Mississippi Public Records Act
From Sunshine Review
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The Mississippi Public Records Act is a series of laws designed to guarantee that the public has access to public records of government bodies at all levels in Mississippi.
The Mississippi Open Meetings Act legislates the methods by which public meetings are conducted.
To learn more about how to make a public records request in this state, please see: Mississippi FOIA procedures
[edit] Recent news
- See also: Mississippi transparency headlines
[edit] Transparency blocking
- Openness needed even for officials Jun 10, 2009
- Open Mississippi records Jun 10, 2009
- Mississippi last in survey of Internet records Jun 10, 2009
More transparency blocking news from across the country.
[edit] Litigation
- Publication sues Miss. to get prison phone records Jun 10, 2009
- City Council May Sue Mayor Melton For Financial Info Jun 10, 2009
More FOIA litigation news from across the country.
[edit] Legislation
- Secrecy: Senate backslides on openness Jun 10, 2009
- Two bills deal with public-records policy Jun 10, 2009
- Cheese holes best filled one at a time Jun 10, 2009
More FOIA legislation news from across the country.
[edit] Sunshine Guardians
No recent news. If you have news add it here
Other Sunshine Guardians from across the country.
[edit] Relevant legal cases
- See also: Court cases with an impact on state FOIA
Here is a list of lawsuits in Mississippi. For more information go the page or go to Mississippi 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 |
|---|---|
| Board of Trustees v. Mississippi Publishers Corporation | 1985 |
| Citizens for Equal Property Rights v. Board of Supervisors of Lowndes Co. | 1998 |
| Clarion-Ledger v. Entergy Mississippi | 2005 |
| Delta Democrat Times v. Greenville | 1986 |
| Logan v. Mississippi Abstract Co. | 1941 |
| Mayor and Aldermen v. Vicksburg Printing & Publishing Co. | 1983 |
| Pollard v. State of Mississippi | 1967 |
| Roberts v. Mississippi Republican Party State Executive Comm. | 1985 |
| Shipman v. North Panola Consolidated School District | 1994 |
| W. T. Rawleigh Co. v. Hester | 1941 |
[edit] Proposed transparency legislation
[edit] 2010
Here is a list of transparency legislation for Mississippi in 2010:
| Rating | Bill | Current Status | Progress | Information | ||||||||||||||||||||
 A | House Bill 113 | Current Status: Y (Effective date: 07/01/2010) |
|
House Bill 113 is a bill introduced to the Mississippi House of Representatives which would set a cap on fees associated with staff time. Public agencies could only charge fees at the rate of the lowest paid employee. [1] Update This bill has passed the house and senate and is awaiting a signature from the governor. However the bill was heavily modified and changed entirely. The new bill would reduce the time permitted a public body to respond to a records request from 14 day to 7 days.[2] | ||||||||||||||||||||
| A | Senate Bill 2373 | Current Status: Z (Died on Calendar, 03/11/2010) |
|
Senate Bill 2373 introduced by Senator David Baria, would alter the Mississippi Open Meetings Act by increasing the jurisdiction of the courts and expanding the potential penalties for violations to include rendering actions null and void, assessing fines of up to $1000 per violation and assessing court and legal fees to public agencies who have violated the act. [1] | ||||||||||||||||||||
[edit] 2009
- House Bill 1048 [1] would restrict the fees charged for open records to actual costs. Unanimously passed the House February 10, 2009. [2]
- Senate Bill 2921 [3] would reduce the response time required by law for open records requests to seven days (rather than the current 14 days) and restrict fees charged for open records to actual costs. The Senate recommitted this bill to committee 26-23, which effectively killed it. [2] [4]
- Senate Bill 3109 [5] concerns the construction of artificial reefs in the Gulf and contains an exemption to FOIA. The House version of the bill does not contain the exemption. [2]
The Natchez Democrat [6], Clarion Ledger [7] and the Hattiesburg American [8] have editorialized in favor of both HB1048 and SB2921.
[edit] Mississippi's transparency report card
A 2008 study, BGA - Alper Integrity Index, conducted by the Better Government Association and sponsored by Alper Services, ranked Mississippi #39 in the nation with an overall percentage of 45.90%. [9]
A 2007 study, Graded state responsiveness to FOI requests, conducted by BGA and the NFOIC, gave Mississippi 41 points out of a possible 100, a letter grade of "F", and a ranking of 33 out of the 50 states.[10]
A 2002 study, Freedom of Information in the USA, conducted by IRE and BGA, ranked Mississippi's law as the 29th worst in the country, giving it a letter grade of "D+".[11]
[edit] Features of the law
"It is the policy of this state that public records shall be available for inspection by any person unless otherwise provided by this chapter; furthermore, providing access to public records is a duty of each public body and automation of public records must not erode the right of access to those records."[12]
[edit] What records are covered?
Records are defined as "all books, records, papers, accounts, letters, maps, photographs, films, cards, tapes, recordings or reproductions thereof, and any other documentary materials, regardless of physical form or characteristics, having been used, being in use, or prepared, possessed or retained for use in the conduct, transaction or performance of any business, transaction, work, duty or function of any public body, or required to be maintained by any public body" [13]
[edit] Exemptions
However, some exemptions include:
- Trade secrets and other confidential fiscal information [14]
- Home contact information for law enforcement and judicial personnel [15]
- Personal information of victims [16]
- Medical Records [17]
However, departments are required to separate non-exempt material from exempt material and release the non-exempt material.[18]
[edit] What agencies are covered?
Public body is defined as "any department, bureau, division, council, commission, committee, subcommittee, board, agency and any other entity of the state or a political subdivision thereof, and any municipal corporation and any other entity created by the Constitution or by law, executive order, ordinance or resolution" [13]
[edit] Who may request records?
Anyone may request access to Mississippi's public documents. "[P]ublic records must be available for inspection by any person". [19]
[edit] Must a purpose be stated?
No statement of purpose is required by law.
[edit] How can records be used?
There are no restrictions placed on the use of records.
[edit] Time allowed for response
- See also: Request response times by state.
Mississippi law states that, if not decided upon by the individual department, departments have 1 working day to respond to PRA requests. However, departments may establish their own time limits of up to fourteen working days. [20]
[edit] Fees for records
Mississippi law allows for the charging of fees to include both the physical cost of duplication as well as labor costs associated with the search, compilation and duplication of materials.[21]
[edit] Open meetings
"It being essential to the fundamental philosophy of the American constitutional form of representative government and to the maintenance of a democratic society that public business be performed in an open and public manner, and that citizens be advised of and be aware of the performance of public officials and the deliberations and decisions that go into the making of public policy, it is hereby declared to be the policy of the State of Mississippi that the formation and determination of public policy is public business and shall be conducted at open meetings except as otherwise provided herein."[22]
[edit] Notable requests
[edit] See also
- Mississippi FOIA procedures
- Mississippi transparency headlines
- Mississippi transparency advocates
- Mississippi transparency legislation
- Private agency, public dollars-Mississippi
- Mississippi Open Meetings Act
[edit] External links
- Mississippi Statutes for Public Records, search for Title 25, Chapter 61. For Open Meetings, search for Title 25, Chapter 41.
- Open Government Guide to Mississippi
- Past articles on Mississippi
[edit] References
- ↑ Text and Status of HB1048
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Two bills deal with public-records policy, Sun Herald, February 11, 2009
- ↑ Text and Status of SB2921
- ↑ Secrecy: Senate backslides on openness, Clarion Ledger, February 13, 2009
- ↑ Text and Status of SB3109
- ↑ Cheese holes best filled one at a time, Natchez Democrat, February 11, 2009
- ↑ Secrecy: Senate backslides on openness, Clarion Ledger, February 13, 2009
- ↑ Lawmakers must get serious about records, Hattiesburg American, February 12, 2009
- ↑ Integrity Index available for download here
- ↑ Graded state responsiveness to FOI requests, 2007
- ↑ Freedom of Information in the USA, 2002
- ↑ Mississippi Statutes 25-61-2. State policy regarding access to public records
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 Mississippi code 25-61-3 on Michie's Legal Resources
- ↑ 25-61-9-2
- ↑ 25-61-12-1
- ↑ 25-61-12-3
- ↑ Mississippi PRA 41-57-2
- ↑ Mississippi PRA 25-61-5-2
- ↑ Mississippi Code, 25-61-1
- ↑ Mississippi PRA 25-61-5-1
- ↑ Mississippi PRA 25-61-7-1
- ↑ Mississippi Statutes 25-41-1. Legislative declaration
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