San Francisco County Municipal Code Art. III Public Information and Public

RECORDS Sec. 67.20. Definitions. Sec. 67.21. Process for Gaining Access to Public Records; Administrative Appeals. Sec. 67.21-1. Policy Regarding Use and Purchase of Computer Systems. Sec. 67.22. Release of Oral Public Information. Sec. 67.23. Public Review File – Policy Body Communications. Sec. 67.24. Public Information that Must Be Disclosed. Sec. 67.25. Immediacy of Response. Sec. 67.26. Withholding Kept to a Minimum. Sec. 67.27. Justification of Withholding. Sec. 67.28. Fees for Duplication. Sec. 67.29. Index to Records. Sec. 67.29-1. Records Survive Transition of Officials. Sec. 67.29-2. Internet Access/World Wide Web Minimum Standards. Sec. 67.29-3.

Sec. 67.29-4. Lobbyist On Behalf of the City. Sec. 67.29-5. Calendars of Certain Officials. Sec. 67.29-6. Sources of Outside Funding. Sec. 67.29-7. Correspondence and Records Shall Be Maintained.

Whenever in this article the following words or phrases are used, they shall mean:

(a) "Department" shall mean a department of the City and County of San Francisco. (b) "Public Information" shall mean the content of "public records" as defined in the California Public Records Act (Government Code Section 6252), whether provided in documentary form or in an oral communication. "Public Information" shall not include "computer software" developed by the City and County of San Francisco as defined in the California Public Records Act (Government Code Section 6254.9). (c) "Supervisor of Records" shall mean the City Attorney. (Added by Ord. 265-93, App. 8/18/93; amended by Ord. 375-96, App. 9/30/96; Proposition G, 11/2/99)

Release of oral public information shall be accomplished as follows: (a) Every department head shall designate a person or persons knowledgeable about the affairs of the department, to provide information, including oral information, to the public about the department's operations, plans, policies and positions. The department head may designate himself or herself for this assignment, but in any event shall arrange that an alternate be available for this function during the absence of the person assigned primary responsibility. If a department has multiple bureaus or divisions, the department may designate a person or persons for each bureau or division to provide this information. (b) The role of the person or persons so designated shall be to provide information on as timely and responsive a basis as possible to those members of the public who are not requesting information from a specific person. This section shall not be interpreted to curtail existing informal contacts between employees and members of the public when these contacts are occasional, acceptable to the employee and the department, not disruptive of his or her operational duties and confined to accurate information not confidential by law. (c) No employee shall be required to respond to an inquiry or inquiries from an individual if it would take the employee more than fifteen minutes to obtain the information responsive to the inquiry or inquiries.

(d) Public employees shall not be discouraged from or disciplined for the expression of their personal opinions on any matter of public concern while not on duty, so long as the opinion (1) is not represented as that of the department and does not misrepresent the department position; and (2) does not disrupt coworker relations, impair discipline or control by superiors, erode a close working relationship premised on personal loyalty and confidentiality, interfere with the employee's performance of his or her duties or obstruct the routine operation of the office in a manner that outweighs the employee's interests in expressing that opinion. In adopting this subdivision, the Board of Supervisors intends merely to restate and affirm court decisions recognizing the First Amendment rights enjoyed by public employees. Nothing in this section shall be construed to provide rights to City employees beyond those recognized by courts, now or in the future, under the First Amendment, or to create any new private cause of action or defense to disciplinary action. (e) Notwithstanding any other provisions of this ordinance, public employees shall not be discouraged from or disciplined for disclosing any information that is public information or a public record to any journalist or any member of the public. Any public employee who is disciplined for disclosing public information or a public record shall have a cause of action against the City and the supervisor imposing the discipline. (Added by Ord. 265-93, App. 8/18/93; amended by Proposition G, 11/2/99)

(a) The clerk of the Board of Supervisors and the clerk of each board and commission enumerated in the charter shall maintain a file, accessible to any person during normal office hours, containing a copy of any letter, memorandum or other communication which the clerk has distributed to or received from a quorum of the policy body concerning a matter calendared by the body within the previous 30 days or likely to be calendared within the next 30 days, irrespective of subject matter, origin or recipient, except commercial solicitations, periodical publications or communications exempt from disclosure under the California Public Records Act (Government Code Section 6250 et seq.) and not deemed disclosable under Section 67.24 of this article. (b) Communications, as described in subsection (a), sent or received in the last three business days shall be maintained in chronological order in the office of the department head or at a place nearby, clearly designated to the public. After documents have been on file for two full days, they may be removed, and, in the discretion of the board or commission, placed in a monthly chronological file. (c) Multiple-page reports, studies or analyses which are accompanied by a letter or memorandum of transmittal need not be included in the file so long as the letter or memorandum of transmittal is included. (Added by Ord. 265-93, App. 8/18/93; amended by Proposition G, 11/2/99)

Notwithstanding a department's legal discretion to withhold certain information under the California Public Records Act, the following policies shall govern specific types of documents and information and shall provide enhanced rights of public access to information and records: (a) Drafts and Memoranda. (1) Except as provided in subparagraph (2), no preliminary draft or department memorandum, whether in printed or electronic form, shall be exempt from disclosure under Government Code Section 6254, Subdivision (a) or any other provision. If such a document is not normally kept on file and would otherwise be disposed of, its factual content is not exempt under Subdivision (a). Only the recommendation of the author may, in such circumstances, be withheld as exempt. (2) Draft versions of an agreement being negotiated by representatives of the City with some other party need not be disclosed immediately upon creation but must be preserved and made available for public review for 10 days prior to the presentation of the agreement for approval by a policy body, unless the body finds that and articulates how the public interest would be unavoidably and substantially harmed by compliance with this 10 day rule, provided that policy body as used in this subdivision does not include committees. In the case of negotiations for a contract, lease or other business agreement in which an agency of the City is offering to provide facilities or services in direct competition with other public or private entities that are not required by law to make their competing proposals public or do not in fact make their proposals public, the policy body may postpone public access to the final draft agreement until it is presented to it for approval. (b) Litigation Material. (1) Notwithstanding any exemptions otherwise provided by law, the following are public records subject to disclosure under this Ordinance: (i) A pre-litigation claim against the City; (ii) A record previously received or created by a department in the ordinary course of business that was not attorney/client privileged when it was previously received or created;

(iii) Advice on compliance with, analysis of, an opinion concerning liability under, or any communication otherwise concerning the California Public Records Act, the Ralph M. Brown Act, the Political Reform Act, any San Francisco Governmental Ethics Code, or this Ordinance. (2) Unless otherwise privileged under California law, when litigation is finally adjudicated or otherwise settled, records of all communications between the department and the adverse party shall be subject to disclosure, including the text and terms of any settlement. (c) Personnel Information. None of the following shall be exempt from disclosure under Government Code Section 6254, subdivision (c), or any other provision of California Law where disclosure is not forbidden: (1) The job pool characteristics and employment and education histories of all successful job applicants, including at a minimum the following information as to each successful job applicant: (i) Sex, age and ethnic group; (ii) Years of graduate and undergraduate study, degree(s) and major or discipline; (iii) Years of employment in the private and/or public sector; (iv) Whether currently employed in the same position for another public agency. (v) Other non-identifying particulars as to experience, credentials, aptitudes, training or education entered in or attached to a standard employment application form used for the position in question. (2) The professional biography or curriculum vitae of any employee, provided that the home address, home telephone number, social security number, age, and marital status of the employee shall be redacted. (3) The job description of every employment classification. (4) The exact gross salary and City-paid benefits available to every employee. (5) Any memorandum of understanding between the City or department and a recognized employee organization. (6) The amount, basis, and recipient of any performance-based increase in compensation, benefits, or both, or any other bonus, awarded to any employee, which shall be announced during the open session of a policy body at which the award is approved. (7) The record of any confirmed misconduct of a public employee involving personal dishonesty, misappropriation of public funds, resources or benefits, unlawful discrimination against another on the basis of status, abuse of authority, or violence, and of any discipline imposed for such misconduct. (d) Law Enforcement Information. The District Attorney, Chief of Police, and Sheriff are encouraged to cooperate with the press and other members of the public in allowing access to local records pertaining to investigations, arrests, and other law enforcement activity. However, 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 as interpreted under Government Code section 25303, or other applicable State law or judicial decision. Records pertaining to any investigation, arrest or other law enforcement activity shall be disclosed to the public once the District Attorney or court determines that a prosecution will not be sought against the subject involved, or once the statute of limitations for filing charges has expired, whichever occurs first. Notwithstanding the occurrence of any such event, individual items of information in the following categories may be segregated and withheld if, on the particular facts, the public interest in nondisclosure clearly and substantially outweighs the public interest in disclosure: (1) The names of juvenile witnesses (whose identities may nevertheless be indicated by substituting a number or alphabetical letter for each individual interviewed); (2) Personal or otherwise private information related to or unrelated to the investigation if disclosure would constitute an unwarranted invasion of privacy; (3) The identity of a confidential source; (4) Secret investigative techniques or procedures; (5) Information whose disclosure would endanger law enforcement personnel; or (6) Information whose disclosure would endanger the successful completion of an investigation where the prospect of enforcement proceedings is concrete and definite. This Subdivision shall not exempt from disclosure any portion of any record of a concluded inspection or enforcement action by an officer or department responsible for regulatory protection of the public health, safety, or welfare. (e) Contracts, Bids and Proposals. (1) Contracts, contractors' bids, responses to requests for proposals and all other records of communications between the department and persons or firms seeking contracts shall be open to inspection immediately after a contract has been awarded. Nothing in this provision requires the disclosure of a private person's or organization's net worth or other proprietary financial data submitted for qualification for a contract or other benefit until and unless that person or organization is awarded the contract or benefit. All bidders and contractors shall be advised that information provided which is covered by this subdivision will be made available to the public upon

request. Immediately after any review or evaluation or rating of responses to a Request for Proposal ("RFP") has been completed, evaluation forms and score sheets and any other documents used by persons in the RFP evaluation or contractor selection process shall be available for public inspection. The names of scorers, graders or evaluators, along with their individual ratings, comments, and score sheets or comments on related documents, shall be made immediately available after the review or evaluation of a RFP has been completed. (2) Notwithstanding the provisions of this Subdivision or any other provision of this ordinance, the Director of Public Health may withhold from disclosure proposed and final rates of payment for managed health care contracts if the Director determines that public disclosure would adversely affect the ability of the City to engage in effective negotiations for managed health care contracts. The authority to withhold this information applies only to contracts pursuant to which the City (through the Department of Public Health) either pays for health care services or receives compensation for providing such services, including mental health and substance abuse services, to covered beneficiaries through a pre-arranged rate of payment. This provision also applies to rates for managed health care contracts for the University of California, San Francisco, if the contract involves beneficiaries who receive services provided jointly by the City and University. This provision shall not authorize the Director to withhold rate information from disclosure for more than three years. (3) During the course of negotiations for: (i) personal, professional, or other contractual services not subject to a competitive process or where such a process has arrived at a stage where there is only one qualified or responsive bidder; (ii) leases or permits having total anticipated revenue or expense to the City and County of five hundred thousand dollars ($500,000) or more or having a term of ten years or more; or (iii) any franchise agreements, all documents exchanged and related to the position of the parties, including draft contracts, shall be made available for public inspection and copying upon request. In the event that no records are prepared or exchanged during negotiations in the above-mentioned categories, or the records exchanged do not provide a meaningful representation of the respective positions, the City Attorney or City representative familiar with the negotiations shall, upon a written request by a member of the public, prepare written summaries of the respective positions within five working days following the final day of negotiation of any given week. The summaries will be available for public inspection and copying. Upon completion of negotiations, the executed contract, including the dollar amount of said contract, shall be made available for inspection and copying. At the end of each fiscal year, each City department shall provide to the Board of Supervisors a list of all sole source contracts entered into during the past fiscal year. This list shall be made available for inspection and copying as provided for elsewhere in this Article. (f) Budgets and Other Financial Information. Budgets, whether tentative, proposed or adopted, for the City or any of its departments, programs, projects or other categories, and all bills, claims, invoices, vouchers or other records of payment obligations as well as records of actual disbursements showing the amount paid, the payee and the purpose for which payment is made, other than payments for social or other services whose records are confidential by law, shall not be exempt from disclosure under any circumstances. (g) Neither the City nor any office, employee, or agent thereof may assert California Public Records Act Section 6255 or any similar provision as the basis for withholding any documents or information requested under this ordinance. (h) Neither the City nor any office, employee, or agent thereof may assert an exemption for withholding for any document or information based on a "deliberative process" exemption, either as provided by California Public Records Act Section 6255 or any other provision of law that does not prohibit disclosure. (i) Neither the City, nor any office, employee, or agent thereof, may assert an exemption for withholding for any document or information based on a finding or showing that the public interest in withholding the information outweighs the public interest in disclosure. All withholdings of documents or information must be based on an express provision of this ordinance providing for withholding of the specific type of information in question or on an express and specific exemption provided by California Public Records Act that is not forbidden by this ordinance. (Added by Ord. 265-93, App. 8/18/93; amended by Ord. 292-95, App. 9/8/95; Ord. 240-98, App. 7/17/98; Proposition G, 11/2/99)

(a) Notwithstanding the 10-day period for response to a request permitted in Government Code Section 6256 and in this Article, a written request for information described in any category of non-exempt public information shall be satisfied no later than the close of business on the day following the day of the request. This deadline shall apply only if the words "Immediate Disclosure Request" are placed across the top of the request and on the envelope, subject line, or cover sheet in which the request is transmitted. Maximum deadlines provided in this article are appropriate for more extensive or demanding requests, but shall not be used to delay fulfilling a simple, routine or otherwise readily answerable request. (b) If the voluminous nature of the information requested, its location in a remote storage facility or the need to consult with another interested department warrants an extension of 10 days as provided in Government Code Section 6456.1, the requester shall be notified as required by the close of business on the business day following the request.

(c) The person seeking the information need not state his or her reason for making the request or the use to which the information will be put, and requesters shall not be routinely asked to make such a disclosure. Where a record being requested contains information most of which is exempt from disclosure under the California Public Records Act and this article, however, the City Attorney or custodian of the record may inform the requester of the nature and extent of the non-exempt information and inquire as to the requester's purpose for seeking it, in order to suggest alternative sources for the information which may involve less redaction or to otherwise prepare a response to the request. (d) Notwithstanding any provisions of California Law or this ordinance, in response to a request for information describing any category of non-exempt public information, when so requested, the City and County shall produce any and all responsive public records as soon as reasonably possible on an incremental or "rolling" basis such that responsive records are produced as soon as possible by the end of the same business day that they are reviewed and collected. This section is intended to prohibit the withholding of public records that are responsive to a records request until all potentially responsive documents have been reviewed and collected. Failure to comply with this provision is a violation of this Article. (Added by Ord. 265-93, App. 8/18/93; amended by Proposition G, 11/2/99)

No record shall be withheld from disclosure in its entirety unless all information contained in it is exempt from disclosure under express provisions of the California Public Records Act or of some other statute. Information that is exempt from disclosure shall be masked, deleted or otherwise segregated in order that the nonexempt portion of a requested record may be released, and keyed by footnote or other clear reference to the appropriate justification for withholding required by Section 67.27 of this Article. This work shall be done personally by the attorney or other staff member conducting the exemption review. The work of responding to a public-records request and preparing documents for disclosure shall be considered part of the regular work duties of any City employee, and no fee shall be charged to the requester to cover the personnel costs of responding to a records request. (Added by Ord. 265-93, App. 8/18/93; amended by Proposition G, 11/2/99)

Any withholding of information shall be justified, in writing, as follows: (a) A withholding under a specific permissive exemption in the California Public Records Act, or elsewhere, which permissive exemption is not forbidden to be asserted by this ordinance, shall cite that authority. (b) A withholding on the basis that disclosure is prohibited by law shall cite the specific statutory authority in the Public Records Act or elsewhere. (c) A withholding on the basis that disclosure would incur civil or criminal liability shall cite any specific statutory or case law, or any other public agency's litigation experience, supporting that position. (d) When a record being requested contains information, most of which is exempt from disclosure under the California Public Records Act and this Article, the custodian shall inform the requester of the nature and extent of the nonexempt information and suggest alternative sources for the information requested, if available. (Added by Ord. 265-93, App. 8/18/93; amended by Proposition G, 11/2/99)

(a) No fee shall be charged for making public records available for review. (b) For documents routinely produced in multiple copies for distribution, e.g. meeting agendas and related materials, unless a special fee has been established pursuant to Subdivision (d) of this Section, a fee not to exceed one cent per page may be charged, plus any postage costs. (c) For documents assembled and copied to the order of the requester, unless a special fee has been established pursuant to Subdivision (d) of this Section, a fee not to exceed 10 cents per page may be charged, plus any postage. (d) A department may establish and charge a higher fee than the one cent presumptive fee in Subdivision (b) and the 10 cent presumptive fee in Subdivision (c) if it prepares and posts an itemized cost analysis establishing that its cost per page impression exceeds 10 cents or one cent, as the case may be. The cost per page impression shall include the following costs: one sheet of paper; one

duplication cycle of the copying machine in terms of toner and other specifically identified operation or maintenance factors, excluding electrical power. Any such cost analysis shall identify the manufacturer, model, vendor and maintenance contractor, if any, of the copying machine or machines referred to. (e) Video copies of video recorded meetings shall be provided to the public upon request for $10.00 or less per meeting. (Added by Ord. 265-93, App. 8/18/93; amended by Proposition G, 11/2/99)