SB270ENROLLED
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SB270
1C5VZ33-2
By Senator Orr
RFD: County and Municipal Government
First Read: 02-Apr-24
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First Read: 02-Apr-24
Enrolled, An Act,
Relating to public records; to amend Sections 36-12-40
and 36-12-41, Code of Alabama 1975, and to add Sections
36-12-43, 36-12-44, 36-12-45, and 36-12-46 to the Code of
Alabama 1975, to establish procedures for requesting and
obtaining public records; and to make nonsubstantive,
technical revisions to update the existing code language to
current style.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF ALABAMA:
Section 1. Sections 36-12-40 and 36-12-41 of the Code
of Alabama 1975, are amended to read as follows:
"§36-12-40
(a) Every citizenresident has a right to inspect and
take a copy of any public writing record of this state, except
as otherwise expressly provided by statuteapplicable law.
Provided however, registration and circulation records and
information concerning the use of the public, public school ,
or college and university libraries of this state shall be
exempted from this section. Provided further, any parent of a
minor child shall have the right to inspect the registration
and circulation records of any school or public library that
pertain to his or her child. Notwithstanding the foregoing,
records concerning security plans, procedures, assessments,
measures, or systems, and any other records relating to, or
having an impact upon, the security or safety of persons,
structures, facilities, or other infrastructures, including
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structures, facilities, or other infrastructures, including
without limitation information concerning critical
infrastructure,(as defined at 42 U.S.C. § 5195c(e) , as
amended) and critical energy infrastructure information ,(as
defined at 18 C.F.R. § 388.113(c)(1) , as amended) the public
disclosure of which could reasonably be expected to be
detrimental to the public safety or welfare, and records the
disclosure of which would otherwise be detrimental to the best
interests of the public shall be exempted from this section.
Any public officer who receives a request for records that may
appear to relate to critical infrastructure or critical energy
infrastructure information, shall notify the owner of such
infrastructure in writing of the request and provide the owner
an opportunity to comment on the request and on the threats to
public safety or welfare that could reasonably be expected
from public disclosure on of the records.
(b) For purposes of this article, the judicial branch
of state government and any office identified in Article VI of
the Constitution of Alabama of 2022, are exempted from the
requirements of Sections 36-12-43 through 36-12-45. "
"§36-12-41
Every public officer having the custody of a public
writing which a citizen record that a resident has a right to
inspect is bound to give him shall provide him or her , on
demand proper request as provided in this article , with a
certified copy of it the public record , on payment of the
legal fees therefor a reasonable fee, as further provided in
this article, and such copy is admissible as evidence in like
cases and with like effect as the original writing ."
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cases and with like effect as the original writing ."
Section 2. Sections 36-12-43, 36-12-44, 36-12-45, and
36-12-46 are added to the Code of Alabama 1975, to read as
follows:
§36-12-43
(a) It is the policy of the state to promptly provide
residents with the opportunity to inspect public records and
to request a copy, subject to payment of reasonable fees and
to appropriate protections for private, confidential,
privileged, and other nonpublic information, and to the
interest of the general public in having the business of
government carried on efficiently and without undue
interference.
(b) For purposes of this article, the following terms
shall have the following meanings:
(1) BUSINESS DAY. A day that the public officer's
office is open to the public and conducting normal operations.
(2) PUBLIC OFFICER. A public officer or his or her
designee responsible for responding to public records
requests.
(3) RESIDENT. An individual who is permanently
domiciled in Alabama with an expectation to remain in Alabama
as demonstrated by reasonable proof of residency such as, but
not limited to, an Alabama driver license or voter
registration.
(4) STANDARD REQUEST. A public records request that
seeks one or more specifically and discretely identified
public records that the public officer determines would take
less than eight hours of staff time to process considering the
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less than eight hours of staff time to process considering the
time needed to identify and retrieve any responsive records
and to redact or take other measures to withhold protected
information. A standard request should require no or minimal
clarification by the requester.
(5) SUBSTANTIVE RESPONSE. A response to a proper public
records request that sets forth the public officer's ultimate
position on the substance of the request. The term includes,
but is not limited to, the following, in whole or in part:
a. A statement that the public records are provided as
attached or enclosed.
b. A statement that access to the requested public
records will be provided at a set time, place, and location
during regular business hours or at a time, place, and
location mutually agreeable to the public officer and the
requester.
c. A statement that the public officer is prepared to
provide the requested public records to the requester upon
payment of a reasonable fee.
d. A statement that denies the request with reasons
stated therefor.
e. A statement that denies the request on the grounds
that the requested public record does not exist within the
government agency. If known to the public officer, the public
officer may identify the proper custodian or location for the
requested public record.
f. A statement that denies the request for failure to
substantially complete a standard request form.
g. A statement that denies the request for failure to
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g. A statement that denies the request for failure to
substantially comply with the written procedures established
by the public officer for such request.
h. A statement that denies the request because the
records sought are not public.
(6) TIME-INTENSIVE REQUEST. A public records request
that the public officer determines would take more than eight
hours of staff time to process considering the time needed to
identify and retrieve any responsive records and any time
needed to redact or take other measures to withhold protected
information.
(c) This article is not intended to, and does not,
change or in any way affect any protections for private,
confidential, privileged, or other nonpublic information
provided under applicable law.
§36-12-44
(a) A public officer shall respond to a standard
request subject to each of the following provisions:
(1) The public officer may require the requester to
submit his or her request using a standard request form or by
following the written procedures for accepting requests for
public records established by the public officer.
(2) The public officer may require the requester to pay
a reasonable fee set by the public officer before the
requester may receive any public records. If the public
officer elects to charge a fee, the public officer shall
notify the requester of the estimated fee and withhold any
public records until receipt of payment. The requester may opt
not to pay the fee and thus not receive any substantive
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not to pay the fee and thus not receive any substantive
response. Additionally, the public officer shall have the
discretion to require the requester to pay all or a portion of
the estimated fee prior to searching for any responsive public
records.
(3) The public officer shall acknowledge a proper
request within 10 days of receiving the request.
(4) The public officer shall provide a substantive
response fulfilling or denying a proper request within 15
business days of acknowledging receipt. Although the public
officer may extend this period in 15-business-day increments
upon written notice to the requester, the public officer
should process a standard request as expeditiously as possible
considering the requester's time constraints, the public
officer's workload, and the nature of the request.
(5) There shall be a rebuttable presumption that a
proper standard request has been denied by the public officer
if:
a. A substantive response is not provided to the
standard request within the earlier of 30 business days or 60
calendar days following acknowledgment of receipt by the
public officer; or
b. The public records are not produced within the
earlier of 30 business days or 60 calendar days following the
payment of the estimated fees to the public officer.
(6) There shall be no presumption that a proper
standard request has been denied if:
a. The request is not proper or the public officer is
not obligated or required to respond as provided in this
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not obligated or required to respond as provided in this
section;
b. The public officer has responded in part;
c. The public officer and requester have reached an
agreement regarding the time or substance, or both, of the
response;
d. Negotiations are ongoing between the public officer
and the requester; or
e. The public officer has reasonably communicated the
status of the request to the requester.
(b) A public officer shall respond to a proper,
time-intensive request subject to each of the following
provisions:
(1) The public officer shall require the requester to
submit his or her request using a standard request form or by
following the written procedures for accepting requests for
public records established by the public officer.
(2) The public officer shall require the requester to
pay a reasonable fee set by the public officer before
providing a substantive response to the requester. The public
officer shall notify the requester in advance of any likely
fees and shall withhold any substantive response until receipt
of payment. Additionally, the public officer shall have the
discretion to require the requester to pay all or a portion of
the estimated fee prior to searching for any responsive public
records.
(3) The public officer shall acknowledge the request
within 10 business days of receiving the request.
(4) The public officer shall notify the requester
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(4) The public officer shall notify the requester
within 15 business days after acknowledging receipt that the
request qualifies as a time-intensive request. At that time,
the public officer shall notify the requester of any likely
fees and allow the requester to withdraw the time-intensive
request and submit a new request that is not a time-intensive
request. If the requester elects to proceed with a
time-intensive request, the public officer shall provide a
substantive response fulfilling or denying the request within
45 business days after the requester elected to proceed with
his or her time-intensive request. The public officer may
extend this period in 45-business-day increments by notifying
the requester in writing.
(5) At or around the time of designating the request as
time-intensive, the public officer shall make a record in a
log maintained for keeping track of currently pending
time-intensive requests. For each such currently pending
request, the log shall identify the name of the requester and
the date of acknowledgment pursuant to subdivision (3). The
log shall be a confidential document that is not subject to
disclosure pursuant to this article, provided the log may
remain discoverable pursuant to proper discovery methods
provided under applicable rules of procedure.
(6) There shall be a rebuttable presumption that a
proper time-intensive request has been denied by the public
officer if:
a. A substantive response is not provided within the
earlier of 180 business days or 270 calendar days following
the requester's election to proceed with a time-intensive
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the requester's election to proceed with a time-intensive
request.
b. The records are not produced within the earlier of
180 business days or 270 calendar days following the payment
of the estimated fees to the public officer.
(7) There shall be no presumption that a proper
time-intensive request has been denied if:
a. The request is not proper or the public officer is
not obligated or required to respond as provided in this
section;
b. The public officer has responded in part;
c. The public officer and requester have reached an
agreement regarding the time or substance, or both, of the
response;
d. Negotiations are ongoing between the public officer
and the requester; or
e. The public officer has reasonably communicated the
status of the request to the requester.
(c) A request made pursuant to this article shall
identify the requested public record with reasonable
specificity. A public officer shall not be obligated to
respond to a public records request that is vague, ambiguous,
overly broad, or unreasonable in scope.
(d) A public officer shall not be required to create a
new public record if the requested record does not already
exist.
(e) A public officer shall not be required to respond
to requests that seek information or other materials that are
not public records.
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not public records.
(f) A public officer may request reasonable evidence to
establish proof of residency. A public officer shall have the
discretion to respond to public records requests made by
nonresidents, in which case, a public officer's decision to
respond to such requests shall not operate as a waiver of the
public officer's right to deny other or future requests made
by nonresidents.
(g) If a public officer responds to a request by
seeking clarification or additional information, the timelines
established in this section shall be tolled and shall restart
once the public officer receives the requested clarification
or additional information as if the requester had submitted a
new request. A public officer's decision to seek clarification
or additional information with respect to any particular
request shall not operate as a waiver of the public officer's
right to seek clarification or additional information in
response to other, future requests.
(h) Nothing in this article shall be construed to
prohibit a public officer from processing a public records
request in a manner that is less expensive or more prompt from
the perspective of the requester.
§36-12-45
(a)(1) A resident may request access to a public record
by following the written procedures for accepting such
requests established by the public officer having custody of
the public record. The written procedures may establish any of
the following:
a. A standard request form for use in submitting a
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a. A standard request form for use in submitting a
public records request.
b. A designee, such as a public records coordinator, to
whom a public records request shall be addressed.
c. The permissible method or methods of transmitting a
public records request.
d. Any other policies pertaining to the process for
submitting a public records request.
(2) The public officer shall make his or her written
procedures concerning public records reasonably available to
the public.
(3) A public officer shall not be obligated to respond
to a public records request that is not made pursuant to the
public officer's written procedures.
(4) Written procedures need not be adopted as
administrative rules pursuant to the Alabama Administrative
Procedure Act.
(b) In the absence of written procedures to the
contrary, each of the following shall apply:
(1) A resident may submit a public records request by
delivering the request by hand or by mailing the request to
the main office or principal place of business of the public
officer having custody of the public record.
(2) Receipt of a hand-delivered public records request
occurs when the request is received at the public officer's
main office or principal place of business. Receipt of a
mailed public records request occurs on the date of actual
receipt by the public officer. A certified mail receipt or
similar signed postage receipt shall be prima facie evidence
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similar signed postage receipt shall be prima facie evidence
of receipt by the public officer.
(3) The standard request form shall read substantially as
follows, provided a public officer may require additional
information or modify the order or format in which the
information is requested:
"Requester's contact information:
Name:__________________________________________________
Phone number:__________________________________________
Email address:_________________________________________
Street address:________________________________________
City:__________________________________________________
State:_________________________________________________
Zip:___________________________________________________
Agency you are requesting public records from:
_______________________________________________________
Date of request:_______________________________________
Records requested: (Be as specific as possible. A
public officer is not obligated to respond to a request
that is vague, ambiguous, overly broad, or unreasonable
in scope, nor is a public officer obligated to respond
to a request that seeks records that do not exist or
materials that are not public records. Additionally,
extensive requests for public records may increase the
fees to cover the administrative cost of searching and
copying the requested records.)
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
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_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
Payment of fees may be required before your request is
fulfilled.
By submitting this request, you certify that you are an
Alabama resident with standing to make a request for
public records pursuant to Alabama law."
§36-12-46
Nothing in this article shall be construed to permit
any party to a pending or threatened action, suit, or
proceeding to obtain information regarding a matter relevant
to the pending or threatened action, suit, or proceeding in
lieu of the proper discovery methods provided under applicable
rules of procedure.
Section 3. This act shall become effective on October
1, 2024.
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1, 2024.
________________________________________________
President and Presiding Officer of the Senate
________________________________________________
Speaker of the House of Representatives
SB270
Senate 18-Apr-24
I hereby certify that the within Act originated in and passed
the Senate, as amended.
Patrick Harris,
Secretary.
House of Representatives
Amended and passed: 02-May-24
Senate concurred in House amendment 07-May-24
By: Senator Orr
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