Public Access to Government Records Depends on Several Provisions of Open

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The Answer is 1) Strong open records laws contain statements of purpose or policy statements committing the state to open government for democratic purposes. The federal Electronic Freedom of Information Act is supposed to "foster democracy" and declares that records are open for any public or private use. The federal open records law declares that records are presumptively open, and that exemptions should be narrowly interpreted. Disclosure is the main goal, the Supreme Court has said, even though exemptions provide for withholding records the disclosure of which would invade privacy or interfere with national security. Stated policies of openness direct record custodians and the courts to err on the side of openness in close cases.
2) Strong open records acts define records broadly, including virtually all records and information acquired and maintained by a government agency. "Records" in strong laws are not defined as "written memorials of final actions" or only as paper documents, but include documents, photographs and electronic information. The software necessary to download and read electronic records should also be a public record. The FOIA does not define records, but
EFOIA defines records as all nonexempt information maintained by an agency in any format.
3) Strong open records laws provide a limited time for agencies to respond and fulfill requests. Open records laws are ineffective if custodians can postpone responses indefinitely. Under federal law, custodians have 20 days within which to respond to a records request. Federal law provides for expedited review and disclosure when the requester can demonstrate a compelling need, such as an urgent need for public dissemination.
4) Charges for searches and copying should generally be limited to the actual costs of finding and copying records. To encourage disclosure, fees can be waived for requesters who are seeking records to serve the democratic goals of open records acts. The federal law allows agencies to charge the actual costs of searching and copying, the hourly cost of search personal and a reasonable cost per page for copying. However, the federal law provides for no charge for the first 100 copies and the first two hours of search time when records are requested for public dissemination. Indeed, all search and copy fees may be waived if a requester is seeking records for public dissemination and not for a commercial purpose.
5) Successful open records laws impose penalties for agencies that withhold information they should disclose. The federal law allows requesters who are denied records the ability to sue in federal court to acquire the records. Federal courts can review the records in chambers. Requesters who are successful on appeal have the incentive of recouping attorneys' fees and other litigation costs. In rare cases, a federal custodian might be held in contempt for refusing an order to disclose records.

Public Access to Government Records Depends on Several Provisions of Open

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Public Access to Government Records Depends on Several Provisions of Open

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