Public Records. True or False?

Transcription

1 Public Records True or False?

2 1. A public record is anything, regardless of physical form or characteristics, that is made or received pursuant to law or ordinance in connect with the transaction of public business by any agency of NC or its subdivisions. True or False?

3 Statement 1 is True The courts have interpreted made or received pursuant to law broadly. It does not just apply to a record that the law required to be made or received. It also includes those records that are kept in carrying out lawful duties.

4 2. Any member of the public has a right (with some exceptions) to obtain copies of public records free or at actual cost. True or False?

5 Statement 2 is True

6 3. Actual cost means the cost of reproducing the record, plus any overhead such as salaries, rent, and electricity that can be apportioned to the record. True or False?

7 Statement 3 is FALSE The real answer is: Actual cost means the actual cost of reproducing the record. It does not include costs that would have been incurred by the agency if the request had not been made. If answering the request requires additional resources or personnel, the board may charge a special service charge. But that, too, has to be based on the actual cost the extra effort made.

8 4. If an about the public s business is sent and received on private accounts, it is not subject to a public records request. True or False?

9 Statement 4 is FALSE The real answer is: If the record was made or received pursuant to law in connection with the transaction of public business by an agency of the State or its subdivisions, it is a public record no matter whose computer system it s on, and is subject to requests by the public.

10 5. If a personal to your spouse or a friend, unconnected with the public business, is sent on a government account, it is a public record. True or False?

11 Statement 5 is FALSE The real answer is: Unless the record was made or received pursuant to law in connection with the transaction of public business by a public agency, it is not a public record, even if it is produced on a public account. But using the office for personal messages is not a great idea. If a request is made, somebody may look through your messages to see what s personal and what s not. That person might be wearing a black robe.

12 6. It is illegal for anyone ever to destroy a public record. True or False?

13 Statement 6 is FALSE The real answer is: Public records may be destroyed when their value is ended, but only according to a schedule approved by the NC Dept of Natural & Cultural Resources, Archives Division. You should become familiar with the schedule for county boards. If the Department hasn t approved, the record may not be destroyed.

14 7. If a member of the public asks for an analysis, based on BOE records, of the most Democraticleaning precincts in the county, the board of elections does not have to provide that. You are not required to compile a record that does not exist. True or False?

15 Statement 7 is True But see G.S (b) for the voter registrations data that the boards of elections are required to provide. It provides examples of types of selective lists of registered voters that must be furnished, and then adds or any other reasonable category. And if the office has already done the analysis, it s a public record and must be provided. In addition, you may want to create records or analyses you aren t required to as a public service or to improve public relations.

16 8. If someone asks for a public record that contains confidential information, you don t have to provide that record at all. True or False?

17 Statement 8 is FALSE The real answer is: If a copy of a public record that has been requested contains confidential information, the board must redact the confidential information at its own expense, and provide the redacted copy.

18 What Election Information is Confidential? 1. Full or partial social security #. 2. Date of birth, except for filed candidates, elected officials, challenged voter, where voter authorizes in writing, requested by jury commission. (Disclosure of age not prohibited.) 3. Signatures (may be viewed but not copied or traced). 4. addresses of military/overseas voters who register by Drivers license numbers. 6. Voted ballots. 7. Address of someone under court protective order or in Address Confidentiality Program. 8. Employee information in county personnel records.

19 9. If two county board of elections members text each other about the public business, that is a public record. If someone asks for your text messages about public business, you have to provide them. True or False?

20 10. A custodian of public records should always ask the person requesting a copy of a record to state the reason for the request. True or False?

21 Statement 10 is FALSE The real answer is: The law doesn t say you can t ask for the reason, but it does say you can t require a reason before you provide the request. Best advice: Don t ask.

22 11. A board of elections is not required to respond to a public records request outside its usual business hours. True or False?

23 Statement 11 is True

24 12. If a member of the public is denied access to a public record, that person has a right to ask a Superior Court to order the production of the record. True or False?

25 Statement 9 is True A document is a public record or not based on its content, not the format in which it s stored. NC Open Government Coalition made public records request for texts as part of Sunshine Week. For a 3-member board, a texting conversation between two members is also evidence of a violation of the Open Meetings Law.

26 Statement 12 is True