SEC. 67.21-1. POLICY REGARDING USE AND PURCHASE OF COMPUTER SYSTEMS.
§ 67.21-1
San Francisco policy directs city departments to use computer systems that reduce costs of managing and disclosing public records, and when purchasing new systems, to design them so exempt information is separated from public information, records can be reproduced in standard formats, and records are accessible over public networks like the Internet.
The city wants to use computers to make public records cheaper to store and share. When departments buy new computer systems, they should try to: keep secret information separate from information the public can see; make it easy to copy records in common computer formats that anyone can read; and let people access records over the Internet or other public networks, while keeping sensitive information secure.
- Could be simpler:The distinction between subsections (a) and (b) and the phrasing of (b) as 'goals' rather than requirements creates ambiguity about whether departments must or merely 'attempt to' meet these standards—clearer language about mandatory versus aspirational obligations would help.
AI-generated · claude-haiku-4-5 · informational only, not legal advice.
Official text
(a) It is the policy of the City and County of San Francisco to utilize computer technology in order to reduce the cost of public records management, including the costs of collecting, maintaining, and disclosing records subject to disclosure to members of the public under this section. To the extent that it is technologically and economically feasible, departments that use computer systems to collect and store public records shall program and design these systems to ensure convenient, efficient, and economical public access to records and shall make public records easily accessible over public networks such as the Internet.
(b) Departments purchasing new computer systems shall attempt to reach the following goals as a means to achieve lower costs to the public in connection with the public disclosure of records:
(1) Implementing a computer system in which exempt information is segregated or filed separately from otherwise disclosable information.
(2) Implementing a system that permits reproduction of electronic copies of records in a format that is generally recognized as an industry standard format.
(3) Implementing a system that permits making records available through the largest non-profit, non-proprietary public computer network, consistent with the requirement for security of information.
(Added by Ord. 265-93, App. 8/18/93; amended by Ord. 253-96, App. 6/19/96; Proposition G, 11/2/99)