California Coalition Challenges Profit on Records Scheme

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The California First Amendment Coalition filed suit to force Santa Clara County to make available computer-readable mapping data at a more reasonable cost to requesters. The county claims its mapping data are proprietary and copyrighted and so it can charge a premium — $250,000 for countywide parcel information. It also requires purchasers to sign a non-disclosure agreement. The CFAC claims the data was compiled with public tax dollars and should be available as the same cost as other public records.