On July 8, the Marin IJ published a wonderful editorial: “Grand jury nudges agencies to open their doors.” Our civil grand jury has also recently published a report, “Public Engagement in Marin,” for which responses from Marin’s 12 cities are due by Sept. 26.
Accountability and transparency are the life blood of good governance and our grand jury should be applauded for their efforts.
While advocating for a more responsive government, the grand jury is quick to point out that “Public Engagement is a two-way street, requiring vigilance on the part of the public as well as the agencies who serve them.”
Access to public records is a critical component in this civic partnership. The California Public Records Act provides government agencies with both the time (24 days) and latitude they need to fulfill the public’s requests.
In a test of the act, I recently filed seven records requests (following a format suggested by San Rafael’s First Amendment Coalition) over two months with the Marin Telecommunications Agency. All requests followed days after attending MTA board meetings and were germane to agenda items.
The MTA failed to meet their statutory duty in all seven instances and is now 45 days past the 24-day response window on two requests, and more than 30 days past due on two more.
Unfortunately, there is no penalty for breaking this law and thus no incentive to comply — hence the need for an assertive civil grand jury to continue nudging our elected officials in the direction of open government.
September 13, 2017
Marin Independent Journal
By Bruce Vogen, San Anselmo
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