Does the UCOP Repatriation Committee comply with the California Public Records Act?

In last year's State Senate hearing, it became clear that the UCOP Repatriation Committee did not keep minutes of their meetings. As we come up on the one year anniversary of the hearings, it is time to find out if they are complying! Use the form letter below to find out:

Ms. Rebecca Landes
UCOP Repatriation Committee
Office of Research
1111 Franklin St.
Oakland, CA 94607-5200

Dear Ms. Landes,

Hello, my name is [*] and I am a NAGPRA representative for the [*] tribe. As a Federally recognized tribe, NAGPRA and repatriation are important to us. Per California Public Records Act (Government Code §§ 6250-6276.48), I am writing to request copies of the complete minutes from the meetings of the UC Office of the President Repatriation Committee for the 2008 calendar year. I hope the minutes contain who attended the meeting, how it was held (phone, email, in person, etc.), who the committee members were, what they discussed, and how they voted on tribal claims. If the minutes do not contain this information, I would like to know which documents do and I will then make a formal request for those.

We are willing to pay reasonable copying costs and postage. Your written answer to this request is expected in the next 10 days. We look forward to hearing from you.

Sincerely,

[*]

Just substitute your name and tribal affiliation where the [*] are. If you are not a tribal member, just change the sentence and let Ms. Landes know you want the information as a California resident. The UCOP Committee may have forgotten about things, but we haven't.