Voice of OC (https://voiceofoc.org/tag/terry-francke/)
Government emails and text messages about enforcement of Orange County’s campaign finance laws will be destroyed two years after they’re sent or received, under a policy county supervisors approved Tuesday.
American courts have held the public and journalists have the right to film government officials, including police, carrying out official actions in public.
Orange County supervisors were planning to privately discuss Tuesday whether to explore using county-owned land for a veterans cemetery, but changed their agenda after Voice of OC questioned its legality.
The policy says officials may “at any time” destroy emails and text messages they consider to be internal memos or “working notes.”
The plan could be illegal, according to two attorneys who specialize in California public records law.
Santa Ana officials recently added five new water-related fees for building construction, but their public notice left that out when describing what the City Council’s action would do.
“There is not a board majority at this time” to support a permit for the restrooms, Spitzer told Voice of OC. He said he hopes to introduce an alternative idea Wednesday.
The policy resulted in a Voice of OC reporter being threatened with arrest for trying to report on officers removing a homeless activist from the Board of Supervisors meeting room.
The 24-page opinion in the case of the City of San Jose vs. the Superior Court (Smith) also said “…there is no indication the Legislature meant to allow public officials to shield communications about official business simply by directing them through personal accounts.“
A February cyber attack on Orange County Transportation Authority servers resulted in the total shutdown of email, voicemail and numerous other services. Officials kept the attack secret, which could be a violation of the state’s open meetings law.