State sunshine laws

From Sunshine Review

State sunshine laws are the laws in each state that govern public access to governmental records. These laws are sometimes known as open records laws or public records laws, and are also collectively referred to as FOIA laws, after the federal Freedom of Information Act.

If you are looking for the laws that regulate open meetings in each state, please see State Open Meetings Laws.

Please select a state from the map or list below.

[edit] The law in each state

Alabama Public Records Law Alaska Public Records Act Arizona Public Records Law Arkansas Freedom of Information Act California Public Records Act Colorado Open Records Act Connecticut Freedom of Information Act Delaware Freedom of Information Act D.C. FOIA Act Florida Sunshine Law Georgia Open Records Act Hawaii Uniform Information Practices Act Idaho Public Records Act Illinois Freedom of Information Act Indiana Access to Public Records Act Iowa Open Records Law Kansas Open Records Act

Kentucky Open Records Act Louisiana Public Records Act Maine Freedom of Access Act Maryland Public Information Act Massachusetts Public Records Act Michigan Freedom of Information Act Minnesota Data Practices Act Mississippi Public Records Act Missouri Sunshine Law Montana Public Records Act Nebraska Public Records Law Nevada Open Records Act New Hampshire Right to Know Law New Jersey Open Public Records Act New Mexico Inspection of Public Records Act New York Freedom of Information Law North Carolina Public Records Law

North Dakota Open Records Statute Ohio Open Records Law Oklahoma Open Records Act Oregon Public Records Law Pennsylvania Right to Know Law Rhode Island Access to Public Records Act South Carolina Freedom of Information Act South Dakota Sunshine Law Tennessee Open Records Act Texas Public Information Act Utah Government Records Access and Management Act Vermont Public Records Law Virginia Freedom of Information Act Washington Public Records Act West Virginia Freedom of Information Act Wisconsin Open Records Law Wyoming Sunshine Law

[edit] Aspects of the laws

• Private agency, public dollars
• List of who can make public record requests by state
• Years that state FOIA laws were enacted
• Request response times by state
• How much do public records cost?
• States with FOIA ombudsmen
• Public access to concealed carry lists

[edit] Proposed changes to the laws

See Proposed reforms in state sunshine laws, 2010.

[edit] Evaluating websites for sunshine law information

Find your state or county at Sunshine Review

Sunshine Review's transparency checklist incorporates a section for the affirmative disclosure of the following information, which is critical for submitting public records requests:
Required:

• When a citizen wants to file an open records request, which employee handles those requests?
• What is that employee's contact information?
• The school district website should provide this information in a very easy-to-locate position on their website.
• The school district website should lay out the procedure for a citizen to follow who wants access to public records.
• The information should be user-friendly.

Recommended

• The school district website should include an annual rating of its FOIA compliance: How many requests did it receive in a given year, how many did it comply with, the average time required for compliance, and reasons for denials. If the school district is currently being sued for failure to provide public documents, this information should be included.
• If the school district has been ordered by a judge or public records ombudsman to provide documents it refused to produce in response to a public records request, this information should be a permanent record posted on the school district's website.