January 19, 2007 …

                                       January 19, 2007

              GUIDELINES FOR ACCESS TO PUBLIC RECORDS

        The Secretary of State maintains public counters located in each of the divisions within
the Agency and in regional offices throughout the state, and a public research facility at the
California State Archives. Members of the public are invited to utilize the counter services and
the research facility to access and obtain copies of public records maintained by the Secretary of
State. A formal request pursuant to the California Public Records Act is not necessary for
inspection and copying of public records that are routinely available at the public counters and
the research facility at the California State Archives.

        The public counters identified below are located at the Office of the Secretary of State,
1500 11th Street, Sacramento, California. Agency personnel are available at the public counters
from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday, except on State holidays. No appointment
is required to inspect or copy public records at the public counters. However, depending on the
nature of a request or the volume of customers, reasonable delays may occur in processing a
request.

Public Counters

Business Programs Division
        Uniform Commercial Code Section                                             2nd Floor
        Notary Public and Special Filings Section                                   2nd Floor
               Notary Public Commissions, Apostilles, Authentications,
               Trademarks and Service Marks, Domestic Partnership Registry,
               Written Advance Health Care Directive Registry
        Business Entities Section                                                   3rd Floor
               Corporations, Limited Liability Companies, Limited Liability
               Partnerships, Limited Partnerships, General Partnerships
        Statement of Information Section                                            3rd Floor
Political Reform Division                                                           4th Floor
Management Services Division                                                        4th Floor
Information Technology Division                                                     4th Floor
Elections Division                                                                  5th Floor
Administration                                                                      6th Floor

        The public research facility at the California State Archives is located at 1020 O Street,
4th Floor, Sacramento, California. The research facility is open from 9:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.,
Monday through Friday, except on State holidays. Staff archivists are available to assist the
general public and researchers in accessing the extensive holdings of archival materials relating
to the history and people of California. Please be advised that depending on the nature of a
request and the volume of customers, reasonable delays may occur in processing a request.
In addition to the public counters at the Office of the Secretary of State in Sacramento, there are
public counters at the following regional offices:

Fresno Regional Office
1315 Van Ness Avenue, Suite 203
Fresno, CA 93721-1729

Los Angeles Regional Office
300 South Spring Street, Room 12513
Los Angeles, CA 90013-1260

San Diego Regional Office
1350 Front Street, Suite 2060
San Diego, CA 92101-3609

San Francisco Regional Office
455 Golden Gate Avenue, Suite 14500
San Francisco, CA 94102-7007

        With regard to documents not generally available for access at the public counters and the
research facility, the Secretary of State is committed to full, fair, and prompt compliance with the
California Public Records Act. The guidelines below are designed and intended to facilitate
access to public records pursuant to the California Public Records Act. For detailed statutory
language, please consult Government Code section 6250 et seq.

Requests for Access Pursuant to the California Public Records Act

       Public records, as defined in subdivision (e) of Section 6252 of the Government Code, in
the physical custody of the Secretary of State shall be made available for inspection and copying
in accordance with the following provisions:

Requests for Inspection of Public Records

   1.      Subject to reasonable notice, any person may inspect public records in the custody of
           the Secretary of State during normal business hours. Physical inspection of such
           records shall be permitted at locations within the Office of the Secretary of State as
           determined by the Secretary of State or the Secretary of State's designee. Special
           arrangements shall be made in advance for the inspection of voluminous records.

   2.      Inspection of public records maintained by the Secretary of State shall be permitted
           only in the presence of Agency personnel, except as the Secretary of State or the
           Secretary of State's designee otherwise determine.

   3.      Persons inspecting public records shall not destroy, mutilate, deface, or alter any such
           record or records or remove any such record or records from the location designated
          for inspection. The records shall be physically returned in the same condition and
          order as received, upon either the completion of the inspection or upon verbal request
          of Agency personnel presiding during the inspection.

Requests for Copies of Public Records

   1.     Requests for copies of public records pursuant to the California Public Records Act
          must reasonably describe an identifiable record or records.

   2.     If sending a request through the postal service, the request should be directed to the
          attention of Constituent Services, Office of the Secretary of State, Administration,
          1500 11th Street, Sacramento, California 95814.

   3.     When a request requires a delay in response due to the need to search for, retrieve,
          review, or redact records and cannot be accommodated with immediate inspection or
          copying, the Secretary of State shall have ten (10) calendar days from the receipt of
          the request to determine whether the request seeks copies of disclosable public
          records in the possession of the Secretary of State's Office. The Secretary of State
          shall promptly notify the requesting party in writing of the determination. If the
          request is denied, the written response shall set forth the basis for the denial. Under
          unusual circumstances, as specified in Section 6253(c) of the Government Code, the
          Secretary of State may extend the time in which the requesting party is to be notified
          of the determination. Notice of the extension shall be in writing, setting forth the
          reasons for the extension and the date on which a determination is expected. The
          extension shall not exceed fourteen (14) additional calendar days.

   4.     All requests for copies of public records shall be maintained by the Secretary of State.

   5.     The Secretary of State is not required to compile data, gather information, perform
          research, or otherwise create a record that does not exist or that is not maintained in
          the normal course of business.

   6.     A response to a written request pursuant to the Public Records Act denying the
          request, in whole or in part, shall be in writing.

Records Exempt from Disclosure

   1.     Records shall be made available for inspection or copying unless the records are
          exempt from disclosure. Any reasonably segregable portion of a record shall be
          provided to any requesting party after the removal of the information in the record
          that is exempt from disclosure by law.

   2.     Nomination papers and signatures-in-lieu of filing fee petitions may be viewed at the
          Elections Division public counter, but these documents may not be copied or
          distributed if they contain signatures of voters. [Elections Code section 17100(c)].
3.   The following types of records, which are commonly found in files maintained by the
     Secretary of State, are generally withheld from public disclosure in accordance with
     the provisions of the Government Code:

     ·   Preliminary drafts, notes, or interagency or intra-agency memoranda not retained
         by the Secretary of State in the ordinary course of business, if the public interest
         in withholding the records clearly outweighs the public interest in disclosure.
         [Government Code section 6254(a)].
     ·   Records pertaining to pending litigation to which the Secretary of State is a party,
         or claims made pursuant to Division 3.6 of the Government Code (commencing
         with Section 810), until the pending litigation or claim has been finally
         adjudicated or otherwise settled. [Government Code section 6254(b)].
     ·   Records that are exempt or prohibited from disclosure by state or federal law.
         Such records may include, but are not limited to, the following: confidential
         attorney-client correspondence; notes and other work product prepared by legal
         counsel; materials constituting trade secrets of licentiates or applicants or
         contained in contract proposals; personal information, such as date of birth, social
         security number, and criminal history; and records that may be subject to other
         legal privilege (e.g., medical records prepared by a physician). [Government
         Code section 6254(k)].
     ·   Records pertaining to personnel matters including, but not limited to, employee
         records, background checks, medical evaluations, psychological evaluations, etc.
         [Government Code section 6254(c)].
     ·   Test questions, scoring keys, and other examination data used to administer a
         licensing examination, examinations for employment, or academic examination.
         [Government Code section 6254(g)].
     ·   Information contained in an application for an appointment as a notary public
         submitted to the Secretary of State shall not be disclosed, except the name and
         address of the applicant, pursuant to Section 8201.5 of the Government Code.
         [Government Code section 6276.32].
     ·   The home address, telephone number, e-mail address, California driver's license
         number or California identification card number, social security number, precinct
         number, signature, and prior registration information shown on a voter
         registration card for all registered voters is confidential and shall not be disclosed
         to any person, except pursuant to Section 2194 of the Elections Code.
         [Government Code section 6254.4].
     ·   Records of complaints received by the Secretary of State, which are compiled for
         the purpose of law enforcement or commissioning of notaries public, are not
         subject to public disclosure, except as set forth in subdivision (f) of Section 6254
         of the Government Code. However, nothing in this section shall require records
         reflecting the analysis or conclusions of an investigator to be disclosed.
         [Government Code section 6254(f)].
     ·   Records of investigations conducted by the Secretary of State, which are compiled
         for the purposes of law enforcement or commissioning notaries public, are not
         subject to public disclosure, except as set forth in subdivision (f) of Section 6254
         of the Government Code. However, nothing in this section shall require records
              reflecting the analysis or conclusions of an investigator to be disclosed.
              [Government Code section 6254(f)].
          ·   Circulation records maintained by the California State Archives for the purpose of
              identifying parties that viewed archival materials. [Government Code section
              6254(j)].
          ·   Documents prepared by or for the Secretary of State's Office that assess its
              vulnerability to terrorist attack or other criminal acts intended to disrupt the
              Agency's operations and that is for distribution or consideration in a closed
              session. [Government Code section 6254(aa)].
          ·   Critical infrastructure information, as defined in Section 131(3) of Title 6 of the
              United States Code, that is voluntarily submitted to the California Office of
              Homeland Security for use by that office, including the identity of the person who
              or entity that voluntarily submitted the information. [Government Code section
              6254(bb)].
          ·   All information provided to the Secretary of State by a person for the purpose of
              registration in the Advance Health Care Directive Registry, except that those
              records shall be released at the request of a health care provider, a public
              guardian, or the registrant's legal representative. [Government Code section
              6254(cc)].
          ·   Records pertaining to participants in the Safe at Home program. [Government
              Code sections 6205 et seq. and 6215 et seq].

   4.     The exemptions from disclosure set forth above do not constitute all of the
          exemptions specified by law, but are those exemptions more commonly observed
          with reference to records in the custody of the Secretary of State. Other records may
          be withheld as authorized by law.

Fees for Copying Public Records

   1.     Upon submitting a request for copies pursuant to the Public Records Act and payment
          of the fees covering the direct costs or the applicable statutory fee, the Secretary of
          State shall promptly provide the requested copies.

   2.     Requests for copies pursuant to the Public Records Act will be forwarded to the
          division within the Secretary of State's Office that files and maintains such
          documents. Copy requests shall not require a division within the Secretary of State's
          Office to suspend normal operations in order to comply with a request.

   3.     The following fees shall be charged for copying public records:

              ·   The fee for preparing a copy of any law, resolution, record, or other document
                  on file in the Secretary of State's Office is one dollar ($1.00) for the first page
                  and fifty cents ($0.50) for each page thereafter. [Government Code section
                  12178.1(a)].
              ·   The fee for responding to a request for information pursuant to the Uniform
                  Commercial Code is ten dollars ($10.00) if the request is communicated in
                   writing or five dollars ($5.00) if communicated by approved electronic means
                   using UCC Connect. [Commercial Code section 9525(c)].
              ·    The fee for preparing copies of campaign statements, contribution and
                   expenditure reports, or statements of disclosure of financial interest is ten
                   cents ($0.10) per page. [Government Code section 81008(a)].
              ·    Any request requiring electronic compilations, indexes, extracts, or summaries
                   of information, including computer information, contained in the public
                   records of the Secretary of State shall be provided at a charge sufficient to
                   recover all costs associated with the request. [Government Code section
                   6253.9(b).]
              ·    Fees for copying, reproduction, and other services provided by the California
                   State Archives shall be consistent with the costs of providing such services.
                   Please contact the California State Archives, located at 1020 O Street,
                   Sacramento, California 95814, or call (916) 653-7715 for detailed information
                   regarding the costs of services provided by the California State Archives.
                   [Government Code section 12174(e)].
              ·    A request by an individual for copies of records pertaining to that individual
                   (e.g., files of a notary public, personnel files, etc.) shall be provided to that
                   individual at the actual cost of duplicating the record. The cost shall not
                   include staff time for retrieving or duplicating the record, and shall not exceed
                   ten cents ($0.10) per page. These fees may be waived if the costs of
                   duplication are less than the cost of processing the payment. [Civil Code
                   section 1798.33].
              ·    The fee for certification of a document is five dollars ($5.00). [Government
                   Code section 12183(a)].
              ·    The fee for issuing a certificate of status or filing is five dollars ($5.00).
                   [Government Code section 12183(b)].

Other Provisions

   1.     Functions of the Secretary of State's Office shall not be suspended to permit, and
          public records shall not be made available for, inspection during periods in which
          such records are reasonably required in the performance of the duties and
          responsibilities of the Secretary of State.

   2.     Any action filed with a court pursuant to Government Code section 6258 to compel
          disclosure of records must be served on the Secretary of State and should be directed
          to the attention of the Chief Counsel, Office of the Secretary of State, Administration,
          1500 11th Street, Sacramento, California 95814.

   3.     In the event that any portion of these guidelines is deemed in conflict with any law or
          regulation, such law or regulation shall prevail.

   4.     A copy of these guidelines shall be posted at all public counters in each division and
          in all regional offices. A copy shall be made available at no charge to any person
          upon request.