Item 2D - 2005 Leg.Policies Doc - Laserfiche WebLink

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The City supports legislation which protects privacy of employees, judges and contractors, including personnel records and personal information such as home addresses and phone numbers. 3. VICTIM/WITNESS/JUROR PRIVACY The City will support amendments to State public records law to protect the privacy of reporting parties, crime victims, witnesses, and jurors. 4. PAYMENT FOR PUBLIC SAFETY RECORDS The City supports legislation to require the State or criminal defendants to pay for records requested through discovery or by subpoena. The City charges fees authorized by the Public Records Law for records requested by criminal defendants or their attorneys. Requesters have learned that the same records are available at no charge if the request is made through discovery or by subpoena. Frequently, these requests are voluminous and seek records not directly related to the case at hand. While it is less expensive to honor the request than to use expensive attorney time to narrow the discovery request or quash the subpoena, the City should not be required to provide this service free of charge. 5. EXPUNGEMENTS The City is frequently ordered by the State District and Circuit Courts to expunge individual adult or juvenile criminal records which meet certain criteria. The State charges and collects a fee to cover the processing costs for adult expungements, but local government also bears a workload burden in this process. Expungements are a complex and staff-intensive process. While the expungement process allows individuals to clear their records after certain periods of time, they also impede investigations of criminal activity that has formed a pattern over the course of several years. The City will support legislation to stiffen expungement criteria, allow juvenile criminal records to be sealed rather than destroyed, and allow the City to recover its actual costs in complying with expungement court orders. 6. ELECTRONIC SIGNATURES AND ELECTRONIC ORIGINAL DOCUMENTS The City supports legislation permitting electronic signatures and electronic original documents, such as warrants, to help information processing throughout local government, and to include certain public safety records exempt from public records law. Electronic original documents is a new concept that should be considered. The State of Utah currently has electronic original document legislation which serves as an acceptable model. G. SMOKING BAN AND TOBACCO REGULATION Overwhelming scientific evidence exists documenting the harmful health effects of smoking and of exposure to secondhand smoke. The Eugene City Council has adopted ordinances to restrict City of Eugene Legislative Policies, 2005 Session 52