May 15, 2023 Group Watch: Senate Bill Requires Timely Response to Open Records Requests
The Alabama Senate passed a bill to put time requirements in the state’s open records law, which requires state, city and county agencies, as well as school boards, to give people access to government records and documents. Alabama’s open records law says people have the right to view and obtain copies of public records. The law, however, places no requirements on when agencies must respond to request for records. In January, Governor Ivey issued an executive order directing state executive branch agencies to be more responsive to public records requests and setting timelines. The Senate-passed bill would require a public officer who is a custodian of records for an agency to acknowledge receipt of a request for records no more than 10 business days after receiving it. No more than 20 days after a request, the public officer would have to give a response to the request in one or more of several ways:
- Provide access to the records at an agreed upon time and place.
- Provide an estimate of production costs.
- Deny the request in full.
- Grant the request in part.
