North Dakota Open Records Statute
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The Open Records Statute is a series of laws designed to guarantee that the public has access to public records of governmental bodies in North Dakota.
The Open Meetings Statute legislates the methods by which public meetings are conducted.
[edit] Recent news
[edit] Transparency blocking
- University must reconsider denial of records
- Legislative panel demands records from ND auditor
- E-mails add details to UP plans
More transparency blocking news from across the country.
[edit] Litigation
- Mandan violated open records law, ND AG says
- System has proven it works
- Proposal limits records on ND college presidents
More FOIA litigation news from across the country.
[edit] Legislation
- ND House defeats bill to weaken open records law
- Open meeting law change endorsed
- Board proposal restricts access
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] North Dakota's transparency report card
A 2008 study, BGA - Alper Integrity Index, conducted by the Better Government Association and sponsored by Alper Services, ranked North Dakota #34 in the nation (tied with Nevada) with an overall percentage of 48.10%. [1]
A 2007 study, Graded state responsiveness to FOI requests, conducted by BGA and the NFOIC, gave North Dakota 44 points out of a possible 100, a letter grade of "F", and a ranking of 30 out of the 50 states.[2]
A 2002 study, Freedom of Information in the USA, conducted by IRE and BGA, ranked North Dakota's law as the 38th worst in the country, giving it a letter grade of "D".[3]
[edit] Features of the law
In North Dakota, "all records of a public entity are public records, open and accessible for inspection during reasonable office hours."[4]
[edit] What records are covered?
North Dakota law defines records as, "recorded information of any kind, regardless of the physical form or characteristic by which the information is stored, recorded, or reproduced, which is in the possession or custody of a public entity or its agent and which has been received or prepared for use in connection with public business or contains information relating to public business" [5]
Notable exceptiong include but are not limited to:
- drafts of documents can be withheld, given that the final document is released upon completion(North Dakota Statute 44.04, 18.11)
- employee medical or assistance records(North Dakota Statute 44.04, 18.1.1 )
- employee and licensee personal information including, "home address; home telephone number; photograph; medical information; motor vehicle operator's identification number; payroll deduction information; the name, address, telephone number, and date of birth of any dependent or emergency contact; any credit, debit, or electronic fund transfer card number; and any account number at a bank or other financial institution"(North Dakota Statute 44.04, 18.1.2)
- information that would identify undercover agents and informants (North Dakota Statute 44.04, 18.3.2 and 4)
- personal information of law enforcement agencies and work schedules (North Dakota Statute 44.04, 18.3.1 and 3)
- trade secrets and information concerning potential business locations(North Dakota Statute 44.04, 18.4)
- computer software (North Dakota Statute 44.04, 18.5)
- "a record of a purely personal or private nature, a record that is legislative council work product or is legislative council-client communication, a record that reveals the content of private communications between a member of the legislative assembly and any person, and, except with respect to a governmental entity determining the proper use of telephone service, a record of telephone usage which identifies the parties or lists the telephone numbers of the parties involved" (North Dakota Statute 44.04, 18.6)
- criminal investigation information (North Dakota Statute 44.04, 18.7)
- examinations (North Dakota Statute 44.04, 18.8)
- financial account information (North Dakota Statute 44.04, 18.9)
- lists of minors, including contact information (North Dakota Statute 44.04, 18.13)
- fundraising and donor records for non-profits and schools (North Dakota Statute 44.04, 18.15)
- student medical information (North Dakota Statute 44.04, 18.16)
- personal information from consumer complaints (North Dakota Statute 44.04, 18.17)
- autopsy images (North Dakota Statute 44.04, 18.18)
- economic assistance records for individuals (North Dakota Statute 44.04, 18.19)
- domestic violence records (North Dakota Statute 44.04, 18.20)
- email and telephone information from non-employees (North Dakota Statute 44.04, 18.21)
- attorney client confidentiality (North Dakota Statute 44.04, 19.1)
- security information(North Dakota Statute 44.04, 25 and 27)
- Social security numbers (North Dakota Statute 44.04, 18.28)
[5] However, North Dakota law requires states to separate exempt material from non-exempt and release the non-exempt material. [5]
[edit] What agencies are covered?
Public agencies that are included are all all entities created or recognized by the constitution, statute or executive decree at all levels of state and local government as well as organizations who receive public funding.[5]
[edit] Who may request records?
Anyone may request public documents in North Dakota. [6]
[edit] Must a purpose be stated?
There is no law requiring the statement of a purpose within the North Dakota Open Records Statute.
[edit] How can records be used?
There are no restrictions placed on the used of records.
[edit] Time allowed for response
- See also: Request response times by state.
No response times are specified.
[edit] Fees for records
North Dakota statute allows for the charging of fees which include the cost of duplication, labor and use of equipment. Labor fees may be up to $25 an hour, not to include the first hour of labor and may include both search time, and the time it takes to separate exempt and non-exempt material. [5]
[edit] Open meetings
All "meetings of a public entity must be open to the public" in North Dakota. This right to photograph or record public meetings is also explicitly included in the statute.[7]
[edit] Proposed changes
House Bill 1220 [8] was endorsed by the House Judiciary Committee on January 20, 2009. The bill seeks to change North Dakota's open meetings law to permit local governing bodies to gather during times of emergency without prior issuance of notice. An amendment to the bill specifies that "public officials would be restricted to matters regarding the disaster, and could not conduct any official business without issuing a public notice". [9]
Senate Bill 2087, [10] introduced by the Education Committee (at the request of the State Board of Higher Education), seeks to exempt the names of applicants for university presidencies and the higher education system chancellor until a job search reaches the semifinalist phase. Sen. John Andrist (R-Crosby) amended the bill to make more names public sooner in the process, and to give applicants two weeks notice prior to the time when their names would become public, at which point applicants wishing to remain private could rescind their application. [11] SB2087 passed the Senate 30-15 and now moves to the House. The Bismarck Tribune is advocating for the House to quash the bill, saying it is "not good public policy. It is good-old-boy-network politics." [12]
SB2087 was defeated in the House 56-37. [13]
[edit] Relevant legal cases
- See also: Court cases with an impact on state FOIA
Here is a list of lawsuits in North Dakota. For more information go the page or go to North Dakota sunshine lawsuits.
(The cases are listed alphabetically. To order them by year please click the icon to the right of the Year heading)
We do not currently have any pages on litigation in North Dakota. To add some see our Sunshine litigation project page.
[edit] Notable requests
[edit] 2008
The Grand Forks Herald requested copies from the University of North Dakota (UND) regarding disciplinary procedures after anti-Semitic graffiti episodes occurred on campus in May 2008. UND denied the request, citing the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), leading North Dakota attorney general Wayne Stenehjem to rule that the university is in spite of how it interprets FERPA required to provide the paper with the requested documents[1].
[edit] See also
- North Dakota FOIA procedures
- North Dakota transparency advocates
- North Dakota transparency legislation
[edit] External links
- North Dakota Open Meetings and Public Records Statute
- Open Government Guide to North Dakota
- Past articles on North Dakota
[edit] References
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