Public
    Information
    Public Records
    Public Records Laws
    Our Goal: To improve the livability of Florence through public education and community involvement.
     
    Public Records Laws
    Source: Excerpts from handout from Elected Official's Workshop
    March 29, 1999, Florence, Oregon
    Presented by Harrang Long Gary Rudnick, P.C., Legal Counsel to City of Florence
    Under Oregon law, nearly every document or record (including computer records, voice-mail message, and handwritten notes during council meetings) created or held by a city, is available to anyone who wants to see it. Unless a specific exemption covers a document, the document must be disclosed.
    • Who Has the Right to Inspect Public Records?
    • Whose Records are Subject to the Public Records Law?
    • What Kinds of Records are covered by the Public Records Law?
    • What Types of Records are Exempt From the Public Records Law?
    • Limited / Selective Disclosure

    Who Has the Right to Inspect Public Records?
    Under state law, "every person" has a right to inspect any nonexempt public record. The identity, motive and need of the person making the request are irrelevant unless an exemption from disclosure allows consideration of those characteristics.
    Whose Records are Subject to the Public Records Law?
    Any local government instrumentality is subject to the Public Records Law.
    What Kinds of Records are covered by the Public Records Law?
    A "public record" is "any writing containing information relating to the conduct of the public's business ... regardless of physical form or characteristics." This includes "handwriting, typewriting, printing, photographing and every means of recording, including letters, words, pictures, sounds, or symbols, or combination thereof, and all papers, maps, files, facsimiles or electronic recordings." Your e-mail messages are subject to the Public Records Law if they relate to the conduct of the public's business. Also, the handwritten notes you take at a meeting are subject to disclosure.
    What Types of Records are Exempt From the Public Records Law?
    To deny public disclosure of a record, the public body has the burden of proving that the record information is exempt from disclosure. The only exemptions are listed in state statutes. Among thee exemptions are those records which pertain to litigation, personnel matters, trade secrets and criminal investigatory material. There are many more. A [public body may choose to disclose an exempt record; it is not required to deny disclosure of a record which fits into an exemption category.
    Limited / Selective Disclosure
    In rare circumstances, a city may wish to disclose an exempt public record to a specific private party, but not to the public at large. Where doing so will not "thwart the policy supporting the exemption" the city will still retain the power to claim the exemption as to other requesters. These are rare circumstances, however.
    Public Records Laws
    Public Records Requests
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
    		  
           
     
    Citizens For Florence
    P.O. Box 1212
    Florence, Oregon 97439
    E-mail Address: citizensforflorence@yahoo.com
    Copyright © 1998-2001 Citizens For Florence. Users may download information from this web site for personal use only.  Unauthorized copying or distribution of this site or any of its contents without the express permission of the author is expressly forbidden.