Office of Information Practices

Opinion Letter No. 00-03
October 31, 2000
Historic Preservation Records Public

A record requester made several requests for records of the Department of Land and Natural Resources State Historic Preservation Division (“SHPD”) over the course of several months. SHPD provided some records, and indicated that others were not maintained. At least twenty-seven written requests for records, however, were not responded to in accordance with the UIPA and OIP administrative rules.

The OIP attempted several times to elicit information from SHPD on the reasons for its nondisclosure. Finally, the OIP opined that since no information was presented to show that any of the information requested was not public, SHPD should allow the requester to make an appointment to come in and view the requested information, and if asked, SHPD should provide the requester with copies of the requested records.

full text