| 1 | 1 | | House Study Bill 188 - Introduced HOUSE FILE _____ BY (PROPOSED COMMITTEE ON JUDICIARY BILL BY CHAIRPERSON HOLT) A BILL FOR An Act relating to the examination of confidential records by 1 the general assembly. 2 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA: 3 TLSB 2683YC (2) 91 ss/ns |
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| 3 | 3 | | H.F. _____ Section 1. Section 22.7, unnumbered paragraph 1, Code 2025, 1 is amended to read as follows: 2 The following public records shall be kept confidential, 3 unless otherwise ordered by a court, by the lawful custodian of 4 the records, or by another person duly authorized to release 5 such information , and except as provided in section 22.7A : 6 Sec. 2. NEW SECTION . 22.7A Confidential records 7 legislative examination. 8 1. Upon request, a government body shall provide a 9 public record, including a confidential record, to a member, 10 agency, or committee of the general assembly for inspection 11 or duplication as provided in this chapter if the member, 12 agency, or committee of the general assembly states that the 13 public record is requested under this section for legislative 14 purposes. 15 2. A government body may require that a member, agency, or 16 committee of the general assembly requesting a confidential 17 record pursuant to this section, or the members or employees of 18 the requesting entity who will view or handle the confidential 19 record, sign a confidentiality agreement requiring any of the 20 following: 21 a. That the confidential record not be disclosed outside the 22 requesting entity, or within the requesting entity for purposes 23 other than the purpose for which it was received. 24 b. That the confidential record be labeled as confidential. 25 c. That the confidential record be kept securely. 26 d. That the number of copies made of the confidential record 27 or the notes taken from the confidential record be controlled, 28 with all copies or notes that are not destroyed or returned to 29 the government body remaining confidential and subject to the 30 confidentiality agreement. 31 3. a. A member, agency, or committee of the general 32 assembly required to sign a confidentiality agreement pursuant 33 to subsection 2 may request a determination from the attorney 34 general on whether the record covered by the confidentiality 35 -1- LSB 2683YC (2) 91 ss/ns 1/ 4 |
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| 5 | 5 | | H.F. _____ agreement is a confidential record as provided in section 22.7 1 or other law. 2 b. The attorney general shall adopt rules pursuant to 3 chapter 17A to establish procedures and deadlines for receiving 4 information necessary to make the determination as provided in 5 paragraph a and briefs from the requestor, the government 6 body, and any other interested person. The attorney general 7 shall render a decision requested pursuant to paragraph a 8 not later than forty-five business days after the receipt 9 of the request and provide the decision in writing to the 10 requestor, the government body, and any interested person who 11 submitted necessary information or a brief to the attorney 12 general. The requestor or the government body may appeal a 13 decision of the attorney general under this subsection to the 14 district court of Polk county. A person may appeal a decision 15 of the attorney general under this subsection if the person 16 claims a proprietary interest in the information affected by 17 the decision or a privacy interest in the information that 18 a confidentiality law or judicial decision is designed to 19 protect. 20 c. A confidentiality agreement signed pursuant to subsection 21 2 is void to the extent that the confidentiality agreement 22 covers information that is ultimately not found to be a 23 confidential record pursuant to paragraph b . 24 4. The disclosure of a confidential record to a member, 25 agency, or committee of the general assembly for legislative 26 purposes as provided in this section does not waive or affect 27 the confidentiality of the information for purposes of state or 28 federal law or waive the right to assert exceptions to required 29 disclosure of the information in the future. 30 5. This section does not affect any of the following: 31 a. The right of an individual member, agency, or committee 32 of the general assembly to obtain public records from a 33 government body under other law, including under the rules of 34 either chamber of the general assembly. 35 -2- LSB 2683YC (2) 91 ss/ns 2/ 4 |
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| 7 | 7 | | H.F. _____ b. The procedures under which public records are obtained 1 under other law. 2 c. The use that may be made of public records under other 3 law. 4 EXPLANATION 5 The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with 6 the explanations substance by the members of the general assembly. 7 This bill relates to the examination of confidential records 8 by members, agencies, and committees of the general assembly. 9 The bill requires a government body to provide a public record, 10 including a confidential record, to a member, agency, or 11 committee of the general assembly for inspection or duplication 12 if the requestor states that the record is being requested for 13 legislative purposes. The bill allows a government body to 14 require a requestor to sign a confidentiality agreement that 15 the confidential record not be disclosed outside the requesting 16 entity, or within the requesting entity for purposes other than 17 the purpose for which it was received, that the confidential 18 record be labeled as confidential, that the confidential record 19 be kept securely, or that copies of and notes relating to the 20 confidential record be controlled. 21 The bill allows a requestor who is required to sign a 22 confidentiality agreement to request that the attorney 23 general make a determination as to whether the subject of 24 the confidentiality agreement is a confidential record. The 25 bill requires the attorney general to adopt rules to establish 26 deadlines and procedures for receiving information relating to 27 the determination and to issue a written decision regarding 28 whether the public record is a confidential record within 45 29 business days of receipt of the request. The bill allows 30 a person to appeal the decision of the attorney general 31 to the district court of Polk county. The bill voids a 32 confidentiality agreement signed pursuant to the bill to the 33 extent that it covers a record that is ultimately found to not 34 be a confidential record. 35 -3- LSB 2683YC (2) 91 ss/ns 3/ 4 |
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| 9 | 9 | | H.F. _____ The disclosure of a confidential record to a member, agency, 1 or committee of the general assembly pursuant to the bill does 2 not waive or affect the confidentiality of the information for 3 purposes of state or federal law or waive the right to assert 4 exceptions to required disclosure of the information in the 5 future. 6 By operation of law, civil enforcement provisions (Code 7 section 22.10) apply to government bodies acting in violation 8 of the bill. 9 -4- LSB 2683YC (2) 91 ss/ns 4/ 4 |
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