Oklahoma Open Records Act
From Sunshine Review
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The Oklahoma Open Records Act is a series of laws designed to guarantee that the public has access to public records of governmental bodies in Oklahoma.
The Open Meetings Act legislates the methods by which public meetings are conducted.
[edit] Oklahoma's transparency report card
A 2008 study, BGA - Alper Integrity Index, conducted by the Better Government Association and sponsored by Alper Services, ranked Oklahoma #21 in the nation with an overall percentage of 53.10%. [1]
A 2007 study, Graded state responsiveness to FOI requests, conducted by BGA and the NFOIC, gave Oklahoma 41 points out of a possible 100, a letter grade of "F", and a ranking of 38 out of the 50 states.[2]
A 2002 study, Freedom of Information in the USA, conducted by IRE and BGA, ranked Oklahoma's law as the 37th worst in the country, giving it a letter grade of "D".[3]
[edit] Public Records
"As the Oklahoma Constitution recognizes and guarantees, all political power is inherent in the people. Thus, it is the public policy of the State of Oklahoma that the people are vested with the inherent right to know and be fully informed about their government." [4]
Attorney General Drew Edmondson issued an opinion July 24, 2008 saying that "Written or electronic exchanges between legislators are not subject to the Open Records Act".[5]
[edit] Open Meetings
"It is the public policy of the State of Oklahoma to encourage and facilitate an informed citizenry's understanding of the governmental processes and governmental problems." [6]
[edit] Proposed reforms
- Main article at Proposed reforms in state sunshine laws, 2009.
- House Representative John Carey (D-Durant) proposed House Bill 1049 [7] that "seeks to clarify that police should make incident reports available to the public, even if there are no arrests." Executive vice president of the Oklahoma Press Association Mark Thomas is in favor of the bill since "the way some local police jurisdictions have interpreted the law, no incident reports are required unless someone is taken into custody". He said in some circumstances, that essentially permits “secret police actions” with no public accounting, and making it clear that incident reports are required could solve the problem. [8] HB1049 has passed the House, and moves to the Senate for further debate. [9]
- The Oklahoma House of Representatives Public Safety and Homeland Security Committee is considering a bill that would allow the chief medical examiner to withhold the public release of autopsy reports at the request of a district attorney or law enforcement agency if the records may impede an ongoing criminal investigation.[10]
[edit] Who May Request Oklahoma Records?
Anyone may request public records in Oklahoma. [11]
For requester residency requirements in other states, see the list of who can make public record requests by state.
[edit] Relevant legal cases
- State of Oklahoma v. Migliaccio, 1996
- City of Lawton v. Moore, 1993
- Tulsa Tribune Co. v. Oklahoma Horse Racing Commission, 1986
- Oklahoma City News Broadcasters Association Inc. v. Nigh, 1984
- Oklahoma Pub. Co. v. City of Moore, 1984
- International Association of Firefighters, Local No. 2479 v. Thorpe, 1981
- Sanders v. Benton, 1978
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
[edit] References
- ↑ Integrity Index available for download here
- ↑ Graded state responsiveness to FOI requests, 2007
- ↑ Freedom of Information in the USA, 2002
- ↑ Oklahoma Statutes 24A.2 - Political Power - Public Policy and Purpose of Act
- ↑ Open record ruling protects Legislature The Oklahoman, July 25, 2008
- ↑ Oklahoma Statutes Section 302 - Public Policy
- ↑ HB1049 history, use the "Basic Search Form" to find HB1049 and click on "Introduced" for the bill's text
- ↑ Oklahoma Press Association official wary of attempts to tweak state's Open Records Act, Enid News, January 25, 2009
- ↑ Enid News, New bill would ensure the public's right to know, February 27, 2009
- ↑ KSWO-TV, "Committee postpones open records bill", Feb 4, 2009
- ↑ Oklahoma Statutes Citationized
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