The Assembly Judiciary Committee is scheduled to hear on Tuesday, April 21, legislation to allow a court to adjudge an individual a vexatious requester of public records under the California Public Records Act (CPRA). Sponsored by Attorney General Jerry Brown, AB 520 would require a public agency to pursue the designation in court. If a court finds the requester has made a request for “an improper purpose,” it could limit or eliminate an agency’s duty to respond to requests in the future.
CNPA argues in its letter that while their may be instances of abusive requests and harassing behavior, the problem is not worthy of legislative resolution. “In fact, public agencies at every level of government have failed to comply with the law by ignoring requests for records, delaying access, wrongfully denying requests and charging fees in excess of those authorized by law. Every audit performed by Californians Aware, the California First Amendment Coalition, or CNPA member newspapers such as the Contra Costa Times or Stockton Record, has shown abysmal compliance with the law.”
“The Act has long forbid an
agency’s inquiry into a requester’s purpose for the records for obvious
reasons. Agencies must never be allowed to determine whether or not to comply
with a request based on whether the request is for a use approved by the agency
(i.e., a good use). Courts are no better equipped to decide who should and who
should not receive public records based upon the person’s purpose or use of the
records (i.e., to affect public policy, perform academic research,
newsgathering, anti-corruption, business planning, political, etc.) CalAware
also filed this terrific letter.
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