the basis that disclosure would incur civil or criminal liability 19 shall cite any statutory or case law, supporting that position. 20 -24- 1 2 25-4.610 Fees for duplication 3 (a) No fee shall be charged for making public records available for review. 4 (b) No fee shall be charged for a copy of documents routinely produced in multiple 5 copies for distribution, e.g. meeting agendas and related materials which are twenty or 6 fewer pages in length per document. 7 (c) A fee of one cent per page may be charged for a copy of documents routinely s produced in multiple copies for distribution, e.g. meeting agendas and related materials 9 which contain more than twenty pages per document. 10 (d) For documents assembled and copied to the order of the requester, a fee not 11 to exceed 10 cents per page may be charged, plus any postage costs. 12 (e) The department or the County may, rather than making the copies itself, 13 contract at market rate to have a commercial copier produce the duplicates and send the 14 charges directly to the requester. 15 (f) Nothing in this section shall be interpreted as intending to preempt any fee set 16 by or in compliance with State law. 17 -25- 1 CHAPTER 25-6 2 ONGOING IMPROVED COMMUNICATION 3 Article 25-6.2 General 4 25-6.202 Records Database 5 The county shall cooperate with any voluntary effort by an .interested and competent 6 individual or organization to compile either a full text or partial database to the non- 7 confidential records it maintains, including those it creates and those it receives in the 8 ordinary course of business. This shall include, to the extent permitted by law, providing 9 the organization with any listing of the contents or titles of files which can be released 10 without compromising the confidentiality of the contents of the files. The database shall 11 be for the use of county officials, staff and the general public, and shall be organized to 12 permit a general understanding of the types of public information maintained, by which 13 officials and departments, for which purposes and for what periods of retention, and under 14 what manner of organization for accessing, e.g. by reference to a name, a date, a 15 proceeding or project, or some other referencing system. The database need not be in 16 such detail as to identify files or records concerning a specific person, transaction or other 17 event, but shall clearly indicate where and how records of that type are kept. Any such 18 master database shall be reviewed by appropriate staff for accuracy and presented to the 19 Board of Supervisors for formal adoption. Any changes in the county's practices or 20 procedures that would affect the accuracy of the database shall thereafter be reported by 21 the responsible staff to the Board of Supervisors as the basis for a corresponding revision 22 of the database. 23 -26- 1 25-6.204 Policy task force 2 (a) There is hereby established a task force to be known as the Better Government 3 Task Force consisting of nine voting members appointed by the Board of Supervisors. 4 Two members shall be appointed from individuals whose names have been submitted by 5 the local chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists, one of whom shall be an 6 attorney and one of whom shall be a local journalist. One member shall be appointed 7 from individuals whose names have been submitted by the Radio-Televisions News 8 Directors Association. One member shall be appointed from individuals whose names 9 have been submitted by the local chapter of the League of Women Voters. One member 10 shall be a representative designated by the Board of Supervisors. Two members shall 11 be members of the public who have demonstrated interest in or have experience in the 12 issues of citizen access and participation in local government. Two members shall be 13 members of the public experienced in consumer advocacy. The County Counsel shall 14 serve as legal advisor to the task force. 15 (b) The term of each appointive member shall be two years unless earlier removed 16 by the Board of Supervisors. In the event of such removal or in the event a vacancy 17 otherwise occurs during the term of office of any appointive member, a successor shall 18 be appointed for the unexpired term of the office vacated in a manner similar to that 19 described herein for the initial members. The task force shall elect a chair from among 20 its members. The term of office as chair shall be one year. Members of the task force 21 shall serve without compensation. -27- 1 2 (c) The task force shall advise the Board of Supervisors and provide information 3 to County departments on appropriate ways to implement this chapter. The task force 4 shall recommend appropriate goals to ensure practical and timely implementation of this 5 chapter. The task force may propose to the Board of Supervisors amendments to this 6 chapter. The task force may report to the Board of Supervisors on any practical or policy 7 problems encountered in the administration of this chapter. 8 (d) The task force shall recommend to the Board of Supervisors an administrative 9 process of review and enforcement for Division 25 which could be accomplished by the 10 use of a volunteer ombudsman whose role would be to mediate and resolve disputes 11 disagreements and conflicts that occur as a result of the enactment of this Division. No 12 such administrative review process shall preclude, delay or in any way limit a person's 13 remedies under the Brown Act or the California Public Records Act. 14 (e) Upon the conclusion of the administrative review process, as implemented 15 pursuant to 25-6.204, any person may institute proceedings for injunctive relief or 16 declarative relief or writ of mandate in any court of competent jurisdiction to enforce his 17 or her right to inspect or to receive a copy of any public record or class of public records 18 under this ordinance, or to enforce his or her right to attend any meeting required 19 hereunder to be open, or to compel such meeting to be open. -28- 1 2 (f) The court shall award court costs and reasonable attorney fees to the plaintiff 3 should the plaintiff prevail in litigation filed pursuant to this section. The costs and fees 4 shall be paid by the public agency of which the public official is a member or employee 5 and shall not become a personal liability of the public official. If the court finds that the 6 plaintiffs case is clearly frivolous, it shall award court costs and reasonable attorney fees 7 to the public agency. 8 9 CHAPTER 25-8 10 GENERAL 11 Article 25-8.2 Miscellaneous provisions 12 13 25-8.202 Criminal Enforcement Exception. 14 The provisions of Chapter 14-8 of Division 14 of Title 1 are inapplicable with 15 respect to the provisions of this Division. 16 -29 - CONTRA COSTA CCoJiz s' RECEIVED OFFICE OF THE SHERIFF JAN 1 810 � Contra Costa County I OFFICE OF !* .�.,' ,e s:7,=; ,T , Administration Division CO?l;w r � ' 4' ' �0 646-2645 Date: January 18, 1995 To: Claude Van Marter, Assistant County Administrator From: Warren E. Rupf, Sheriff. By: R. F. Pitkin, Captain Subject: Better Government Ordinance After much review and discussion of the Better Government Ordinance, the following comments are offered in hopes the final draft will be revised to address our collective concerns. Of course, to avoid obvious conflicts between the ordinance, and the constitutional mandates and duties of an elected Sheriff, exempting this elected Office from this ordinance is recommended. Withstanding that, the following is offered in response to your request for input. • Captain Simmons' recommendations include deleting specific sentences within section 25-4.204 through 25-4.608. Refer to attached memo dated January 11, 1995. • Attached memo dated January 1, 1995 again from Captain L. Simmons describes in detail, objections to what is viewed as flaws in the proposed ordinance. • Captain J. Hart is of the opinion the ordinance would cause operational problems between city and county committees as cities are not bound by county ordinance. • Further Captain Hart expresses concern over public information in PC's maintained by county employees. This plus other concerns is contained in his memo of 1/12/95 (attached). • Also attached are comments and observations from a legal point of view that questions the appropriateness of this ordinance as it goes far beyond what State law requires by mandating duties which removes discretion in releasing or withholding information "on the basis of the public interest balancing test" authorized by the Public Records Act. At the same time this ordinance requires cooperation with individuals or organizations who "want to compile a database" without recognizing the desire, legal need, time or effort required of employees already stretched to their limits by cutback, not to mention past law suits successfully fought by these employees resisting the release of that same information to these same individuals, with the state prevailing. There is concern the Better Government Ordinance as written will interfere with the duties and power of the Sheriff as conferred by State Law and the State Constitution. It is recommended this ordinance exempt the Sheriffs Office to ensure the Office is free from mandates that attempt to, or actually, prevent the Sheriff from conducting the business of the Sheriff; and this includes the release and/or withholding of public information except as deemed proper by the Sheriff or the courts. WER/RP/mg OFFICE OF THE SHERIFF Contra Costa County Support Services Division 40 Glacier Drive Martinez CA 94553 646-4463 Date: January 11, 1995 To: Warren E. Rupf, Sheriff Via: Rodger L. Davis, Assistant Sheri From: Captain Larry Si s, Support Services Division Commander Subject: Better.Government Ordinance "Final Draft" Summary The accompanying memo regarding the Better Government Ordinance is rather lengthy due to the fact that it is necessary to consider the entirety of Chapter 25-4 of the ordinance, not just that part that specifically refers to "law enforcement records." This proposed ordinance has been addressed several times in the last year. Each time we have addressed it, the approach has varied, due to both redrafts of the ordinance, as well as the changing forum. While the approach may change somewhat, the concerns and arguments against the ordinance have remained consistent. This ordinance is a bad law. It is bad for law enforcement, it seriously intrudes on the citizen's federal and state constitutional rights to privacy, it will increase the costs of doing business by all county departments, and it attempts to overrule state law and court decisions which interpret that law. The following pages of this memo are a summary of the objections which are made to the proposed ordinance and includes references to the page on which each of the objectionable sections occur. Summary of Objections to the Better Government Ordinance 1. Section 25-4.204(a). MUST BE DELETED This section states that the Public Records Act shall govern "in any particulars not addressed by this ordinance." This says that where there is a conflict, the ordinance will prevail. This is illegal. An ordinance cannot prevail over a state law. (Seepage 2.) 2. Section 25-4.204(b). MUST BE DELETED This section requires county departments to provide information from computers in bulk. While some information may be reasonably provided in this manner, Warren E. Rupf, Sheriff Better Government Ordinance - Summary January 11, 1995 Page 2 providing information in this manner from the Sheriff's systems would clearly cause us to run afoul of statutory limitation on the access to and use of certain information by persons not specifically authorized by law to have it. It would also intrude on constitutional rights to privacy guaranteed by the federal and state constitutions. (See page 2.) 3. Section 25-4.404(d)(2) MUST BE DELETED a. This section appears to allow access to arrest information in a manner clearly not permissible under state law. (See pages 4 & 5.) b. This section contradicts 25-4.404(d)(1), which recognizes that the District Attorney and the Sheriff have the discretion to determine what and whether to release under the CPRA. (See page 6.) C. This section would take from the Sheriff and give to the Courts and D.A. the authority to decide whether records of a case being investigated by the Sheriff are to be released. (See page 5.) d. This section sets up "rules" for determining what may be withheld. Among the withholdable information is the "identity of juvenile witnesses." This section would also condition our ability to withhold any of the categorized types of information on whether there is a clear "public interest in non- disclosure." This goes far beyond what California Appellate Courts ever attempted to impose and to the extent that the Appellate Courts did attempt to 'impose such rules, the California Supreme Court explicitly reversed them. (Seepage 6.) 4. Section 254'404(d)(3). MUST BE DELETED This section would set up an 'advisory committee" to hear "appeals" by anyone who disagrees with the manner in which the Sheriff or D.A. have exercised their statutory discretion with respect to withholding information. Statute already provides a mechanism for review of such discretionary acts. This is an obvious and improper attempt to find a more friendly forum for such "appeals." (See page 6.) 5. Section 25-4.602. MUST BE MODIFIED Without significant modification, this section will cause a significant burden on county departments by requiring that they participate in mailing of requests for "waivers" of their privacy rights to large and small numbers of people in whatever categories the requestors can think of(all burglary victims, all victims Warren E. Rupf, Sheriff Better Government Ordinance - Summary January 11, 1995 Page 3 of incest, all bi-racial marriages, victims who have declined to prosecute, people who have contracted tuberculosis in the last three years, you name it). (See page 6 & 7.) 6. Section 25-4.608(b). MUST BE DELETED This section would effectively repeal a section of the CPRA in which the legislature explicitly gives government officials the discretion to withhold information if doing so is clearly in the public interest. A local ordinance cannot remove the authority granted an official by the state legislature. (See page 7). LDS:cb:92 ' SHERIFF ' OFFICE Contra Costa County Support Services Division 651 Pine St. , 1st Flr. , N. Wing Martinez, CA 94553 (510) 646-2830 DATE: January 9, 1995 TO: Warren E. Rulif, Sheriff Via: Rodger D vis, Assistant Sheriff FROM: Larry D. S s, Captain SUBJECT: Better Government Ordinance "Final Draft" PREFACE This proposed ordinance is significantly flawed. From both practical as well as legal standpoints, it would create more problems than it would solve. Rather than providing for a more open government and improving the relationship between government and the "public, " this ordinance would primarily serve the narrow interests of its proponents which are media interests . The proponents disagree with recent court decisions protecting individual members of the public from the harm to which they may be exposed because they must inevitably deal with the government which must collect information about them in order to assist them or otherwise fulfill its proper functions. The authors of this ordinance quite obviously hold views contrary to those of both the California and United States Supreme Courts which have held that the purpose of the California Public Records Act and the federal Freedom of Information Act is to ensure the public access to information about the actions and activities of government agencies . While Chapter 25-2 inay be reasonable, Chapter 25-4 of this ordinance contains an attempt to open up investigatory and other law enforcement records in the possession of the Sheriff' s Office. These records contain information about people, private citizens, ranging from the mundane to the intensely personal and private. These records contain investigatory information from the apparently irrelevant to information which if it is not now may be in the future crucial to the solution and prosecution of a criminal offense. Page 1 DISCUSSION Chapter 25-4 contains many sections which are of significant concern. This chapter begins badly and gets worse as it attempts to apply simplistic rules to a complex subject. The poor beginning is in Sec. 25-4.204 (a) . This section states that release-of information "shall be governed by the California Public Records Act (Government Code section 6250 et seq. ) in any particulars not addressed by this ordinance. " This implies quite clearly that in case of conflict the ordinance shall prevail. That is, it says where both address the same subject but differ in provisions, the ordinance will govern. This is clearly contrary to law. No ordinance can take precedence over a state law dealing with the same subject. It may very well be that Sec. 25-4 .204 (a) is simply poorly drafted. On the other hand, it may reveal something about the attitude of the ordinance' s proponents toward the Public Records Act. Section 25-4 .204 (b) only appears clear on first reading. This subdivision allows the public to acquire "public information" from county computer systems in any form available to the county. This would require that we organize the data to their specifications and, if we can even though we don't usually do so, provide the organized information on media of their choosing. There is only one purpose for such a requirement -- a commercial purpose. The "public" can hardly have a need for organized lists of property owners, birth and death certificates, persons involved in traffic accidents or victims of burglary. This subdivision also would require us to make this information' available by modem if, apparently, the system could allow such access . Again, this is clearly and obviously a commercial need. There is some- information which we are required to make available to the public which, upon first consideration, could be made available directly from our computer systems. However, , to do so would be. to give to the "public" the ability to acquire -or create data which would be the equivalent of data which the legislature has clearly indicated should not be disclosed to the general public. Even when information from discrete records can be or even should be disclosed, giving to or allowing access by the public to masses of those records could constitute a violation of statute or a person' s constitutional right to privacy. There is a substantial difference between disclosing an item of information for a specific purpose and giving access to compilations of data Page 2 collected by law enforcement agencies .' It may very well be that other county departments have computer databases which contain nothing but information which is available to the public without restriction. The Sheriff' s systems all contain primarily information which is now clearly protected by law. Meeting this requirement would require massive reorganization of all systems to allow them to categorize specific types of data as either releasable. or not releasable. However, even if this could done, it would still be necessary to review the "releasable" information on a record by record basis. The reason for this is that we are required by law to withhold certain information under specified circumstances which would otherwise be releasable. The statutes which govern this area are complex, not always perfectly clear, and in a constant state of flux. The costs of attempting to comply with this requirement would be great and not recoverable by the terms of the subdivision. With respect to the types of information not specifically protected by statute which would be sought from the Sheriff' s records under this ordinance, the United States Supreme Court, the California Supreme Court, California Appellate Court and even the California Legislature have determined that the ability to use computers to collect massive amounts of data about individuals, represents a significant danger to the individual's constitutional right to privacy.2 (In fact, it 'See: Westbrook v. Los Angeles County, 32 Cal.Rptr.2d 387. "There is a qualitative difference between obtaining information from a specific docket or on a specified individual, from obtaining information on every person against whom criminal charges. are pending. . . It is the aggregate nature of the information which makes it valuable to respondent; it is that same quality which makes its dissemination constitutionally dangerous. " (emphasis added. ) ZThis danger wAs recognized by the California legislature when it passed the Information Practices Act of 1977. The act begins at Civil Code Section 1798. The legislative declaration and finding at Sec. 1798.1, reads: The Legislature declares that the right to privacy is a personal and fundamental right protected by Section 1 of Article I of the Constitution of California and by the United States Constitution and that all individuals have a right of privacy in information pertaining to them. The Legislature further makes the following findings: (a) The right to privacy is being threatened by the indiscriminate collection, maintenance, and dissemination of personal information and the lack of effective laws and legal remedies. (b) The increasing use of computers and other sophisticated information technology has greatly magnified the potential risk to individual privacy that can occur from the maintenance of personal information. (c) In order to protect the privacy of individuals, it is necessary that the maintenance and dissemination of personal information be subject to strict limits. The Act goes on to define "personal information" in Sec. 1798.3(a) as: Page 3 \ would be illegal for a state agency to divulge a good deal of the information which this ordinance would require the Sheriff' s Office to release. ) I believe that Section 25-4 . 404 (d) (2) is the crux of this ordinance. It is here that the authors of this ordinance attempt to acquire information which recent court decisions have stated clearly that they are not entitled to have. None of the information which would be covered by this subdivision has anything to do with the clear intent of the Public Records Act. The purpose of the PRA is to ensure public access to information about government, not to give access to information about people and the events in their lives.3 "Law enforcement information" as it is discussed here is not about the . Sheriff' s Office, per se. It is quite obviously crime and incident reports, arrest records . Statistical or summary information compiled. from those records may shed light on the quality of the service provided by the Sheriff' s Office. However, this subdivision goes directly to the individual records . These records are now protected and must remain so. Section 25-4 . 404 (d) (2) provides for the disclosure of records "pertaining to any investigation, arrest or other law enforcement activity" with certain limitations . It must be noted, and quite emphatically, that no provision in any local statute can require the release of any information about arrests beyond that which is now required to be released under Government Code Sec. 6254 (f) (1) . Penal Code Sec. 13100 et seq. almost exclusively controls all arrest information. Arrest information is all confidential and may not be released except under very limited circumstances. The only exception to this confidentiality is the limited release of contemporaneous information about arrested persons contained in G.C. 6254 (f) (1) . (Note that this section really should be in the Penal Code; it is misplaced for its purpose. ) This matter is ". . .including but not limited to his or her name, social security number, physical description, home address, home telephone number, education, financial matters, and medical or employment history. It includes statements made by, or attributed to, the individual." 3See: Westbrook v. Los Angeles County, 32 Cal.Rptr.2d 387. "The United States Supreme court has conclucled that a third party's request for law enforcement records of a private citizen "can reasonably be expected to invade that citizen's privacy, and that when the request seeks no 'official information' about a Government agency, but merely records that the Government happens to be storing, the invasion of privacy is 'unwarranted. "' (U.S. Dept. of Justice v. Reporters Committee (1989) 489 U.S. 749, 780) Page 4 well settled.' Any mention of the word "arrest" in this ordinance can only cause confusion. A more significant defect in Section 25-4 . 404 (d) (2) is that it presumes to link the releasability of law enforcement records to the District Attorney or the Courts determinations regarding whether there will be a prosecution. This is an attempt to return, in disguise, to a "rule" imposed by appellate courts that limited the application of the exemption for law enforcement records to that time during which there exists some "concrete prospects for future enforcement or prosecution. " That interpretation was recently struck down by the Calif. Supreme Court.5 Further, to the extent that such a rule existed, the determination of "concrete prospects" was never that of the District Attorney or the Court. The D.A. and the Courts have their role, law enforcement has its role. This is a not so subtle attempt to remove from the Sheriff' s Office the ability to manage it own records . To illustrate that an ordinance linking the releasability of the Sheriff' s investigative records to the D.A. 's actions is both inappropriate and unsustainable we have only to go to the PRA itself. G.C. Sec. 6265 provides that release of a record which is otherwise being withheld from the public to the District Attorney does not change the status of the record. That is, providing a copy of a crime report to the D.A. does not constitute the waiver of our privilege to continue to withhold it from the public in general as would occur for other non-statutory releases pursuant to G.C. 6254 .5. In other words, the D.A. has no specific entitlement to, and therefore cannot have any control over these records since it is necessary to make a special allowance for the D.A. to even have the records at issue here. G.C. 6265, as small as it may be, clearly establishes that it is the intent of the legislation that it is the law enforcement agency which has the privilege the determine whether to withhold a record from public release. Among the information which this subdivision would "allow" us to withhold is "names of juvenile witnesses . This is an odd and interestingly specific item of information. Juvenile 'See: Robert Westbrook v. Los Angeles County, 32 Cal.Rptr.2d 382, in which a California Appellate Court held that even in the hands of a Municipal Court, information about arrested persons is controlled pursuant to state law. 'See: Dick Williams v. Superior Court of San Bernardino County, 93 Daily . Journal D.A.R. 7114. In this case the Supreme Court held that it was clearly the intent of the legislature that the exemption from the public records disclosure requirements of the Public Records Act for records of complaints to or investigations conducted by. . ." law enforcement agencies, was not to be limited either by time or the status of the case. Page 5 witnesses . Why not juvenile suspects? Are juvenile victims less deserving of protection? Clearly the proponents of this ordinance either lack an understanding of the content of law enforcement records or they are attempting to ensure the availability of the other more "interesting" involved parties . Taken as a whole, Section 25-4 .404 (d) is confused and self conflicting. Paragraph (1) states that: " . . .no provision of- this ordinance is intended to abrogate or interfere with the constitutional and statutory power and duties of the district Attorney and Sheriff, including the discretion granted to state and local law enforcement officials under the California Public Records Act, and other applicable privileges and appellate decisions . " Following this is paragraph (2) which states that "records pertaining to any investigation, arrest or other law enforcement activity" may be disclosed if certain conditions apply and that when disclosed only certain types of information may be withheld but only if "the public interest in non- disclosure clearly ourweighs the public interest in disclosure. " Since paragraph (1) recognizes the existing statutory discretion of the Sheriff and District Attorney with respect to the involved records, paragraph (2) is irrelevant and can serve only to confuse. While paragraph (2) is permissive in nature (the District Attorney and Sheriff may disclose. . . ) , most readers will incorrectly assume that it constitutes a limitation on the discretion granted the District Attorney and Sheriff by statute, Section 25-4 . 404 (d) (3) is entirely inappropriate in that it sets up an "advisory committee" to hear appeals arising under this section. Any disputes under this section must of necessity be .related to the District Attorney or Sheriff exercising the "discretion granted to state and local law enforcement officials under the California Public Records Act" as cited in •.paragraph (1) . Disagreements regarding the exercise of such discretion are already subject to review by the Superior Court pursuant to the CPRA (Govt. Code -Secs . 6258 and 6259) . Since the legislature has already determined how such disputes are to be resolved, it is inappropriate for this ordinance to create another method to "appeal" the lawful exercise of discretion by elected officers of the county. Section 25-4 . 602 is nothing less than a requirement that county departments use government records to generate and use mailing lists on behalf of the proponents of this ordinance or anyone else for any reason. This approach is necessary because the Page 6 California Public Records Act at the cited sections prohibits the release of names and or addresses of individuals or information about them. Whether county departments generate the mailing lists and address the envelopes or give out mailing lists, the effect is the same -- intrusion into the private lives of the involved persons . The ordinance proponents would probably state that the application of this section would be limited. Nothing could be farther from the truth. We have recently had to. deal with requestors seeking lists of: persons involved in traffic collisions presumably for the solicitation of chiropractic services; persons who have been the victim of burglary or where we have responded to "alarms" for the solicitation of security devices and protective services; anyone who has been arrested for the purpose of solicitation of legal services . How many different categories of people might there be of specific interest to some commercial or alleged "public interest" group? The burden of this section alone is limited only by the imagination of anyone out to make a buck or a point. If county departments are to be required to engage in any activity like that proposed in Section 25-4 . 602, there must be significant limitations . First, participation must be at the discretion of the department head and based on a determination that participation is in the public interest. Second, what will be mailed will consist of a request that the person contact the requestor and a precise description of what the requestor is seeking. Included with the request will be notification to the person that he or she is under absolutely no obligation to contact the requestor. Third, participation in such an activity will be done at the convenience of the county department; there will be no time limit except as may be agreed to at sole discretion of the department head. Section 25-4. 608 (b) is an exercise in arrogance. Chapter 25-4 is, in effect, an attempt to control or regulate the discretion which local government is allowed to exercise under the CPRA. Here the authors would explicitly repeal a section of the CPRA. In passing the CPRA, the legislature understood that it was not possible for them to predict and describe every possible contingency. They understood that there would be times and circumstances in which disclosure of information which would ordinarily be disclosed would be inappropriate. The legislature has explicitly granted public officials the discretion to withhold otherwise discloseable information "where the public interest in non-disclosure clearly outweighs the public interest in disclosure. " This ordinance cannot take away that discretion. Page 7 OFFICE OF THE SHERIFF Contra Costa County Coroner Division 1960 Muir Road Martinez CA 94553 313-2850 Date: January 12, 1995 To: Captain Russ Pitkin From: Captain Joh Hart, Coroner Division Commander Subject: "Bette Joh ordinance response In response to the document you distributed I offer the following comments : On the surface the ordinance seems to be addressing only Board of Supervisors related committees and information that is reasonably public information anyway. Before we or any other department agrees to it, I believe we should have WRITTEN Board commitment that ANYTHING we do to comply will be funded by the Board and compliance be optional until systems are in place to handle the work. Time, people and equipment needed to comply must all be paid for up front without taking anything away from our existing resources . What I have in mind here is a networked computer system that could accept all county department records, put them in a big storage device and be retrievable by anyone with access . I My suspicious nature leads me to believe the benign intent of this ordinance will be perverted by some pushy press person and exacerbated by "a spineless bureaucrat who will cave in to whatever the press wants . At the same time I believe that government exists for the people who should have reasonable access to our product and the process by which we reach decisions . To that end, the rest of the comments are 11CYA11 in nature and meant to get formal assurances that abuses won' t occur. I ' ll reference the page & line numbers of draft V . Pg. 2, lines 10 - 16 This would bind committees like the Operations Committee of DRCC to this legislation. That committee (without comment as to usefulness etc. ) was compromised of mostly city representatives, who paid most of the money and was only supposed to be under county rules as a way of administering a contract . It I was a city representative on a committee I would resent being bound by this rule just because some county person was on the same committee, giving feedback to the Board of Supervisors . Pg. 16, Section (b) I 've heard it expressed with the statistical data and program that Scott Hutchison did for the Coroner office, that because it was done on county time & equipment at county expense it is public information and public domain. If that is true, I see similar argument being made for all the data in every PC on every desk in the county. Without curbs someone is going to march into an office and demand (under this section) a download of Mary Forney' s (for example) Word Perfect files . This will have a devastating effect on privacy not to mention disruption to comply. Pg. 19, lines 6 & 7 These lines seem to support my fears expressed in the paragraph above. The sentence stands by itself and seems to me to say that my written thoughts to the Assistant Sheriff or his to the Sheriff are subject to disclosure without exemption. Pg. 31, line 13 Somewhere in section (a) it should specifically stated that no current member of the Board of Supervisors will sit on this task force . I see the task force as adversarial to the departments and to have one of the bosses of the departments on this task ,force would be a conflict . Pg. 31, lines 16 & 17 I think this is a conflict since !County Counsel should represent as it' s first priority the county employees . Line 9 already appoints an attorney, let that person represent the task force. If County Counsel is to represent the task force, specific language should be included to appoint a private attorney to represent the d7dpartments . (That may actually be preferable. ) cc: Chron file C:\WPWIN60\WPDOCS\BE7MGOV.ORD ATTACHMENT Other concerns regarding the Better Government Ordinance are as follows: ♦ Section 25-2.402 addresses meetings primarily of the Board of Supervisors on matters involving pending litigation. Since the Sheriff and members of this department are frequent participants in lawsuits, this section is of significance to the Sheriff. Of concern is the decision whether or not discussions will be confidential rests only with the Board of Supervisors and this may pose problems. ♦ Section C of the above section raises serious concern since it implies that discussions between the County's legal advisor and a policy body regarding "the potential risk of litigation of actions" must be openly discussed. It is the opinion of some that to discuss county attorneys' beliefs about potential risks could be harmful if such legal advice is made a matter of public record. ♦ Section 25-2.406 raises similar concerns. After a closed session and a decision is made regarding litigation it must be disclosed in an open session. Since litigation discussions are one of those areas exempt t from the mandated public disclosure, it is difficult to understand why this county would impose upon itself obligations to release information which the State does not require. ♦ Section 25-2.406 (b) 5 addresses discipline of employees. It is unclear if this section applies to the Sheriff as some believe the Sheriff is the appointing authority for personnel in the Sheriffs Office and is therefore unclear whether this section applies to the Sheriff. ♦ If the above section applies to the Sheriff, this creates significant limitations on the ability to negotiate settlements of disciplinary disputes and maintain them as confidential. The language in the draft ordinance would imply that appeals by employees of the Sheriffs Department to the County Merit Board regarding discipline imposed would not be kept confidential despite authorization of the Government Code. ♦ The same section would also indicate that if probationary or at will employee were being dismissed it would be necessary to articulate the reason for dismissal. By doing so could mandate a hearing when, on the other hand, a hearing is not required if reasons are not disclosed. ♦ Section 25-4.404 raises concern since the State law gives discretion to public employees to withhold certain information but this section mandates that certain types of information be released. As part of a. settlement, the employees' representatives may make, as condition of the settlement, the sealing of an adverse internal affairs report. Since the Public Records Act allows for a public entity to withhold personal information, such an agreement is in no way a violation of state law but would be directly in violation of this county ordinance if passed as written. Historically, the interest of justice has always allowed for the withholding of personnel information for that as well as a variety of other reasons. Section C (6) 8z (7) and Section (d) cause concern in that a plaintiff could drag out litigation long enough for the disciplinary process to be completed and circumvent State law regarding access to information by merely waiting for the County to disclose it in accordance with the provisions of the Better Government Ordinance. Furthermore, the sections go on to state that "this ordinance is not intended to abrogate or interfere with the constitutional and statutory powers and duties of the District Attorney and Sheriff, including.the discretion granted to state and local law enforcement officials under the Public Records Act...". In light of that, it raises the question as to why the District Attorney and Sheriff would be encouraged to allow access to any certain particular records and, in fact, are not simply then exempted from this ordinance in these matters and then encouraged to use the ordinance as a guideline. ♦ Section 25-4.404 D appears to encourage release of certain information which is not required to be disclosed. What appears to be missing is any recognition of the right of privacy of individuals who are the subject of investigations when, in fact, no charges are filed. Case law has long held that that constitutes an unwanted invasion into the right of privacy of those individuals since anyone may be the subject of an arrest or an investigation which does not mean that he/she committed some act of misconduct. The disclosure of that type of information, as we all know, can frequently taint an individual's reputation which may never be recovered. ♦ Section (d) (3) references an advisory committee consisting of several parties including the Sheriff to which an individual can appeal the denial of the release of certain information. The language does not say who is responsible for their final decision and seems to be poorly worded. ♦ Subsection (e) of the above section is a major concern since it eliminates protection for client/attorney communications if they include a determination that certain individuals violated the law. It is outrageous that a county officer cannot discuss these types of concerns with legal counsel without it being disclosed to the public. This section may destroy the confidentially privilege afforded to attorney and client. There is no known justification for the dilution of the attorney/client privileges as set forth in the proposed ordinance. ♦ Section 25-4.602 creates a significant work for the county and in particular for the Sheriff Office in light of a recent trend for demands by a number of commercial entities for a variety of information involving the arrest of individuals. This office is unaware of any provision in the Public Records Act which requires such efforts on part of the county as is set forth in this ordinance and such demands by said parties have been successfully adjudicated with the Government prevailing. ♦ Section 25-4.604 is in conflict with what is perceived as the Sheriffs discretion as granted under Public Records Act and other state laws. For the county to completely remove its ability to rely upon state laws as a basis for the withholding of certain information, seems contrary to the best interest of this county. ♦ This ordinance while trying to open government and implement the requirements that the Public Records Act in every department for some unknown reason seems to go far beyond that which is reasonable and much further than state law mandates. PROPOSED ORDINANCE • DRAFT # 12 WITH CHANGES MADE BY THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS ON 2/7/95 1 DIVISION 25 2 BETTER GOVERNMENT ORDINANCE 3 Chapter 25-2 4 MEETINGS 5 Article 25-2.2 General 6 7 25-2.202 Application to policy bodies; definitions 8 (a) For the purposes of this ordinance a "policy body" means: 9 the Board of Supervisors, or any permanent or temporary board, committee 10 or commission under the authority of the Board of Supervisors. Policy bodies do not 11 include committees entirely made up of County staff. 12 (b) A"delegated body" is any private entity which receives a grant of governmental 13 authority, financial support, or property, pursuant to action by the Board of Supervisors; 14 and is governed by a multi-member body, which includes one or more members of a 15 policy body. 16 (c) "County" includes the County of Contra Costa and all special districts, agencies 17 and authorities of which the Board of Supervisors is the governing body. 18 (d) "Permanent advisory committee" means a permanent committee created by the 19 County Administrator, or a department head to advise the County Administrator or a 20 department head. "f�ertanent advisory cocittee",does not anclde a.aomife+ fade 21 pp Pre of<sbunty staff DRAFT # 12 WITH CHANGES MADE BY THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS ON 2/7/95 1 25-2.204 Meetings to be open and public; 2 (a) All meetings of any policy body which is not currently governed by the 3 provisions of the Ralph M. Brown Act(Government Code section 54950 et seq.) shall be 4 held in accordance with Section 25-2.205 of this ordinance. 5 (b) The governing body of a"delegated body" shall conduct its meetings pursuant 6 to Section 25-2.205 of this ordinance when it deliberates either the expenditure of funds 7 received from the County or any use of governmental authority delegated by the County. 8 (c) To the.extent not inconsistent with state or federal law, any contract between 9 the County and a private entity that owns, operates or manages any real property in 10 which the 'County has a legal interest, including a mortgage, and on which the entity 11 performs a government function related to the furtherance of health, safety or welfare, 12 shall include a requirement that any meeting of the governing board of the entity to 13 address any matter relating to the property, or its government related activities on the 14 property, be conducted as provided by Section 25-2.205, except that closed sessions may 15 be conducted as provided for by Article 25-2.4. 16 (d) The following are considered to be passive access gatherings which the public 17 shall be permitted to attend: 18 (1) meetings of permanent advisory committees. 19 (2) social, recreational, or ceremonial occasions sponsored by or for the 20 policy body, to which a majority of the body has been invited. -2- DRAFT # 12 WITH CHANGES MADE BY THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS ON 2/7/95 1 2 (e) Such "passive access" gatherings shall be accessible upon inquiry or request 3 to the extent possible consistent with the facilities and the purpose of the gathering. Such 4 gatherings need not be noticed formally, conducted in any particular space open to 5 spectators or provide for comment by spectators. 6 (f) Such passive access gatherings may exclude the public if their purpose is to 7 discuss information which is privileged by a specific State or Federal statute. 8 9 25-2.205 Expansion of Open Meeting requirements 10 (a) Policy bodies of the County which would not otherwise be subject to the Ralph 11 M. Brown Act (Government Code Section 54950 et seq.) shall hold all meetings in open 12 session. No closed sessions shall be allowed. 13 (b) No issues which are not included in the agenda may be acted upon or 14 deliberated by the policy body. No urgency items may be added to the agenda. 15 (c) Public comment must be allowed on each agenda item and during a general 16 comment period. 17 (d) Records or recordings of the meetings must be kept in a manner which 18 accurately reflects the agenda and decisions made at the meeting. These records do not 19 necessarily need to be verbatim records. 20 -3- DRAFT # 12 WITH CHANGES MADE BY THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS ON 217195 . 1 2 25-2.206 Agendas and related materials; public records 3 (a) Staff material, consisting of agendas of policy body meetings, staff reports and 4 other material prepared or forwarded by staff which provide background information and 5 recommendations regarding agenda items, when distributed to all or to a majority of the 6 members of a policy body in connection with a matter :subject to discussion or 7 consideration at a public meeting shall be made available to the public. All such staff 8 material must be distributed to the policy body and be made available to the public 96 9 hours before a scheduled meeting or 24 hours prior to a meeting when the agenda item 10 has been added to the agenda at a previous meeting of the policy body not more than 11 seven days prior to the scheduled meeting. However, the policy body may, by a 3/4 vote, 12 waive these time limits when, in its judgment, it is essential to do so, providing that the 13 County Administrator, appropriate Department Head or staff member furnishes to the 14 Board of Supervisors or other policy body a written explanation as to why the material 15 could not be provided to the Board or other policy body and the general public within the 16 above time limits. 17 (b) Records which are not exempt from disclosure and intended for distribution to 18 the policy body shall be made available for public inspection and copying upon request 19 whether or not actually distributed to or received by the body at the time of the request. -4- i DRAFT # 12 WITH CHANGES MADE BY THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS ON 2/7/95 1 2 (c) Records which are releasable and which are distributed during a public meeting 3 but prior to commencement of their discussion shall be made available for public 4 inspection prior to and during, their discussion. 5 (d) A policy body of the county may charge a duplication fee in accordance with 6 Section 25-4.610, for a copy of a public record prepared for-consideration at a public 7 meeting. Neither this section nor the California Public Records Act (Government Code 8 section 6250 et seq.) shall be construed to limit or delay the public's right to inspect any 9 record required to be disclosed by this section, whether or not distributed to a policy body. 10 11 Article 25-2.4 Closed Sessions 12 13 25-2.402 Closed sessions: pending litigation 14 (a) A policy body covered by the Ralph M. Brown Act, based on advice of its legal 15 counsel, may hold a closed session to confer with, or receive advice from, its legal 16 counsel regarding pending litigation when discussion in open'..session concerning those 17 matters would prejudice the position of the county in that litigation. 18 (b) Litigation shall be considered pending when any of the following circumstances 19 exist: -5- DRAFT # 12 WITH CHANGES MADE BY THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS ON 2/7/95 1 2 (1)An adjudicatory proceeding before acourt, administrative body exercising 3 its adjudicatory authority, hearing officer, or arbitrator, to which the county, an officer or 4 employee of the county, or an agency of the county is a party, has been initiated formally. 5 (2) A point has been reached where, in the opinion of the policy body on the 6 advice of its legal counsel, based on existing facts and circumstances, there is a 7 significant exposure to litigation against the county, or the policy body is meeting only to 8 decide whether a closed session is authorized pursuant to that advice. 9 (3) Based on existing facts and circumstances, the policy body has decided 10 to initiate or is deciding whether to initiate litigation. 11 (c) Legal advice as to the potential risk of litigation of actions not yet taken, if 12 provided by counsel at a meeting of a policy body, is to be conveyed openly as a matter 13 of public record. 14 (d) A closed session may not be held under this section to consider the 15 qualifications or engagement of an independent contract attorney or law firm, for litigation 16 services or otherwise. 17 (e) Prior to holding a closed session pursuant to this section, the policy body shall 18 disclose the justification for its closure either by entries in the appropriate categories on 19 the agenda or, in the case of an item added to the agenda based on a finding of 20 necessity and urgency, by an oral announcement specifying the same information. 21 -6- DRAFT # 12 WITH CHANGES MADE BY THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS ON 217195 1 25-2.404 Closed sessions: employee salaries and benefits 2 (a) A policy body with authority concerning employee compensation and benefits 3 may hold closed sessions with the county's designated representatives regarding the 4 salaries, salary schedules, or compensation paid in the form of fringe benefits of 1-0, its 5 represented and unrepresented employees. A policy body shall not discuss or negotiate 6 compensation or other contractual matters in closed session with one or more employees 7 directly interested in the outcome of the negotiations except as follows. The Board of 8 Supervisors may, in closed session, discuss and provide direction to the County 9 Administrator or other negotiators representing the County regarding the salary and 10 benefits of unrepresented management employees. The salary and benefits of members 11 of the Board of Supervisors, the County Administrator and department heads will be 12 discussed and acted on separately by the Board of Supervisors in open session. 13 (b) In addition to the closed sessions authorized by subdivision (a), a policy body 14 subject to Government Code section 3501 may hold closed sessions with its designated 15 representatives on mandatory subjects within the scope of representation of its 16 represented employees, as determined pursuant to section 3504. 17 (c) Closed sessions shall be for the purpose of reviewing the county's position and 18 instructing its designated representatives and may take place only prior to and during 19 consultations and discussions between the county's designated representatives and the. 20 representatives of employee organizations or the unrepresented employees. 21 -7- DRAFT # 12 WITH CHANGES MADE BY THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS ON 217/95 1 25-2.406 Report of closed session actions 2 (a) After every closed session, a policy body may in its discretion and in the public 3 interest, disclose to the public any portion of its discussion the disclosure of which is not 4 prohibited by federal or state law. The body shall, by motion and vote in open session, 5 elect either to disclose no information or to disclose the information which a majority 6 deems to be in the public interest. The disclosure shall be made through the presiding 7 officer of the body or such other person, present in the closed session, whom he or she 8 designates to convey the information. 9 (b) A policy body shall publicly report any final action taken in closed session and 10 the vote or abstention of every member present thereon, as follows: 11 (1) Real Property Negotiations: Direction or approval given to the policy 12 body's negotiator concerning real estate negotiations pursuant to Government Code 13 section 54956.8 shall be reported as soon'as the agreement is final. If its own approval 14 renders the agreement final, the policy body shall report that approval, the substance of 15 the agreement and the vote thereon in open session immediately. If final approval rests 16 with the other party to the negotiations, the county shall disclose the fact of that approval, 17 the substance of the agreement and the policy body's vote or votes thereon upon inquiry 18 by any person, as soon as the other party or its agent has informed the county of its 19 approval. DRAFT # 12 WITH CHANGES /MADE BY THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS ON 217195 1 2 (2) litigation: Direction or approval given to the policy body's legal counsel 3 to prosecute, defend or seek or refrain from seeking appellate review or relief, or to 4 otherwise enter as a party, intervenor or amicus curiae in any form of litigation as the 5 result of a consultation under Government Code section 54956.9 shall be reported in b open session as soon as given, or at the first meeting after.-the adverse parties have 7 been served if, in the opinion of legal counsel, earlier disclosure would jeopardize the 8 county's ability to effectuate service of process or to conclude existing settlement 9 negotiations to its advantage, in a manner that identifies the adverse party or parties, any 10 co-parties with the county, and the substance of the litigation, including the circumstances 11 leading to the dispute. 12 (3) Settlement: Approval given to the policy body's legal counsel of a 13 settlement of pending litigation as defined'in Government Code section 54956.9, at any 14 stage prior to or during a judicial or quasi-judicial proceeding, shall be reported as soon 15 as the settlement is final. If its own approval renders the settlement final, the policy body 16 shall report that approval, the substance*of the agreement and the vote thereon In open 17 session immediately. If final approval rests with some other party to the litigation, the 18 county shall disclose the fact of that approval, the substance of the agreement and the 19 policy body's vote or votes thereon upon inquiry by any person, as soon as- the 20 settlement is final. The county shall neither solicit nor agree to any term in a final 21 settlement which would preclude the release of the text and terms of the settlement itself -9- DRAFT # 12 WITH CHANGES MADE BY THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS ON 2/7195 1 and any related documentation communicated to or received from the adverse party or 2 parties, or any other materials not originally constituting a confidential communication 3 between the county and its counsel. The county shall oppose any request for 4 confidentiality to which it is proposed the County would be a party. , 5 (4) Claim Payments: Disposition reached as to claims discussed in closed 6 session pursuant to Government Code section 54956.95 shall be reported as soon as 7 agreed upon by the claimant, in a manner that discloses the name of the claimant, the 8 substance of the claim, and any monetary amount approved for payment. 9 (5) Employee Actions: Action taken by a policy body to appoint, employ, 10 dismiss, transfer, accept the resignation of or otherwise modify the terms or-duration of 11 the employment contract of a public employee in closed session pursuant to Government 12 Code section 54957 shall be reported immediately in a manner that names the employee 13 and position affected and specifies any change in compensation, job description, 14 assignment or other contract particulars and, in the case of dismissal for a violation of law 15 or of the policy of the county, the reason for dismissal. "Dismissal" within the meaning 16 of this ordinance includes any termination of employment at the will of the employer rather 17 than of the employee, however characterized, including a resignation tendered as an 18 alternative to involuntary termination. The proposed terms of any separation agreement 19 shall be disclosed, along with its final terms, immediately upon final approval by the policy 2 o body. ©reed, that the r�eprt a �aMissa( Or thertrertewalf arimployenx:' 21fltraGt shall be deferred til the; f rst public rneetmg #ollawfr�g the ehaust�or3 0#; 22 admdrnstrattve remedies, �#any: -10- DRAFT # 12 WITH CHANGES MADE BY THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS ON 2/7/95 . 1 (6) Collective Bargaining: Approval of a final agreement concluding labor 2 negotiations pursuant to Government Code section 54957.6 shall be reported as soon 3 as it has been approved and ratified by all parties in a manner that describes the item 4 approved, and identifies the other party or parties to negotiation.- Such disclosure shall 5 include all formal offers and counter-offers made over the term of the negotiations. 6 (c) Reports required to be made immediately may be made orally or in writing, but 7 shall be supported by copies of any contracts, settlement agreements, or other affected 8 documents that were finally approved or adopted by both sides after-action in the closed 9 session. These documents shall be provided to any person who requested such copies 10 in a written request submitted within 24 hours of the posting of the agenda, or who has 11 made a standing request for all such documentation as part of a request for notice of 12 meetings pursuant to Government Code sections 54944.1 or 54946. 13 14 Article 25-2.6 Public Participation 15 16 25-2.602 Barriers to attendance prohibited 17 No policy body shall conduct any meeting, conference or other function in any facility that 18 excludes persons on the basis of actual or presumed class identity or characteristics, or 19 which is inaccessible to persons with physical disabilities, or where members of the public 20 may not be present without making a payment or purchase. Whenever the number of 21 spectators at a meeting of the Board of Supervisors, or a permanent board or . -11- DRAFT # 12 WITH CHANGES MADE BY THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS ON 2/7/95 1 commission, or a permanent sub-quorum committee of the Board of Supervisors, exceeds 2 the legal capacity of the meeting room, any public address system used to amplify sound 3 in the meeting room shall be extended by supplementary speakers to permit the overflow 4 audience to listen to the proceedings in an adjacent room or passageway. If there be no 5 public address system, or if supplementary speakers are not available at the time, the 6 meeting shall be adjourned to a facility with capacity to accommodate all citizens present 7 and wishing to attend. 8 9 25-2.604 Public testimony at regular and certain special meetings 10 A policy body shall not abridge or prohibit public criticism of the policies, procedures, 11 programs or services of the county, or of any other aspect of its proposals or activities, 12 or of the acts or omissions of the policy body, on any basis other than reasonable and 13 uniformly applied time constraints provided in previously adopted rules. 14 15 25-2.606 Public comment by members of policy bodies 16 Every member of a policy body retains the full constitutional rights of a citizen to comment 17 publicly on the wisdom or propriety of government actions, including those of the policy 18 body of which he or she is a member. This county shall not sanction, reprove or deprive 19 members of their rights as elected or appointed officials for expressing their judgments 20 or opinions, including those which deal with the perceived inconsistency of non-public. 21 discussions, communications or actions with the requirements of state or federal law or -12- DRAFT # 12 WITH CHANGES MADE BY THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS ON 217195 1 of this ordinance. The release of factual information made confidential by state or federal 2 law including, but not limited to, the privilege for confidential attorney-client 3 communications, may be the basis for a request for injunctive relief, a complaint to the 4 grand jury seeking an accusation of misconduct, or both. 5 6 Chapter 25-4 7 PUBLIC INFORMATION 8 Article 25-4.2 General 9 10 25-4.202 Definition of public Information 11 As used in this ordinance, "public information" includes the content of"public records" as 12 defined in the California Public Records Act (Government Code section 6252), whether 13 provided in documentary form or in an oral communication. 14 15 25-4.204 Release of documentary public Information 16 (a) Release of documentary public information, whether for inspection of the 17 original or by providing a copy, shall be governed by the California Public Records Act 18 (Government Code section 6250 et seq.) in any particulars not addressed by this 19 ordinance. -13- DRAFT # 12 WITH CHANGES MADE BY THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS_ ON 2/7/95 1 2 (b) Inspection and copying of documentary public information stored in electronic 3 form shall be made to the person requesting the information in any form requested which 4 is reasonably available to the county, its officers or employees, including disk, tape, 5 printout, monitor or modem, at a charge no greater than the cost of the media on which 6 it is duplicated, plus the direct costs of equipment, supplies and labor costs associated 7 with duplicating the electronic file which is requested. 8 (c) To the extent permitted by law, nothing in this subdivision precludes a charge 9 to recover development and maintenance costs for providing a higher level of service in 10 providing access to computerized records when the cost has been approved by the Board 11 of Supervisors. In establishing this charge, the Board of Supervisors shall take into 12 account any savings to the County from the computerization of the service. In addition, 13 such a charge may be levied only when the original method of providing the service is 14 maintained and available to the public without the increased charge. 15 -14- I DRAFT # 12 WITH CHANGES MADE BY THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS ON 217195 1 2 25.4.206 Release of oral public Information 3 Release of oral public information shall be accomplished as follows: 4 (a) Factual information about the county, unless exempt from disclosure under 5 state or federal law or not disclosable under this ordinance, may be released to a 6 telephone caller or an office visitor by responsible employees,conversant with the factual 7 information. One or more brief factual questions may be answered as soon as the 8 employee has obtained the information. More extensive information may be confined to 9 an interview by appointment or by reference to information in documentary form. 10 (b) information concerning the county's policies, positions on public issues, plans 11 or intentions,.or reactions to events may be released to a telephone caller or office visitor 12 by the person with primary policy responsibility for the subject matter or by his or her 13 designated spokesperson. Each Department Head shall, to the extent practicable, 14 designate one or more spokespersons to be available for this purpose during normal 15 business hours. Employees not authorized to provide such information may be prevented 16 from doing so. 17 (c) Public employees shall not be prohibited from or disciplined for the expression 18 of their legally protected personal opinions on any matter. Opinions should not be 19 represented as those of the County, misrepresent the County's opinion, or, interfere 20 extraordinarily with the course of business of County departments. 21 -15- DRAFT' # 12 WITH CHANGES MADE BY THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS ON 217195 . 1 (d) Department Heads, with the advice and consultation of the County Counsel, 2 shall be encouraged to establish specific policies outlining legally protected opinions. 3 4 Article 25-4.4 Public Records 5 6 25-4.402 Public review file - policy body communications 7 (a) Every policy body supported by County staff shall maintain a file, accessible 8 to any member of the public during office hours, containing a copy of any letter, 9 memorandum or other communication sent to or received from a quorum of a policy body 10 irrespective of subject matter, origin or recipient, within the last 30 days except 11 commercial solicitations, periodical publications or communications exempt from 12 disclosure under state or federal law. 13 (b) The Clerk of the Board of Supervisors shall maintain a listing of the name, 14 address and telephone number of the custodian of all communications sent to or received 15 by each policy body under the jurisdiction of the Board of Supervisors. This list shall be 16 available to any individual upon request. 17 (c) Multiple-page reports, studies or analyses which are accompanied by a letter 18 or memorandum of transmittal need not be included in the file so long as a copy of the 19 letter or memorandum of transmittal is included. 20 -16- DRAFT # 12 WITH CHANGES MADE BY THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS ON 217195 1 2 25-4.404 Non-exempt public records 3 The following policies shall govern specific types of documents and information: 4 (a) Drafts and Memos. 5 No preliminary draft or county memorandum shall be exempt from disclosure under 6 Government Code section 6254, subdivision (a) If it Is normally kept on file. Preliminary 7 drafts and memoranda concerning contracts, memoranda of understanding, or other 8 matters subject to negotiation or pending Board of Supervisors' approval shall not be 9 subject to disclosure pursuant to this provision until final action has been taken. 10 (b) Vtigation Material. 11 (1) No pre-litigation claim against the county shall be exempt from disclosure 12 under Government Code section 6254, subdivision (b). 13 (2) When litigation is finally adjudicated or otherwise settled, records of all 14 communications between the county and the adverse party shall be subject to disclosure, 15 including the text and terms of any settlement. Counsel for the county shall not solicit or 16 agree to any settlement term which would restrict public disclosure after settlement of all 17 terms and communication records between the parties, and any such term shall be void 18 and unenforceable. All such records shall be released as soon as reasonably possible. 19 -17- DRAFT # 12 WITH CHANGES MADE BY THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS ON 2/7/95 1 2 (c) Personnel Information. 3 None of the following shall be exempt from disclosure: 4 (1) To the extent that such information Is provided to the County and is 5 summarized by the County for its reporting purposes, job pool characteristics and 6 employment and education histories. of the collective applicants, including the following 7 information: 8 i. sex, age and ethnic group; 9 ii. years of graduate and undergraduate study, degree(s) and major 10 or discipline; 11 iii. Years of employment in the private and/or public sector; 12 iv.whether currently employed in the same position for another public 13 agency; and 14 v. other non-identifying particulars as to experience, credentials, 15 aptitudes, training or education entered in or attached to a standard employment 16 application form used for the position in question. 17 (2) The professional biography or curriculum vitae of every employee who 18 has provided such information to the county, excluding home address, telephone number, 19 and social security number. 20 (3) The job description of every employee of the county. -18- . DRAFT" # 12 WITH CHANGES MADE BY THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS ON 2/7195 1 2 (4) The exact amount of salary and county paid benefits of every employee 3 of the county. (5) Any memorandum of understanding between the county and one or 5 more employees. 6 (6) In the case of non Merit System employees, the record of any confirmed 7 misconduct of a public employee involving personal dishonesty, misappropriation of public 8 funds, resources or benefits, unlawful discrimination against another on the basis of 9 status, abuse of authority, or violence, and of any discipline imposed for such misconduct. 10 (7) In the case of Merit System employees, the record of any arbitration or 11 Merit Board proceeding in which a county employee has been found to have committed 12 acts of dishonesty, misappropriation of public funds or property, unlawful discrimination, 13 unlawful abuse of authority or violence against another person, Including the discipline 14 imposed. 15 (d) Law Enforcement Information. 16 (1) The District Attorney and Sheriff are encouraged to cooperate with 17 the press and other members of the public in allowing access to local records pertaining 18 to investigations,-arrests, and other law enforcement activity. However, no provision of 19 this ordinance is intended to abrogate or interfere with the constitutional and statutory. 20 power and duties of the District Attorney and Sheriff as interpreted under Government 21 Code Section 25343, or other applicable state law or judicial decisions. " -19- DRAFT # 12 WITH CHANGES MADE BY THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS ON 217195 1 (2) Local records pertaining to any investigation, arrest or other law 2 enforcement activity shall be disclosed to the public after the District Attorney or court 3 determines that a prosecution will not be sought against the subject involved or the 4 statute of limitations for filing charges has expired, whichever occurs first. 5 Notwithstanding the occurrence of any such event, individual items of information in the 6 following categories may be segregated and withheld if, on the.particular facts, the public 7 interest in non-disclosure clearly outweighs the public interest in disclosure: 8 (i) the names of juvenile witnesses (whose identities should 9 nevertheless be indicated by substituting a number or alphabetic letter for each individual 10 interviewed); 11 (ii) personal or otherwise private information 0§00runrelated to 12 the 13 0.S gat if disclosure would constitute an unwarranted invasion of per-senel privacy; 14 (iii) the identity of a confidential source; 15 (iv) secret investigative techniques or procedures; 16 (v) information whose disclosure would endanger law enforcement 17 personnel; or 18 (vi) information whose disclosure would endanger the successful 19 completion of an investigation where the prospect of enforcement proceedings is concrete 20 and definite. 21 (e) Attorney-Client Communications. -20- DRAFT # 12 WITH CHANGES MADE BY THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS ON 217195 . i After the effective date of this ordinance, no record of a communication between 2 an officer, department or policy body of the county and a legal advisor to the county shall 3 be exempt from disclosure under Government Code section 6254, subdivision (k) as a 4 confidential attorney-client communication to the extent that it: 5 (1) Concerns an actual or potential conflict of interest, or 6 (2) Analyzes a proposed legislative action or position of the county; 7 (3) Analyzes or interprets the Ralph M. Brown Act (Government Code 8 section 54950 et seq.), the California Public Records Act(Government Code section 6250 9 et seq.), any other law supporting or abridging the public's right of access to information, 10 or any provision of this ordinance; or 11 (4) Reports to the Board of Supervisors on the progress of negotiation of 12 any matter, including a factual review of the positions taken to date by representatives 13 of the county and of the other party or parties to the negotiation, after the negotiation.has 14 been completed. Legal advisors shall be instructed to prepare any such report in a 15 manner that separates factual information of this type, known to both parties, from 16 evaluative comments and recommendations, which may be withheld from disclosure as 17 a confidential communication. 18 (f) Contract, Bids and Proposals. 19 Contracts, contractors' bids, responses to requests for proposals and all other. 20 records of communications between the county and persons or firms seeking contracts 21 shall be open to inspection immediately after a contract has been awarded. -21- DRAFT # 12 WITH CHANGES MADE BY THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS ON 2/7195 1 (g) Budgets and Other Financial Information. 2 Budgets, whether proposed or adopted, for the county or any of its departments, 3 programs, projects or other categories, and all bills, claims, invoices, vouchers or other 4 records of payment obligations as well as records of actual disbursements showing the 5 amount paid, the payee and the purpose for which payment is made, other than 6 payments for social, forensic or other services whose records are confidential by law, 7 shall not be considered exempt from disclosure under any circumstances. 8 9 Article 25-4.6 Public Records Access 10 11 25-4.602 Confidentiality waiver request 12 Whenever a county officer asserts, as a justification for nondisclosure of a public record, 13 the exemption protecting personal privacy in Government Code section 6254(c), the 14 exemption for names and addresses of crime victims in. Government Code section 15 6254(f)(2), the exemption for taxpayer information in Government Code section 6254(i), 16 any confidentiality or privilege statute referenced under Government Code section 6254(k) 17 the exemption for personal financial data in Government Code section 6254(n), and any 18 other claimed exemption based upon the personal or proprietary interests of a private 19 natural or corporate person, the officer shall cooperate with the requester's efforts .to 20 communicate with the subject of the record as follows, upon request, if the requester 21 fulfills the related terms and conditions. -22- DRAFT # 12 WITH CHANGES MADE BY THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS ON 217/95 1 (a) If the requester is seeking information concerning an unknown number of 2 persons, the officer or designee shall inform the requester of the number or approximate 3 number of persons to whom the public record request pertains. If ascertaining that 4 number involves itemized labor or other costs reflecting more than ten minutes of staff 5 time in research, the requester may be required to pay those itemized costs. 6 (b) The requester shall prepare one stamped envelope for each of the persons 7 sought to be contacted, with the requesters return address on the envelope. Within the 8 envelope the requester shall place a letter explaining why the information is being sought 9 and asking the person to contact the requester. The requester may also include a self- 10 addressed, stamped envelope for that purpose. The envelope shall be presented to the 11 officer for mailing. 12 (c) The officer or designee shall affix to each envelope so received the mailing 13 address of the person who is the subject of the information request and shall mail it, 14 provided that a mailing address is included in the officers records. Any staff time 15 required to do so shall be required to be paid by the requester, at the pro rata hourly rate 16 of the employee addressing the envelopes. 17 (d) If the subject of the record signs a privacy waiver, the record shall be released 18 to the requester if it could lawfully be released to the person authorizing release. -23- DRAFT # 12 WITH CHANGES MADE BY THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS ON 217/95 1 2 (e) If the subject of the record is legally incompetent to waive privacy interests, the 3 officer shall address the requester's envelope to the parent, guardian, conservator or 4 judicial officer, as the case may be, if known, with the duty and authority- to make such 5 decisions for the incompetent person. 6 (f) If, in the judgment of the department head, the requestor is someone who may 7 misuse the information, or if the records or the subjects of the records are of a sensitive 8 nature, the department head may include in the mailing a caution that the individual need 9 not waive his or her privacy interests. The requester shall be provided a copy of the 10 caution and an opportunity to include a response in the mailing. 11 12 25-4.604 Immediacy of response 13 Notwithstanding the 10-day period for response to a request permitted in Government 14 Code section 6256, a request for a public record described in any nonexempt category 15 under Section 25-4.204 which is received by a department head shall be satisfied no later :16 than the close of business on the day following the request unless the department head 17 advises the requester in writing that the request will be answered by a specific future 18 date. The statutory deadlines are appropriate for more extensive or demanding requests, 19 but shall not be used to delay fulfilling a simple, routine or otherwise readily answerable 20 request. If the voluminous nature of the information requested, its location in a remote 21 storage facility or the need to consult with legal counsel warrants an extension of 10 days -24- ` DRAFT # 12 WITH CHANGES MADE BY THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS ON 217195 1 as provided in Government Code section 6456.1, the requester shall be noticed as 2 required within three business days of the request. 3 4 25-4.606 Minimum withholding 5 Information that is exempt from disclosure shall be masked, deleted or otherwise 6 segregated in order that the nonexempt portion of a requested record may be released 7 and keyed by footnote or other clear reference to the appropriate justification for 8 withholding required by Section 25-4.608 of this ordinance. 9 10 25-4.608 Justification of withholding 11 Any refusal to disclose a public record shall be justified, in writing, as follows: 12 (a) A withholding under a permissive exemption in the California Public Records 13 Act, this ordinance or other law shall cite that authority and explain in practical terms, 14 citing one or more examples, as to how the public interest would be harmed by 15 disclosure. 16 (b) No records or information shall be withheld on the basis of the public interest 17 balancing test in Government Code Section 6255, or by citing any case law application 18 of that statute. 19 (c) A withholding on the basis that disclosure is prohibited by law shall cite the 20 statutory authority in the Public Records Act or elsewhere. -25- DRAFT # 12 WITH CHANGES MADE BY THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS ON 217195 1 2 (d) A withholding on the basis that disclosure would incur civil or criminal liability 3 shall cite any statutory or case law, supporting that position. 4 5 25-4.610 Fees for duplication 6 (a) No fee shall be charged for making public records available for review. 7 (b) No fee shall be charged for a copy of documents routinely produced in multiple 8 copies for distribution, e.g. meeting agendas and related materials which are twenty or 9 fewer pages in length per document. 10 (c) A fee of one cent per page may be charged for a copy of documents routinely 11 produced in multiple copies for distribution, e.g. meeting agendas and related materials 12 which contain more than twenty pages per document. 13 (d) For documents assembled and copied to the order of the requester, a fee not 14 to exceed 10 cents per page may be charged, plus any postage costs. 15 (e) The department or the County may, rather than making the copies itself, 16 contract at market rate to have a commercial copier produce the duplicates and send the 17 charges directly to the requester. 18 (f) Nothing in this section shall be interpreted as intending to preempt any fee set 19 by or in compliance with State law. -26- DRAFT # 12 WITH CHANGES MADE BY THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS ON 2/7/95 1 CHAPTER 25-6 2 ONGOING IMPROVED COMMUNICATION 3 Article 25-6.2 General 4 25-6.202 Records Database 5 The county shall cooperate with any voluntary effort by an interested and competent 6 individual or organization to compile either a full text or partial database to the non- . 7 confidential records it maintains, including those it creates and those it receives in the 8 ordinary course of business. This shall include, to the extent permitted by law, providing 9 the organization with any listing of the contents or titles of files which can be released 10 without compromising the confidentiality of the contents of the files. The database shall 11 be for the use of county officials, staff and the general public, and shall be organized to 12 permit a general understanding of the types of public information maintained, by which 13 officials and departments, for which purposes and for what periods of retention, and under 14 what manner of organization for accessing, e.g. by reference to a name, a date, a 15 proceeding or project, or some other referencing system. The database need not be in 16 such detail as to identify files or records concerning a specific person, transaction or other 17 event, but shall clearly indicate where and how records of that type are kept. Any such 18 master database shall be reviewed by appropriate staff for accuracy and presented to the 19 Board of Supervisors for formal adoption. Any changes in the county's practices or 20 procedures that would affect the accuracy of the database shall thereafter be reported by, 21 the responsible staff to the Board of Supervisors as the basis for a corresponding revision 22 of the database. -27- DRAFT # 12 WITH CHANGES MADE BY THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS ON 217/95 1 25-6.204 Policy task force 2 (a) There is hereby established a task force to be known as the Better Government 3 Task Force consisting of nine voting members appointed by the Board of Supervisors. 4 Two members shall be appointed from individuals whose names have been submitted by 5 the local chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists, one of whom shall be an 6 attorney and one of whom shall be a local journalist. One member shall be appointed 7 from individuals whose names have been submitted by the Radio-Televisions News 8 Directors Association. One member shall be appointed from individuals whose names 9 have been submitted by the local chapter of the League of Women Voters. One member 10 shall be a representative designated by the Board of Supervisors. Two members shall 11 be members of the public who have demonstrated interest in or have experience in the 12 issues of citizen access and participation in local government. Two members shall be 13o ,' " tl `.artECttter'tds 14 41iomrnated the Ccu AdmrrYistrBfor The County Counsel shall serve as legal advisor ............ 15 to the task force. 16 (b)The term of each appointive member shall be two years unless earlier removed 17 by the Board of Supervisors. In the event of such removal or in the event a vacancy 18 otherwise occurs during the term of office of any appointive member, a successor shall 19 be appointed for the unexpired term of the office vacated in a manner similar to that 20 described herein for the initial members. The task force shall elect a chair from among 21 its members. The term of office as chair shall be one year. Members of the task force 22 shall serve without compensation. 28- DRAFT # 12 WITH CHANGES MADE BY THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS ON 2/7/95 1 (c) The task force shall advise the Board of Supervisors and provide information 2 to County departments on appropriate ways to implement this chapter. The task force 3 shall recommend appropriate goals to ensure practical and timely implementation of this 4 chapter. The task force may propose to the Board of Supervisors amendments to this 5 chapter. The task force may report to the Board of Supervisors on any practical or policy 6 problems encountered in the administration of this chapter. 7 (d) The task force shall recommend to the Board of Supervisors an administrative 8 process of review and enforcement for Division 25 which could be accomplished by the 9 use of a volunteer ombudsman whose role would be to mediate and resolve disputes 10 disagreements and conflicts that occur as a result of the enactment of this Division. No 11 such administrative review process shall preclude, delay or in any way limit a person's 12 remedies under the Brown Act or the California Public Records Act. 13 (e) Upon the conclusion of the administrative review process, as implemented 14 pursuant to 25-6.204, any person may institute proceedings for injunctive relief or 15 declarative relief or writ of mandate in any court of competent jurisdiction to enforce his 16 or her right to inspect or to receive a copy of any public record or class of public records 17 under this ordinance, or to enforce his or her right to attend any meeting required 18 hereunder to be open, or to compel such meeting to be open. -29- DRAFT # 12 WITH CHANGES MADE BY THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS ON 2/7/95 1 2 (f) 3 sheuld the plaintiff prievai! in litigettien filed pui;suant te this seetien. 4:he eests and fees 4 5 6 plaintiffs eme is eleafly thyeleus, it shall awafd eeuFt eesis and.reasonable afte m- ey fees 7 abl : ' Qtsi1 '< i1� r�ab g: ttt .. .: :.....: Re....::.:::.:.:<:::Y:::.::.>:.::: s fo the1a�nti�f should the1arnff prevail c3 the courtftler sxrch fees paid r tMe 9 Irbgatron isgeperivQtous by the opus ireouriy writ assr#;tis:.<, tatsa:be ptd toe ,sorbt court $ 17 fs ar�dorres des 11 12 CHAPTER 25-8 13 GENERAL . 14 Article 25-8.2 Miscellaneous provisions 15 16 25-8.202 Criminal Enforcement Exception. 17 The provisions of Chapter 14-8 of Division 14 of Title 1 are inapplicable with 18 respect to the provisions of this Division. 19 -30- A CC fSSING ALL {� ` . jxrogj�4 714W M}. bNLIG R d Al If Edu ca CCa40•►. rww.) e ff�'t y WHO? WHY? Social Studies, Business, Access original information, Journalism Instructors. . . government documents and go beyond current event articles; Citizens, Government Employees, find funding resources and and Potential/Past Grand Jury market information; learn how to Members, politically active-- discover tax dollar Republican, Democrat, Third expenditures and how to obtain Party and Independent--advocates,. . . your governments' "products" and other "useful information. " INSTRUCTOR: Joseph V.A. Partansky,M.B.A. , policy analyst/info. specialist; former County, State, Federal employee & Chief Exec. Officer; course examples will come from Freedom of Information, CIA, health services, consumer & business advocacy areas. (Questions: "- 2-9.9.5.7 a.m. or p.m. ) TWO FREEBIES: (you are invited to enroll. . . Best voice access to Federal Government: 1-80Q--347-1997 Electronic access to 130 online Fed. databases: FedWorld@W(703) 487-4608 ALL LEVELS OF SKILL, ALL QUESTIONS, ALL PROJECTS WILL HAVE OPPORUNITY FOR PEER CONSULTATION AND INSTRUCTOR SUGGESTIONS. PHAC PLEASANT HILL ADULT CENTER 3100 Oak Park Blvd., Pleasant Hill W> ii.is ACCESSING ALL GOVERNMENT INF ORMATIO XT 7234 1 5 Pariansky -4/t . S mar4AVIY 9:00-12noon $45 405 PHA Tapping government information---at national, state and local levels - for personal, commercial and/or civic purposes. usilng Freedom of Information and Privacy Act$to your advantage. Understand secrecy, confidentiality and First Amendment Protections. Learn how to use accessing tools, methods and U�L resources. (4 wks.) Diratoo Adult iFducahw RAC A A f 9 C ct"6(03 76. 485- 73YO) OY Aer T Tej j