Legal

Service of Process

In lieu of personal service, the Office of Exposition Park Management commits to accepting service via a notice of acknowledgment and receipt (CCP section 415.30) for the duration of the state of emergency if the notice and the papers being served are emailed to the following agency email address: serviceofprocess@expositionpark.ca.gov.

Service of Process Policy

Exposition Park shall generally accept personal service at 700 Exposition Park Drive, Los Angeles, CA 90037 (Wallis Annenberg Building) via its receptionist if documents are served during the business hours of 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and pertain to Exposition Park. Exposition Park is not legally authorized to and shall not accept service of any documents naming or pertaining to any other departments, boards, conservancies, commissions, or councils at the State, including the Science Center or the California African American Museum, as these are independent legal entities. Exposition Park shall also reject personal service on individuals.

Exposition Park may, in it is discretion, also accept service via a notice of acknowledgement and receipt (CCP Section 415.30) if the notice and papers being served are emailed to the following agency email address: serviceofprocess@expositionpark.ca.gov and name Exposition Park. No acknowledgement of receipt of papers being served on individuals will be accepted at this address unless Exposition Park is a named party. All acknowledgement and receipt must be issued by the Director or his/her legal counsel, and any response by administrative or other support staff shall not be deemed to constitute acknowledgement or receipt.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

OFFICE OF EXPOSITION PARK MANAGEMENT PUBLIC RECORDS ACCESS GUIDELINES

PUBLIC RECORDS ACCESS GUIDELINES

The California Legislature has declared that access to information concerning the conduct of the people’s business is a right of every person in this state. The California Public Records Act, Government Code Section 6250, et seq., requires public records to be available to the public upon request. The Office of Exposition Park Management has established the following guidelines to ensure that members of the public fully understand and are afforded the opportunity to use their right to inspect and obtain copies of public records. A copy of these guidelines is posted in the lobby of the Office of Exposition Park Management Office. A copy of these guidelines will be provided free of charge upon request.

WHAT ARE ‘PUBLIC RECORDS’?

“Public records” include any writing containing information relating to the conduct of the public’s business prepared, owned, used or retained by the Office of Exposition Park Management regardless of physical form or characteristics.

“Writing” means handwriting, typewriting, printing, photostatting, photography, and every other means of recording upon any form of communication or representation, including letters, words, pictures, sounds or symbols or any combination thereof, and all papers, maps, magnetic or paper tapes, photographic films and prints, magnetic or punched cards, discs, drums and other documents.

“Member of the public” means any person, except a member, agent, officer, or employee of federal, state, or local agency acting within the scope of his or her membership, agency, office, or employment.

WHEN MAY PUBLIC RECORDS BE INSPECTED?

Public records are open to inspection during Office of Exposition Park Management office hours, 8:30– 11:30 a.m. and 12:30– 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, except for state holidays. The inspection of public records is subject to a rule of reason as to time and duration and must be consistent with the efficient functioning of the Office of Exposition Park Management office. The Office of Exposition Park Management requests any person who wishes to inspect public records to telephone the Office of Exposition Park Management to schedule an appointment to inspect the records. It is the policy of the Office of Exposition Park Management that records not exempt from disclosure by state law will be open for public inspection with the least possible delay and expense to the requesting party. However, many records maintained by the Office of Exposition Park Management must be reviewed for exempt documents before being made available for public inspection.

Persons inspecting Office of Exposition Park Management records shall not destroy, mutilate, deface, alter, or remove any such records from the Office of Exposition Park Management’s office. The Office of Exposition Park Management reserves the right to have Office of Exposition Park Management staff present during the inspection of records in order to prevent the loss or destruction of records.

HOW THE PUBLIC MAY OBTAIN ACCESS TO PUBLIC RECORDS?

All requests for records are directed to the Office of the General Counsel for review and advice. When a request for documents or records is received, it will be immediately delivered to the Office of the General Counsel.

EMAIL: info@exposition.ca.gov 

It is important to include the following information in your request, so that we may answer your request in a timely manner:

A statement that you are requesting information under the PRA.
A clear and specific description of the information you are requesting. If possible, identify dates, subjects, titles, or authors of the documents requested.
Your contact information, including name, address, phone, fax, and email.
Within 10 days from the date the request is received, the Office of Exposition Park Management will determine whether the request, in whole or in part, seeks copies of disclosable public records in the Office of Exposition Park Management’s possession and notify the requestor of such determination. In unusual circumstances, the 10-day time limit for making such determination may be extended up to 14 days by written notice by the Office of Exposition Park Management to the requestor, setting forth the reason for the time extension. Unusual circumstances include:

1) The need to search for and collect the requested records from field facilities or other establishments that are separate from the office processing the request;

2) The need to search for, collect, and appropriately examine a voluminous amount of separate and distinct records that are demanded in a single request;

3) The need for consultation, which will be conducted with all practicable speed, with another agency having substantial interest in the Office of Exposition Park Management’s determination of the request or among 2 or more components of the Office of Exposition Park Management having substantial subject matter interest therein;

4) The need to compile data, write programming language or a computer program, or construct a computer report to extract data. The Office of Exposition Park Management may request additional information if the request is not specific enough to permit identification of the requested records. If the Office of Exposition Park Management determines it will comply with the request, the records will be made available as promptly as is reasonably practicable. While the Office of Exposition Park Management will disclose identifiable and existing records, the Office of Exposition Park Management is not required to synthesize, manufacture, or summarize records, i.e., develop new records in response to a request.

Records in Electronic Format
Upon request, the Office of Exposition Park Management will make available any public record in electronic format in any electronic format in which the Office of Exposition Park Management holds the information or in the format requested if the requested format is one that has been used by the Office of Exposition Park Management to create copies for its own use or for provision to other agencies.

WILL THERE BE A FEE?

A request for a copy of an identifiable public record or information produced therefrom must be accompanied by payment of fees to cover the direct costs of duplication, which will be based on a fee of $.15 per standard reproduced page.

Fees for Records In Electronic Format
The requestor shall bear the direct costs of duplication of producing a copy of a record in electronic format and shall also bear the costs to construct a record and the programming and computer services necessary if:

1) The Office of Exposition Park Management is required to produce a copy of an electronic record and the record is one that is produced only at otherwise regularly scheduled intervals or

2) The Office of Exposition Park Management is required to perform data compilation, extraction, or programming to produce the record.

WHAT WILL THE OFFICE OF EXPOSITION PARK MANAGEMENT’S RESPONSE TO A RECORDS REQUEST INCLUDE?

In responding to information requests, the Office of Exposition Park Management will advise the person submitting the request, by telephone or by mail as appropriate, of:

1) The location, date, and time at which the requested records may be inspected;

2) If copies of records are requested, the cost of providing such copies; and/or,

3) Will provide an indication as to the category of records that are not subject to disclosure as public records pursuant to applicable provisions of the California Public Records Act.

WHAT RECORDS ARE NOT OPEN FOR INSPECTION?

In balancing the public’s right to access public records with the recognized individual right of privacy and the need for the Office of Exposition Park Management to be able to competently perform its duties, the Legislature has established certain categories of records, which may be exempt from public disclosure.

A complete list of statutory exemptions is found in the California Public Records Act. Records exempt for disclosure that pertain to the Office of Exposition Park Management include, but are not limited to, the following:

a) Preliminary drafts, notes, or inter-agency or intra-agency memoranda which are not retained by the Office of Exposition Park Management in the ordinary course of business, provided that the public interest in withholding such records clearly outweighs the public interest in disclosure;

b) Records of complaints to or investigations conducted by the Office of Exposition Park Management for law enforcement purposes;

c) Test questions, scoring keys, and other examination data used to administer a licensing examination, examination for employment, or academic examinations;

d) Contents of real estate appraisals or engineering or feasibility estimates and evaluations made for or by the Office of Exposition Park Management relative to the acquisition of property, or to prospective public supply and construction contracts, until all of the property has been acquired or all of the contract agreement obtained;

e) Records of which the disclosure is exempt or prohibited pursuant to provisions of federal or state law, including, but not limited to, provisions of the Evidence Code relating to privilege;

f) Correspondence of and to the Governor or employees of the Governor’s Office or in the custody of or maintained by the Governor’s legal affairs secretary; and,

g) Records that relate to archeological site information.

RECORDS SUBJECT TO EXEMPTION

The Office of Exposition Park Management may claim an exemption from public disclosure records which do not qualify for a specific exemption under the California Public Records Act but which the Office of Exposition Park Management determines the public interest served by not making the record public clearly outweighs the public interest served by disclosure. Records subject to exemption may nevertheless be made available for inspection if waiving the exemption will serve the public interest, as determined by the Office of Exposition Park Management on a case-by-case basis. However, the Office of Exposition Park Management’s determination to disclose a record, which may otherwise be exempt from disclosure, does not constitute a waiver with respect to any other records.