Request response times by state

From Sunshine Review

Jump to: navigation, search
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

Contents

Most states specify a time period within which a response to a public records request must be made by. This table gives the time period of each state. All time frames given are business days and exclude weekends, holidays, etc.

Response time generally refers to the time frame within which a public body must either provide the requested records, ask for an extension to gather the records, or deny the request.

In 15 states (Alabama, Arizona, Delaware, Florida, Minnesota, Montana, Nevada, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota, Wisconsin and Wyoming), there is no statutory time limit for public agencies to reply to open records requests. In 2008, Tennessee adopted a statutory time limit (seven days) for the first time.

The other 35 states specify a time within which public documents must either be furnished, denied, or an extension may be requested. Rhode Island gives the longest reply time (up to 30 days) and Mississippi requires the quickest turn-around of records (1 day if the agency does not have a written policy stating otherwise).

The mandatory response time under the Illinois Freedom of Information Act will be reduced on January 1, 2010 from seven days to five days.[1]

State Law Response Time
Alabama Alabama Public Records Law No response time specified
Alaska Alaska Public Records Act "as soon as practicable" but no later than the tenth working day after receiving a proper request
Arizona Arizona Public Records Law No response time specified
Arkansas Arkansas Freedom of Information Act 3 days
California California Public Records Act 10 days
Colorado Colorado Open Records Act 3 days
Connecticut Connecticut Freedom of Information Act 4 days
Delaware Delaware Freedom of Information Act No response time specified
D.C. District of Columbia Freedom of Information Act 10 days
Florida Florida Sunshine Law No response time specified
Georgia Georgia Open Records Act 3 days
Hawaii Hawaii Uniform Information Practices Act 10 days
Idaho Idaho Public Records Act 3 days
Illinois Illinois Freedom of Information Act 7 days
Indiana Indiana Access to Public Records Act 7 days
Iowa Iowa Open Records Law 10 - 20 days
Kansas Kansas Open Records Act 3 days
Kentucky Kentucky Open Records Act 3 days
Louisiana Louisiana Sunshine Law 3 days
Maine Maine Freedom of Access Act 5 days
Maryland Maryland Public Information Act 30 days
Massachusetts Massachusetts Public Records Act 10 days
Michigan Michigan Freedom of Information Act 5 days with automatic 10 day extension
Minnesota Minnesota Data Practices Act No response time specified
Mississippi Mississippi Public Records Act 1 - 14 days
Missouri Missouri Sunshine Law 3 days
Montana Montana Public Records Act No response time specified
Nebraska Nebraska Public Records Law 4 days
Nevada Nevada Open Records Act No response time specified
New Hampshire New Hampshire Right to Know Law 5 days
New Jersey New Jersey Open Public Records Act 7 days
New Mexico New Mexico Inspection of Public Records Act 3 - 15 days
New York New York Freedom of Information Law 5 days
North Carolina North Carolina Public Records Law No response time specified
North Dakota North Dakota Open Records Statute No response time specified
Ohio Ohio Open Records Law No response time specified
Oklahoma Oklahoma Open Records Act No response time specified
Oregon Oregon Public Records Law No response time specified
Pennsylvania Pennsylvania Right to Know Act 5 - 10 days
Rhode Island Rhode Island Access to Public Records Act 7 days[2]
South Carolina South Carolina Freedom of Information Act 15 days
South Dakota South Dakota Sunshine Law No response time specified
Tennessee Tennessee Open Records Act 7 days[3]
Texas Texas Public Information Act 10 days
Utah Utah Government Records Access and Management Act 10 days
Vermont Vermont Public Records Law 2 - 5 days
Virginia Virginia Freedom of Information Act 5 days
Washington Washington Public Records Act 5 days
West Virginia West Virginia Freedom of Information Act 5 days
Wisconsin Wisconsin Open Records Law No response time specified
Wyoming Wyoming Sunshine Law No response time specified

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

[edit] References

  1. Chicago Tribune, "Gov. Pat Quinn signs overhaul of state's open records law", August 18, 2009
  2. Tennessee, Rhode Island improve open records laws
  3. See Changes in state FOIA laws