Consumer advocates say agencies’ delays in producing records often exceed their own deadlines
Nearly 20 years after California voters made access to government records a constitutional right, requests are being met with interminable delays, exorbitant fees and a host of exemption claims, consumer and open-government advocates say.a proposed 2024 voter initiative“The Public Records Act is full of loopholes and fails to live up to the constitutional right to open records in California,” said Jerry Flanagan of Consumer Watchdog, the advocacy group sponsoring the proposed initiative.
The city of San Jose has been sued repeatedly for perpetually extending its own deadline for producing records, delaying access beyond the time when they are relevant to public debate. In 2019, San Jose police told this news organization it would take four years to review and release requested records of police use of force. The Bay Area News Group sued, and the city ultimately agreed to a 30-day turnaround for most requests as part of a settlement.
Officials at the Public Utilities Commission and Mendocino County had no immediate comment. San Jose officials denied perpetually extending deadlines and said response delays are allowed due to the volume of records involved. A Santa Cruz County spokesman said the county hasn’t enforced its 2010 cost collection ordinance because of judicial rulings.Clarifying that public records include documents maintained by private contractors and vendors relating to their work on behalf of the public.
He believes the proposed initiative will help combat abuse of the “deliberative process” exemption in which agencies deny access to records that helped public officials reach a policy decision. It was intended to allow officials to freely share ideas in private, but Loy said it has become a “catch-all exemption” used to deny records and force requesters to challenge the denial in court.
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