Board backs legislation requiring ‘prompt’ responses to document requests

By Clark Kauffman, Iowa Capital Dispatch

The Iowa Public Information Board is hoping to secure passage of legislation that would require government agencies to promptly acknowledge public-records requests.

Senate File 202, which has passed the Iowa House and is currently on the Iowa Senate’s unfinished business calendar, would call for governmental entities – cities, counties, school districts and state agencies – to “promptly” acknowledge and respond to requests for public documents. The governmental bodies would also have to provide contact information for their records custodian so requesters would know where to direct any follow-up inquiries.

As part of the response to the request, the governmental body would also have to provide an approximate date by which it would either furnish an estimate for any reasonable expenses, release the records, or deny access.

If the requested records don’t exist, or are considered confidential, or there’s an expected delay in the production of the records, the governmental body would have to promptly inform the requestor.

The legislation doesn’t define “promptly.”

At the Iowa Public Information Board’s meeting earlier this week, board member Julie Pottorff noted that while the proposed change requires only that government officials acknowledge requests for information, similar proposals have generated stiff opposition among state lawmakers.

“Was it last session or the one before where we tried a rule that required custodians to acknowledge requests in so many days and to let the requester know who (the request) had been assigned to?” Pottorff asked. “That was not well received by the Legislature, and we wound up pulling the rule … I was frankly shocked that people were that upset by the notion that we’d have a rule that required you to acknowledge within a couple of days that you’d had a public records request.”

She said a recent Iowa Supreme Court decision that found the governor’s office has an obligation to respond to document requests within a reasonable time is a positive sign that could help pave the way for lawmakers to approve legislation mandating prompt responses. The ACLU of Iowa, on behalf of the Iowa Capital Dispatch, Bleeding Heartland and the Iowa Freedom of Information Council sued the governor’s office after it failed to respond, for up to 18 months, to records requests.

“This case, I think, is outstanding for the fact that it’s crystal clear that you can bring a claim based solely on delay,” Pottorff said. “You still have the right to litigate for the delay.”

She said the court’s ruling sends a clear message that agencies have an obligation “to get back to people … and not take months and months to produce the records.” She suggested board members confer with those who are opposed to Senate File 202 “before everybody gets up in arms” over the idea.

“You could try it,” said board member E. J. Giovannetti. “I’m not very optimistic.” Giovannetti said he felt some of the reasons previously given for opposing such requirements were “manufactured.”

There are 79 individuals registered to lobby lawmakers on Senate File 202. Only one – representing the Iowa Police Chiefs Association – is registered as opposing the bill.

The Iowa Federation of Labor, Iowans for Tax Relief, the Iowa Newspaper Association, the Iowa Chapter of the Sierra Club and the Iowa Public Information Board are registered in favor of the bill. All of the other lobbyists have declared themselves “undecided” on the issue.

The House version of the bill, House File 350, was opposed by the Iowa State Association of Counties and Iowa County Attorneys Association.

— Iowa Capital Dispatch is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Iowa Capital Dispatch maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Kathie Obradovich for questions: info@iowacapitaldispatch.com. Follow Iowa Capital Dispatch on Facebook and Twitter.