FOIAdvocates - Freedom of Information Requests/Appeals/Litigation (original) (raw)

State Public Record Laws

All 50 states also have public records laws which allow members of the public (including non-residents) to obtain documents and other public records from state and local government bodies. State public records laws are not identical to FOIA nor are state court interpretations of similar language in state statutes necessarily the same as federal court interpretation of FOIA (though many were modeled upon the federal FOIA). Several state courts have held that federal judicial interpretations of FOIA are at least helpful in interpreting similar language in state public record laws.

| | | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | | | "The people of this state do not yield their sovereignty to the agencies that serve them. The people, in delegating authority, do not give their public servants the right to decide what is good for the people to know and what is not good for them to know. The people insist on remaining informed so that they may maintain control over the instruments that they have created." | | | Washington Public Records Act, RCW §42.17.251. | | | | |

Many of these laws are similar to FOIA, but the similarities notwithstanding, you must be alert to recognize where there are important differences. These distinctions may arise in regard to the breadth of coverage of a disclosure exemption or in the implementation of response deadlines. ALWAYS review the specific law and regulation you are working with before you proceed. Be aware that merely because your failure to comply with a particular requirement is not raised immediately at the administrative level does not ensure that the problem will not come back to haunt you should you seek judicial review.

Click on your state in the map or list below for that state's public records laws.

The citations for the state public records acts follows: