Each public body shall designate at least one custodian of public records who shall:
A. receive requests, including electronic mail or facsimile, to inspect public records;
B. respond to requests in the same medium, electronic or paper, in which the request was made in addition to any other medium that the custodian deems appropriate;
C. provide proper and reasonable opportunities to inspect public records;
D. provide reasonable facilities to make or furnish copies of the public records during usual business hours; and
E. post in a conspicuous location at the administrative office and on the publicly accessible web site, if any, of each public body a notice describing:
(1) the right of a person to inspect a public body's records;
(2) procedures for requesting inspection of public records, including the contact information for the custodian of public records;
(3) procedures for requesting copies of public records;
(4) reasonable fees for copying public records; and
(5) the responsibility of a public body to make available public records for inspection.
History: Laws 1993, ch. 258, § 4; 2001, ch. 204, § 1; 2011, ch. 182, § 2.
ANNOTATIONSThe 2011 amendment, effective June 17, 2011, in Subsection A, after "receive requests" added "including electronic mail or facsimile"; added Subsection B and relettered succeeding subsections; in Subsection E, after "administrative office", added "and on the publicly accessible web site, if any"; and in Subsection E(2), added "including the contact information for the custodian of public records" at the end of the sentence.
The 2001 amendment, effective June 15, 2001, added Subsection D.
Transferring duty as custodian prohibited. — By reason of this section, the records of the director of the department of public health (now secretary of health) are, in some instances, not open to public inspection, and the duty of the custodian of those records, to wit, the director of public health (now secretary), in the maintenance of the secrecy of those records would prohibit him, the governor or any other person from transferring the duty as custodian of the records to any other person. 1954 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 54-5943.
Am. Jur. 2d, A.L.R. and C.J.S. references. — 37A Am. Jur. 2d Freedom of Information Acts § 1 et seq.
What are "records" of agency which must be made available under Freedom of Information Act (5 USCA § 552(a)(3)), 153 A.L.R. Fed. 571.