Arizona Public Records Law

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The Arizona Public Records Law is a series of laws designed to guarantee that the public has access to public records of government bodies at all levels in Arizona. The law was first enacted in 1901.

Statutes 39.101 - 39.221 define the law.

The Arizona Open Meetings Act legislates the methods by which public meetings are conducted. Statute 38.431.01 defines the law.

[edit] Recent news

[edit] Transparency blocking

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[edit] Litigation

More FOIA litigation news from across the country.

[edit] Legislation

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[edit] Sunshine Guardians

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[edit] Transparency report card

A 2008 study, BGA - Alper Integrity Index, conducted by the Better Government Association and sponsored by Alper Services, ranked Arizona #11 in the nation (along with Illinois and West Virginia) with an overall percentage of 58.00%. [1]

A 2007 study, Graded state responsiveness to FOI requests, conducted by BGA and the NFOIC, gave Arizona 22 points out of a possible 100, a letter grade of "F", and a ranking of 44 out of the 50 states.[2]

A 2002 study, Freedom of Information in the USA, conducted by IRE and BGA, ranked Arizona's law as the 46th worst in the country, giving it a letter grade of "F".[3]

[edit] Features of the law

[edit] What records are covered?

Public records are defined by statute 41-1350 as "all books, papers, maps, photographs or other documentary materials, regardless of physical form or characteristics, including prints or copies of such items produced or reproduced on film or electronic media pursuant to section 41-1348, made or received by any governmental agency in pursuance of law or in connection with the transaction of public business".[4] Exemptions to the record include the home addresses and telephone numbers of individuals[5], as well as information concerning archaeological discoveries or places of historic interest if the department feels that it will increase the potential for vandalism[6] Records indicating risk assessment to infrastructure which could decrease security are also protected [7]

[edit] Electronic records

Lake v. City of Phoenix recently established that digital meta-data, attached to files stored in any electronic form are considered part of that document and are thus subject to open records requests.

[edit] What agencies are covered?

The Arizona statute defines the "public bodies" that are subject to public records laws as "any county, city, town, school district, political subdivision or tax-supported district in the state, any branch, department, board, bureau, commission, council or committee of the foregoing, and any public organization or agency, supported in whole or in part by monies from the state or any political subdivision of the state, or expending monies provided by the state or any political subdivision of the state." [8]

[edit] Who may request records?

See also: List of who can make public record requests by state.

Arizona statute 39-121 states that anyone may request records at any time during office hours.[9]

[edit] Must a purpose be stated?

Arizona law requires individuals who are making a FOIA request for commercial purposes to state those purposes. Further, if the department from which the records are requested feels that the purpose is a misuse of public records, they may submit a request to the governor to prevent the release of the records. Failure to claim a commercial purpose can result in litigation and heavy penalization. [10]

[edit] How can records be used?

Arizona has no restrictions on the use of records outside of statute 39-121 which implies the potential for misuse of public records for commercial purposes.

[edit] Time allowed for response

See also: Request response times by state.

Arizona state law does not specify the amount of time allotted for filling a public records request.

[edit] Fees for records

Arizona statute allows for the charging of reasonable fees for publication, mailing and search expenses. Exceptions to fees include records that are meant to be used in a claim against the federal government concerning "pension, allotment, allowance, compensation, insurance or other benefits" [11]. Also, victims to criminal offenses or family members of incapacitated or deceased victims can request one copy of the police record for free [12].

[edit] Open meetings

"All meetings of any public body shall be public meetings and all persons so desiring shall be permitted to attend and listen to the deliberations and proceedings. All legal action of public bodies shall occur during a public meeting."[13]

[edit] Relevant legal cases

See also: Court cases with an impact on state FOIA

Here is a list of lawsuits in Arizona. For more information go the the page or go to Arizona sunshine lawsuits.
(The cases are listed alphabetically. To order them by year please click the icon to the right of the Year heading)

Lawsuit Year
Arizona Newspapers Inc. v. Superior Court 1985
Carlson v. Pima County 1984
City of Prescott v. Town of Chino Valley 1990
Cox Arizona Publications Inc. v. Collins 1993
Lake v. City of Phoenix 2009
Mathews v. Pyle 1952

[edit] Proposed reforms

See also Proposed reforms in state sunshine laws, 2009
  • "Authored by Sen. Jay Tibshraeny, R-Chandler, Senate Bill 1305 would require public bodies that keep public records electronically to provide them upon request on CD-ROM or in another format." [1]
  • The Board of Supervisors in Maricopa County in January 2009 passed a resolution that says that when county employees and officials want public documents that are in the custody of the county, the employees/officials are required to go through an internal process rather than using the state's sunshine law to ask for records. This action was taken in response to multiple requests in the last few months from the Maricopy County sheriff and attorney offices for documents relating to:
  • A planned criminal court-tower project.
  • Communication between county officials and public-relations and consulting firms.
  • The Board of Supervisor's decision to hire former County Attorney Rick Romley as a consultant.[2]

[edit] Notable requests

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

[edit] References

  1. ↑ Bill merges records, technology, Arizona Republic, April 21, 2009
  2. ↑ Arizona Republic, "Supervisors to change records request policy", January 22, 2009
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