8A.106 - PUBLIC RECORDS.
8A.106 PUBLIC RECORDS.
1. The records of the department, except personal information in
an employee's file if the publication of such information would serve
no proper public purpose, shall be public records and shall be open
to public inspection, subject to reasonable rules as to the time and
manner of inspection which may be prescribed by the director.
However, the department shall not be required to release financial
information, business, or product plans which if released would give
advantage to competitors and serve no public purpose, relating to
commercial operations conducted or intended to be conducted by the
department.
2. The state agency that is the lawful custodian of a public
record shall be responsible for determining whether a record is
required by federal or state statute to be confidential. The
transmission of a record by a state agency by use of electronic means
established, maintained, or managed by the department shall not
constitute a transfer of the legal custody of the record from the
individual state agency to the department or to any other person or
entity.
3. The department shall not have authority to determine whether
an individual state agency should automate records of which the
individual state agency is the lawful custodian. However, the
department may encourage state agencies to implement electronic
access to public records.
4. A state agency shall not limit access to a record by requiring
a citizen to receive the record electronically as the only means of
providing the record. A person shall have the right to examine and
copy a printed form of a public record as provided in section 22.2,
unless the public record is confidential. Section History: Recent Form
2003 Acts, ch 145, §6
Referred to in § 159.34