Yolo County District Attorney Understands Public Records

Well I think I found a government office that understands Public Records. Jeff W. Reisig is Yolo County's District Attorney. His office has a page providing Guidelines for Access to Public Records.

Guidelines

Directing Your Request

Direct your request to the DA's Public Records Clerk. The DA has designated a Public Records Clerk to facilitate its response to public records requests. If you direct your request to the Public Records Clerk, it will make it easier for us to track and process your request that will result in your receiving a more prompt response.

The Public Records Clerk may be reached by telephone at (530) 666-8413, by e-mail at publicrecords@yoloda.org , and by US mail at:

Yolo County District Attorney - Public Records Clerk 301 Second Street, Woodland, CA 95695

Written Requests are Encouraged

The DA encourages, but does not require, requests for records to be made in writing unless the request involves records maintained by the DA for the purpose of immediate public inspection. Examples of these types of records include:

• Statements of economic interest,
• DA publications and these guidelines.

Written requests help the DA respond to the request and correctly identify the records requested. Denials of written requests will be provided in writing. When requests are made orally, the DA may confirm the request in writing to ensure it has correctly understood the request.

It seems to me that the DA recognizes that public records act requests may be verbal, yet the Yolo County Health Department requires the request to be in writing.

"A member of the public may review files after submitting a written request to review specific files. To help us provide the best customer service, we encourage you to call ahead and make an appointment. This allows us to have the files ready when you get here, and it helps eliminate conflicts for files and computer stations between reviewers.

If you wish to make an appointment, please complete a File Review Request Form and submit as described at the bottom of this page. Please be as specific as possible on the request form when describing the documents that you wish to review/copy. Providing facility names, addresses, and parcel numbers will help us to locate the requested information. If there are any questions please call and speak to Yvette Mitchell at (530) 666-8646."

It's too bad the departments couldn't talk to each other. Maybe County Counsel could help ALL County Departments understand the Public Records Act. Assuming County Counsel understands it. They really need to consider having someone from Californians Aware conduct an in service training, or the Attorney General's office.

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