Nevada Open Records Act

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Contents

State Sunshine Laws
State Sunshine laws
State Open Meeting Laws
Transparency headlines
Statutory changes
Notable FOIA requests
How to ask for records
State sunshine lawsuits
State court cases
E-mail access
Private agency, public dollars
The WikiFOIA portal

The Nevada Open 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 Nevada.

The Nevada Open Meeting Law 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: Nevada FOIA procedures

[edit] Recent news

[edit] Transparency blocking

More transparency blocking news from across the country.

[edit] Litigation

More FOIA litigation news from across the country.

[edit] Legislation

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 Nevada. For more information go the page or go to Nevada sunshine lawsuits.
(The cases are listed alphabetically. To order them by year please click the icon below the Year heading)

Lawsuit Year
DR Partners v. Board of County Commissioners of Clark County 2000
Del Papa v. Board Of Regents Of The University and Community College System Of Nevada 2000
Donrey of Nevada v. Bradshaw 1990
Mulford v. Davey 1947
Neal v. Griepentrog 1992
State of Nevada v. Grimes 1906

[edit] Nevada's transparency report card

A 2008 study, BGA - Alper Integrity Index, conducted by the Better Government Association and sponsored by Alper Services, ranked Nevada #34 in the nation (tied with North Dakota) with an overall percentage of 48.10%. [1]

A 2007 study, Graded state responsiveness to FOI requests, conducted by BGA and the NFOIC, gave Nevada 41 points out of a possible 100, a letter grade of "F", and a ranking of 35 out of the 50 states.[2]

A 2002 study, Freedom of Information in the USA, conducted by IRE and BGA, ranked Nevada's law as the 36th worst in the country, giving it a letter grade of "D+".[3]

[edit] Features of the law

The stated purpose of the Nevada Open Records Act "is to foster democratic principles by providing members of the public with access to inspect and copy public books".[4]

[edit] What records are covered?

Nevada law includes all books and records of all governmental entities [5]

Notable exemptions include but are not limited to:

  • Names addresses and telephone numbers of private individuals enrolled in recreational facilities (this exemption does not apply to legal investigations and the press) [6]
  • Library records [7]

However, Nevada law requires institutions to separate exempt from non-exempt material where possible and release the non-exempt material.[8]

[edit] What agencies are covered?

The law extends to all elected officials and agencies of both the state and all political subdivisions of the state. [9]

[edit] Agency Exemptions

Judges in Nevada have announced that they plan to seek exemption from general open records laws in 2009, and instead create their own set of rules regarding access to public records. Justice Jim Hardesty explains the reasoning, saying: "We want to do it by court rule because there are so many practical differences between the judiciary and the executive branch" [10].

[edit] Who may request records?

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

Anyone may request public records in Nevada. "A person may request a copy of a public record". [11]

[edit] Must a purpose be stated?

There is no law requiring a statement of purpose.

[edit] How can records be used?

There are no restrictions with regard to the use of records.

[edit] Time allowed for response

See also: Request response times by state.

Nevada law allows for five business days to respond to open records requsts, but permits extensions if notice is given to the person making the request, in writing.[12]

[edit] Fees for records

Nevada law allows the charging of fees not to exceed the actual cost of producing the record but does not elaborate on what factors are a part of that fee. In general, fees that go beyond the cost of mere duplication ar erecorded by statute, implying that departments should not charge fees for labor involved in search and duplication unless otherwise required by statute. However, in cases of "extraordinary use of personnel" additional fees may be charged. [13] All fees must be posted in a conspicuous place in all governmental offices. [14] An additional fee is charged for the transcripts of court reports and is remitted to the court reporter.[15] Additional fees are also charged for information from any "geographic information system" that are meant to offset the cost of maintaining and supporting the system.[16] The Department of Veterans' Affairs is exempt from any fees. [17]

[edit] Open meetings

The stated purpose of the Nevada Open Meeting Law is "that all public bodies exist to aid in the conduct of the people’s business. It is the intent of the law that their actions be taken openly and that their deliberations be conducted openly."[18]

[edit] Proposed changes

See also Proposed reforms in state sunshine laws, 2009.

[edit] Notable requests

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

[edit] References