An Act to Amend the Freedom of Access Act and Related Provisions

• Justice
• 04/14/2023

This bill makes the following changes to the Freedom of Access Act and related provisions of law. 1. It provides that the transactions of any functions affecting any or all citizens of the State by the board of directors of an organization that qualifies as a tax-exempt organization under Section 501(c)(3) of the United States Internal Revenue Code of 1986 and that receives more than 50% of its annual revenue from federal, state or municipal funding sources are public proceedings and that the records of such organizations are public records under the Act. 2. It requires that a body, agency or official subject to the Act fully respond to a public records request within 60 calendar days and establishes a process through which the body, agency or official may request that the Public Access Ombudsman grant an extension of this deadline. A written decision by the ombudsman to extend the deadline must be based on good cause shown and may not be appealed. 3. It requires an agency or official of the executive branch or the legislative branch to notify the Department of Administrative and Financial Services, Office of Information Technology of and cooperate with the office in responding to any request for a public record that is an electronic communication stored on a state-owned computer system. The office is required to search for and identify each electronic communication stored on the computer system that is responsive to the request and compile those electronic communications for the agency or official that received the request. 4. It provides that the total fee charged by an agency or official other than a school administrative unit in response to a single public records request may not exceed $500 and that the total fee charged by a school administrative unit in response to all requests for public records submitted by the same person in a single calendar year may not exceed $100.