16 | 18 | | Relating to public records; to amend Sections 36-12-40 |
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17 | 19 | | and 36-12-41, Code of Alabama 1975, and to add Sections |
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18 | 20 | | 36-12-43, 36-12-44, 36-12-45, and 36-12-46 to the Code of |
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19 | 21 | | Alabama 1975, to establish procedures for requesting and |
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20 | 22 | | obtaining public records; and to make nonsubstantive, |
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21 | 23 | | technical revisions to update the existing code language to |
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22 | 24 | | current style. |
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23 | 25 | | BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF ALABAMA: |
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24 | 26 | | Section 1. Sections 36-12-40 and 36-12-41 of the Code |
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25 | 27 | | of Alabama 1975, are amended to read as follows: |
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26 | 28 | | "§36-12-40 |
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36 | | - | pertain to his or her child. Notwithstanding the foregoing, |
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37 | | - | records concerning security plans, procedures, assessments, |
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38 | | - | measures, or systems, and any other records relating to, or |
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39 | | - | having an impact upon, the security or safety of persons, |
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40 | | - | structures, facilities, or other infrastructures, including |
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| 67 | + | and circulation records of any school or public library that |
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| 68 | + | pertain to his or her child. Notwithstanding the foregoing, |
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| 69 | + | records concerning security plans, procedures, assessments, |
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| 70 | + | measures, or systems, and any other records relating to, or |
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| 71 | + | having an impact upon, the security or safety of persons, |
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70 | 72 | | structures, facilities, or other infrastructures, including |
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71 | 73 | | without limitation information concerning critical |
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72 | 74 | | infrastructure,(as defined at 42 U.S.C. § 5195c(e) , as |
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73 | 75 | | amended) and critical energy infrastructure information ,(as |
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74 | 76 | | defined at 18 C.F.R. § 388.113(c)(1) , as amended) the public |
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75 | 77 | | disclosure of which could reasonably be expected to be |
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76 | 78 | | detrimental to the public safety or welfare, and records the |
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77 | 79 | | disclosure of which would otherwise be detrimental to the best |
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78 | 80 | | interests of the public shall be exempted from this section. |
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79 | 81 | | Any public officer who receives a request for records that may |
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80 | 82 | | appear to relate to critical infrastructure or critical energy |
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81 | 83 | | infrastructure information, shall notify the owner of such |
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82 | 84 | | infrastructure in writing of the request and provide the owner |
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83 | 85 | | an opportunity to comment on the request and on the threats to |
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84 | 86 | | public safety or welfare that could reasonably be expected |
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85 | 87 | | from public disclosure on of the records. |
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86 | 88 | | (b) For purposes of this article, the judicial branch |
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87 | 89 | | of state government and any office identified in Article VI of |
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88 | 90 | | the Constitution of Alabama of 2022, are exempted from the |
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89 | 91 | | requirements of Sections 36-12-43 through 36-12-45. " |
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90 | 92 | | "§36-12-41 |
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91 | 93 | | Every public officer having the custody of a public |
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92 | | - | writing which a citizen record that a resident has a right to |
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93 | | - | inspect is bound to give him shall provide him or her , on |
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94 | | - | demand proper request as provided in this article , with a |
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95 | | - | certified copy of it the public record , on payment of the |
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96 | | - | legal fees therefor a reasonable fee, as further provided in |
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97 | | - | this article, and such copy is admissible as evidence in like |
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98 | | - | cases and with like effect as the original writing ." |
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| 94 | + | writing which record that a citizen has a right to inspect is |
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| 95 | + | bound to give him shall provide him or her , on demand proper |
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128 | | - | cases and with like effect as the original writing ." |
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| 125 | + | bound to give him shall provide him or her , on demand proper |
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| 126 | + | request as provided in this article , with a certified copy of |
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| 127 | + | it the public record , on payment of the legal fees therefor a |
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| 128 | + | reasonable fee, as further provided in this article , and such |
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| 129 | + | copy is admissible as evidence in like cases and with like |
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| 130 | + | effect as the original writing ." |
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134 | | - | residents with the opportunity to inspect public records and |
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135 | | - | to request a copy, subject to payment of reasonable fees and |
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136 | | - | to appropriate protections for private, confidential, |
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| 136 | + | citizens with the opportunity to inspect public records and to |
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| 137 | + | request a copy, subject to payment of reasonable fees and to |
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| 138 | + | applicable legal protections for private, confidential, |
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137 | 139 | | privileged, and other nonpublic information, and to the |
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138 | 140 | | interest of the general public in having the business of |
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139 | 141 | | government carried on efficiently and without undue |
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140 | 142 | | interference. |
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141 | 143 | | (b) For purposes of this article, the following terms |
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142 | 144 | | shall have the following meanings: |
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143 | 145 | | (1) BUSINESS DAY. A day that the public officer's |
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144 | 146 | | office is open to the public and conducting normal operations. |
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148 | | - | (3) RESIDENT. An individual who is permanently |
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149 | | - | domiciled in Alabama with an expectation to remain in Alabama |
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150 | | - | as demonstrated by reasonable proof of residency such as, but |
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151 | | - | not limited to, an Alabama driver license or voter |
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152 | | - | registration. |
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153 | | - | (4) STANDARD REQUEST. A public records request that |
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154 | | - | seeks one or more specifically and discretely identified |
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155 | | - | public records that the public officer determines would take |
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156 | | - | less than eight hours of staff time to process considering the |
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188 | | - | and to redact or take other measures to withhold protected |
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189 | | - | information. A standard request should require no or minimal |
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190 | | - | clarification by the requester. |
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191 | | - | (5) SUBSTANTIVE RESPONSE. A response to a proper public |
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| 189 | + | and to redact or take other measures to withhold legally |
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| 190 | + | protected information. A standard request should require no or |
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| 191 | + | minimal clarification by the requester. |
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| 192 | + | (5) SUBSTANTIVE RESPONSE. A response to a public |
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192 | 193 | | records request that sets forth the public officer's ultimate |
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193 | 194 | | position on the substance of the request. The term includes, |
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194 | 195 | | but is not limited to, the following, in whole or in part: |
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195 | 196 | | a. A statement that the public records are provided as |
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196 | 197 | | attached or enclosed. |
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197 | 198 | | b. A statement that access to the requested public |
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198 | 199 | | records will be provided at a set time, place, and location |
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199 | 200 | | during regular business hours or at a time, place, and |
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200 | 201 | | location mutually agreeable to the public officer and the |
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201 | 202 | | requester. |
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202 | 203 | | c. A statement that the public officer is prepared to |
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203 | 204 | | provide the requested public records to the requester upon |
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244 | 245 | | g. A statement that denies the request for failure to |
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245 | 246 | | substantially comply with the written procedures established |
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246 | 247 | | by the public officer for such request. |
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247 | 248 | | h. A statement that denies the request because the |
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248 | 249 | | records sought are not public. |
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249 | 250 | | (6) TIME-INTENSIVE REQUEST. A public records request |
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250 | 251 | | that the public officer determines would take more than eight |
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251 | 252 | | hours of staff time to process considering the time needed to |
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252 | 253 | | identify and retrieve any responsive records and any time |
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255 | 256 | | (c) This article is not intended to, and does not, |
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256 | 257 | | change or in any way affect any protections for private, |
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257 | 258 | | confidential, privileged, or other nonpublic information |
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258 | 259 | | provided under applicable law. |
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259 | 260 | | §36-12-44 |
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260 | 261 | | (a) A public officer shall respond to a standard |
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261 | 262 | | request subject to each of the following provisions: |
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262 | 263 | | (1) The public officer may require the requester to |
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263 | 264 | | submit his or her request using a standard request form or by |
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264 | 265 | | following the written procedures for accepting requests for |
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265 | 266 | | public records established by the public officer. |
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266 | 267 | | (2) The public officer may require the requester to pay |
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267 | 268 | | a reasonable fee set by the public officer before the |
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268 | 269 | | requester may receive any public records. If the public |
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307 | 305 | | (3) The public officer shall acknowledge a proper |
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308 | 306 | | request within 10 days of receiving the request. |
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309 | 307 | | (4) The public officer shall provide a substantive |
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310 | 308 | | response fulfilling or denying a proper request within 15 |
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311 | 309 | | business days of acknowledging receipt. Although the public |
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312 | 310 | | officer may extend this period in 15-business-day increments |
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313 | 311 | | upon written notice to the requester, the public officer |
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314 | 312 | | should process a standard request as expeditiously as possible |
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315 | 313 | | considering the requester's time constraints, the public |
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316 | 314 | | officer's workload, and the nature of the request. |
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317 | 315 | | (5) There shall be a rebuttable presumption that a |
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318 | 316 | | proper standard request has been denied by the public officer |
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319 | 317 | | if: |
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320 | 318 | | a. A substantive response is not provided to the |
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321 | 319 | | standard request within the earlier of 30 business days or 60 |
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322 | 320 | | calendar days following acknowledgment of receipt by the |
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323 | 321 | | public officer; or |
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324 | 322 | | b. The public records are not produced within the |
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325 | 323 | | earlier of 30 business days or 60 calendar days following the |
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326 | 324 | | payment of the estimated fees to the public officer. |
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327 | 325 | | (6) There shall be no presumption that a proper |
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328 | 326 | | standard request has been denied if: |
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377 | | - | (2) The public officer shall require the requester to |
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378 | | - | pay a reasonable fee set by the public officer before |
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379 | | - | providing a substantive response to the requester. The public |
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380 | | - | officer shall notify the requester in advance of any likely |
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381 | | - | fees and shall withhold any substantive response until receipt |
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382 | | - | of payment. Additionally, the public officer shall have the |
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383 | | - | discretion to require the requester to pay all or a portion of |
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384 | | - | the estimated fee prior to searching for any responsive public |
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385 | | - | records. |
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| 372 | + | (2) The public officer may require the requester to pay |
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| 373 | + | a reasonable fee set by the public officer before providing a |
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| 374 | + | substantive response to the requester. The public officer |
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| 375 | + | shall notify the requester in advance of any likely fees and |
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| 376 | + | shall withhold any substantive response until receipt of |
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| 377 | + | payment. |
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423 | 415 | | request and submit a new request that is not a time-intensive |
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424 | 416 | | request. If the requester elects to proceed with a |
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425 | 417 | | time-intensive request, the public officer shall provide a |
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426 | 418 | | substantive response fulfilling or denying the request within |
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427 | 419 | | 45 business days after the requester elected to proceed with |
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428 | 420 | | his or her time-intensive request. The public officer may |
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429 | 421 | | extend this period in 45-business-day increments by notifying |
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430 | 422 | | the requester in writing. |
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431 | 423 | | (5) At or around the time of designating the request as |
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432 | 424 | | time-intensive, the public officer shall make a record in a |
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433 | 425 | | log maintained for keeping track of currently pending |
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434 | 426 | | time-intensive requests. For each such currently pending |
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435 | | - | request, the log shall identify the name of the requester and |
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436 | | - | the date of acknowledgment pursuant to subdivision (3). The |
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437 | | - | log shall be a confidential document that is not subject to |
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438 | | - | disclosure pursuant to this article, provided the log may |
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439 | | - | remain discoverable pursuant to proper discovery methods |
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440 | | - | provided under applicable rules of procedure. |
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| 427 | + | request, the log shall identify the name of the requester, the |
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| 428 | + | general subject matter of the request, and the date of |
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| 429 | + | acknowledgment pursuant to subdivision (3). The log shall be a |
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| 430 | + | confidential document that is not subject to disclosure |
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| 431 | + | pursuant to this article, provided the log may remain |
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| 432 | + | discoverable pursuant to proper discovery methods provided |
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| 433 | + | under applicable rules of procedure. |
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495 | 485 | | identify the requested public record with reasonable |
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496 | 486 | | specificity. A public officer shall not be obligated to |
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497 | 487 | | respond to a public records request that is vague, ambiguous, |
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498 | 488 | | overly broad, or unreasonable in scope. |
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499 | 489 | | (d) A public officer shall not be required to create a |
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500 | 490 | | new public record if the requested record does not already |
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501 | 491 | | exist. |
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502 | 492 | | (e) A public officer shall not be required to respond |
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503 | 493 | | to requests that seek information or other materials that are |
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504 | 494 | | not public records. |
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534 | | - | not public records. |
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535 | | - | (f) A public officer may request reasonable evidence to |
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536 | | - | establish proof of residency. A public officer shall have the |
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537 | | - | discretion to respond to public records requests made by |
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538 | | - | nonresidents, in which case, a public officer's decision to |
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539 | | - | respond to such requests shall not operate as a waiver of the |
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540 | | - | public officer's right to deny other or future requests made |
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541 | | - | by nonresidents. |
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542 | | - | (g) If a public officer responds to a request by |
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543 | | - | seeking clarification or additional information, the timelines |
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544 | | - | established in this section shall be tolled and shall restart |
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545 | | - | once the public officer receives the requested clarification |
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546 | 531 | | or additional information as if the requester had submitted a |
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547 | 532 | | new request. A public officer's decision to seek clarification |
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548 | 533 | | or additional information with respect to any particular |
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549 | 534 | | request shall not operate as a waiver of the public officer's |
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550 | 535 | | right to seek clarification or additional information in |
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551 | 536 | | response to other, future requests. |
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552 | 537 | | (h) Nothing in this article shall be construed to |
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553 | 538 | | prohibit a public officer from processing a public records |
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554 | 539 | | request in a manner that is less expensive or more prompt from |
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555 | 540 | | the perspective of the requester. |
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556 | 541 | | §36-12-45 |
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| 548 | + | public records request. |
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| 549 | + | b. A designee, such as a public records coordinator, to |
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| 550 | + | whom a public records request shall be addressed. |
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| 551 | + | c. The permissible method or methods of transmitting a |
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| 552 | + | public records request. |
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| 553 | + | d. Any other policies pertaining to the process for |
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| 554 | + | submitting a public records request. |
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| 555 | + | (2) The public officer shall make his or her written |
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| 556 | + | procedures concerning public records reasonably available to |
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| 557 | + | the public. |
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| 558 | + | (3) A public officer shall not be obligated to respond |
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| 559 | + | to a public records request that is not made pursuant to the |
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592 | | - | a. A standard request form for use in submitting a |
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593 | | - | public records request. |
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594 | | - | b. A designee, such as a public records coordinator, to |
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595 | | - | whom a public records request shall be addressed. |
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596 | | - | c. The permissible method or methods of transmitting a |
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597 | | - | public records request. |
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598 | | - | d. Any other policies pertaining to the process for |
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599 | | - | submitting a public records request. |
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600 | | - | (2) The public officer shall make his or her written |
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601 | | - | procedures concerning public records reasonably available to |
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602 | | - | the public. |
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603 | | - | (3) A public officer shall not be obligated to respond |
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612 | 597 | | delivering the request by hand or by mailing the request to |
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613 | 598 | | the main office or principal place of business of the public |
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614 | 599 | | officer having custody of the public record. |
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615 | 600 | | (2) Receipt of a hand-delivered public records request |
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616 | 601 | | occurs when the request is received at the public officer's |
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617 | 602 | | main office or principal place of business. Receipt of a |
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618 | 603 | | mailed public records request occurs on the date of actual |
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619 | 604 | | receipt by the public officer. A certified mail receipt or |
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620 | 605 | | similar signed postage receipt shall be prima facie evidence |
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| 606 | + | of receipt by the public officer. |
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| 607 | + | (3) The standard request form shall read substantially as |
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| 608 | + | follows, provided a public officer may require additional |
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| 609 | + | information or modify the order or format in which the |
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| 610 | + | information is requested: |
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| 611 | + | "Requester's contact information: |
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| 612 | + | Name:__________________________________________________ |
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| 613 | + | Phone number:__________________________________________ |
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| 614 | + | Email address:_________________________________________ |
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| 615 | + | Street address:________________________________________ |
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| 616 | + | City:__________________________________________________ |
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| 617 | + | State:_________________________________________________ |
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650 | | - | similar signed postage receipt shall be prima facie evidence |
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651 | | - | of receipt by the public officer. |
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652 | | - | (3) The standard request form shall read substantially as |
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653 | | - | follows, provided a public officer may require additional |
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654 | | - | information or modify the order or format in which the |
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655 | | - | information is requested: |
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656 | | - | "Requester's contact information: |
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657 | | - | Name:__________________________________________________ |
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658 | | - | Phone number:__________________________________________ |
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659 | | - | Email address:_________________________________________ |
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660 | | - | Street address:________________________________________ |
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661 | | - | City:__________________________________________________ |
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662 | 647 | | State:_________________________________________________ |
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663 | 648 | | Zip:___________________________________________________ |
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664 | 649 | | Agency you are requesting public records from: |
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665 | 650 | | _______________________________________________________ |
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666 | 651 | | Date of request:_______________________________________ |
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667 | 652 | | Records requested: (Be as specific as possible. A |
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668 | 653 | | public officer is not obligated to respond to a request |
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669 | 654 | | that is vague, ambiguous, overly broad, or unreasonable |
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670 | 655 | | in scope, nor is a public officer obligated to respond |
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671 | 656 | | to a request that seeks records that do not exist or |
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672 | 657 | | materials that are not public records. Additionally, |
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673 | 658 | | extensive requests for public records may increase the |
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674 | 659 | | fees to cover the administrative cost of searching and |
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675 | 660 | | copying the requested records.) |
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676 | 661 | | _______________________________________________________ |
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677 | 662 | | _______________________________________________________ |
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678 | 663 | | _______________________________________________________ |
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| 664 | + | _______________________________________________________ |
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| 665 | + | Payment of fees may be required before your request is |
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| 666 | + | fulfilled. |
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| 667 | + | By submitting this request, you certify that you are an |
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| 668 | + | Alabama resident with standing to make a request for |
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| 669 | + | public records pursuant to Alabama law." |
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| 670 | + | §36-12-46 |
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| 671 | + | Nothing in this article shall be construed to permit |
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| 672 | + | any party to a pending or threatened action, suit, or |
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| 673 | + | proceeding to obtain information regarding a matter relevant |
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| 674 | + | to the pending or threatened action, suit, or proceeding in |
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| 675 | + | lieu of the proper discovery methods provided under applicable |
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708 | | - | _______________________________________________________ |
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709 | | - | _______________________________________________________ |
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710 | | - | Payment of fees may be required before your request is |
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711 | | - | fulfilled. |
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712 | | - | By submitting this request, you certify that you are an |
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713 | | - | Alabama resident with standing to make a request for |
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714 | | - | public records pursuant to Alabama law." |
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715 | | - | §36-12-46 |
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716 | | - | Nothing in this article shall be construed to permit |
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717 | | - | any party to a pending or threatened action, suit, or |
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718 | | - | proceeding to obtain information regarding a matter relevant |
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719 | | - | to the pending or threatened action, suit, or proceeding in |
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