GeoData Policy

September 16, 2009

Bruce Joffee forwarded the following:

After a three year legal battle, Santa Clara County provided a copy of its GIS parcel basemap data to the California First Amendment Coalition (CFAC) in compliance with California’s Public Record Act (PRA). Decisions from both the California Superior Court and the California Court of Appeal affirmed that public agencies must provide their geodata in accordance with the PRA (California Government Codes §6250-6259). Generally, agencies can not charge a requestor of their geodata more than the direct cost of duplication, and they can not restrict how a requestor can use or redistribute the data. Santa Clara County had been selling its geodata for $ 158,000; the cost CFAC finally paid was $ 3.10 per disk, plus shipping. In addition to providing its geodata to the public, the PRA requires the County to pay CFAC’s attorneys fees and costs incurred to assert its legal right to the data.

For background information, visit:

http://news.gislounge.com/2009/02/court-of-appeal-rejects-santa-clara-countys-basemap-data-sale/

 http://www.opendataconsortium.org