Exemptions to the Arkansas Freedom of Information Act
From Sunshine Review
There are multiple exemptions to what types of records are available under the Arkansas Freedom of Information Act.
Contents |
Exemptions to the Arkansas Freedom of Information Act
It is the specific intent of this section that the following shall not be deemed to be made open to the public under the provisions of this chapter:[1]
- (1) State income tax records;
- (2) Medical records, adoption records, and education records as defined in the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974, 20 U.S.C. § 1232g, unless their disclosure is consistent with the provisions of that act;
- (3) The site files and records maintained by the Arkansas Historic Preservation Program of the Department of Arkansas Heritage and the Arkansas Archeological Survey;
- (4) Grand jury minutes;
- (5) Unpublished drafts of judicial or quasi-judicial opinions and decisions;
- (6) Undisclosed investigations by law enforcement agencies of suspected criminal activity;
- (7) Unpublished memoranda, working papers, and correspondence of the Governor, members of the General Assembly, Supreme Court Justices, Court of Appeals Judges, and the Attorney General;
- (8) Documents that are protected from disclosure by order or rule of court;
- (9) (A) Files that if disclosed would give advantage to competitors or bidders and records maintained by the Arkansas Economic Development Commission related to any business entity's planning, site location, expansion, operations, or product development and marketing, unless approval for release of those records is granted by the business entity.
- (B) However, this exemption shall not be applicable to any records of expenditures or grants made or administered by the commission and otherwise disclosable under the provisions of this chapter;
- (10) (A) The identities of law enforcement officers currently working undercover with their agencies and identified in the Arkansas Minimum Standards Office as undercover officers.
- (B) Records of the number of undercover officers and agency lists are not exempt from this chapter;
- (11) Records containing measures, procedures, instructions, or related data used to cause a computer or a computer system or network, including telecommunication networks or applications thereon, to perform security functions, including, but not limited to, passwords, personal identification numbers, transaction authorization mechanisms, and other means of preventing access to computers, computer systems or networks, or any data residing therein;
- (12) Personnel records to the extent that disclosure would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy;
- (13) Home addresses of nonelected state employees, nonelected municipal employees, and nonelected county employees contained in employer records, except that the custodian of the records shall verify an employee's city or county of residence or address on record upon request;
- (14) Materials, information, examinations, and answers to examinations utilized by boards and commissions for purposes of testing applicants for licensure by state boards or commissions;
- (15) Military service discharge records or DD Form 214, the Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty of the United States Department of Defense, filed with the county recorder as provided under § 14-2-102, for veterans discharged from service less than seventy (70) years from the current date;
- (16) Vulnerability assessments submitted by a public water system on or before June 30, 2004, to the Administrator of the United States Environmental Protection Agency for a period of ten (10) years from the date of submission;
- (17) (A) Records, including analyses, investigations, studies, reports, or recommendations, containing information relating to any Department of Human Services risk or security assessment, known or suspected security vulnerability, or safeguard related to compliance with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 or protection of other confidential department information.
- (B) The records shall include:
- (i) Risk and security assessments;
- (ii) Plans and proposals for preventing and mitigating privacy and security risks;
- (iii) Emergency response and recovery records;
- (iv) Privacy and security plans and procedures; and
- (v) Any other records containing information that if disclosed might jeopardize or compromise efforts to secure and protect personal health information or other protected department information.
- (C) This subdivision (b)(17) expires on July 1, 2009; and
- (18) (A) Records, including analyses, investigations, studies, reports, recommendations, requests for proposals, drawings, diagrams, blueprints, and plans, containing information relating to security for any public water system.
- (B) The records shall include:
- (i) Risk and vulnerability assessments;
- (ii) Plans and proposals for preventing and mitigating security risks;
- (iii) Emergency response and recovery records;
- (iv) Security plans and procedures; and
- (v) Any other records containing information that if disclosed might jeopardize or compromise efforts to secure and protect the public water system.
- (C) This subdivision (b)(18) shall expire on July 1, 2009.
Above section reprinted from the Arkansas Legislative Code website, Statute 25-19-105.
See also
External links
- Arkansas Legislative Code search for 25-19-105
