PUBLIC RECORDS REQUEST POLICY

The State of California Public Records Act (CPRA) was passed to guarantee the public’s right to access information in possession of Public Agencies within the State.  It stipulates that public records are to be open to inspection at all times during the office hours of the agency.  It is the policy of Reclamation District No. 1000 (District) to adhere to the requirements set forth by The California Public Records Act (Government Code Section 6250-6276.48) and any future amendments thereto.

Accordingly, the District’s public records are normally open to inspection during the District’s business hours of 8:00 am to 4:30 pm.  Rarely, but on occasion, District staffing conflicts may exist.  The public is encouraged to contact the District office prior to a visit to request or review records.  Requests must be for records in the possession of, prepared, owned, used, or retained by the District, and requests must be for clearly identifiable records.  If necessary, District staff will assist the requesting party in making a request that describes reasonably identifiable records. 

Exact copies will be provided unless impracticable to do so.  Copies will not be provided if the disclosure is exempt in accordance with state law or would constitute an unreasonable burden on the operation of the District.  Upon receiving a request for public records, the District will respond within the time required under the CPRA.

If a request is to review documents rather than receive copies, the District will make an appointment at the time of the presentation of a request for a future convenient date to allow staff time to assimilate the requested records and review them for compliance with the provisions of the CPRA; unless the records are easily identifiable and available to the staff and clearly are not exempt under the provisions of the CPRA.

The charge for copies of any specifically described and identified public records not exempt from disclosure is $0.10 per page for sheets that can be copied at the District using available equipment.  Larger size copies, those needing special handling, or requests for a significant number of copies will be contracted to a local copy vendor and the requestor will be invoiced for the actual costs.  Persons requesting copies may also provide their own copy service so long as the original records do not leave the District office.

All charges based on the above must be received by the District before copies of records will be released.

Records stored by the District in electronic format will be provided in the same electronic format when requested by any person.  Direct costs incurred by the District in providing certain electronic data, including direct costs of redacting confidential information or information not otherwise subject to disclosure, shall be paid by the recipient.  The District is not required to produce records in an electronic format when requested records are not available in electronic format at the time of the request.