SEC. 67.35. ENFORCEMENT PROVISIONS.
§ 67.35
This section allows members of the public to sue in court to enforce transparency rights under the ordinance—including access to public records and the right to attend open meetings—and provides for recovery of legal costs by the prevailing party, while also allowing the City to recover fees if a lawsuit is deemed frivolous.
Anyone can go to court to make sure they can see public records or attend meetings that are supposed to be open. If you win your case, the court will pay you back for your lawyer and costs. If the court thinks your lawsuit was frivolous (basically a waste of time), the City can ask you to pay the City's lawyer fees instead. You can also file a complaint with the Ethics Commission if the City or State doesn't take action within 40 days.
- Complex:Subsection (d) introduces a procedural trigger ('40 days after a complaint is filed') that depends on undefined prior steps and cross-references to other enforcement mechanisms not explained in this section.
- Controversial:The frivolous-lawsuit provision in subsection (c) and the shift to the Ethics Commission in subsection (d) raise questions about burden-shifting and forum-shopping that reasonable people may debate in the context of public-records enforcement.
AI-generated · claude-haiku-4-5 · informational only, not legal advice.
Official text
(a) Any person may institute proceedings for injunctive relief, declaratory relief, or writ of mandate in any court of competent jurisdiction to enforce his or her right to inspect or to receive a copy of any public record or class of public records under this Ordinance or to enforce his or her right to attend any meeting required under this Ordinance to be open, or to compel such meeting to be open.
(b) A court shall award costs and reasonable attorneys' fees to the plaintiff who is the prevailing party in an action brought to enforce this Ordinance.
(c) If a court finds that an action filed pursuant to this section is frivolous, the City and County may assert its rights to be paid its reasonable attorneys' fees and costs.
(d) Any person may institute proceedings for enforcement and penalties under this act in any court of competent jurisdiction or before the Ethics Commission if enforcement action is not taken by a City or State official 40 days after a complaint is filed.
(Added by Proposition G, 11/2/99)