On October 7, 2010 the Oregon Attorney General’s Office released a report discussing the problem areas inhibiting full and meaningful government transparency. The report identifies four areas of particular concern – 1) timelines for responding to public records requests, 2) fees, 3) exemptions, and 4) public meetings – and recommends actions to the Oregon Legislature to remedy the shortfalls in public records and meetings laws.
The 2010 Attorney General’s Public Records and Meetings Manual is a publication of the Oregon Department of Justice which outlines current laws and case precedent regarding public records and public meetings. The 2010 updates to the manual include the following topics:
• Public bodies must respond to public record requests within a “reasonable timeframe.” The Attorney’s General’s office now interprets this statutory requirement to mean ten working days for a typical record request.
• Public bodies may charge reasonable fees for production and copy of public records, and may waive fees if the request is in the public interest. The Attorney General’s office recognizes its role in considering the reasonableness of fees, and holds the opinion that public bodies must consider the public’s interests when deciding whether to waive fees.
• There are many exemptions from public records disclosure laws. The report identified 403 exemptions. The Attorney General’s office has called for both organization and elimination of many of the exemptions.
Addressing these problem areas will require coordinated efforts by the legislature, the judiciary, and the Department of Justice. The full report is available at the DOJ website.
These updates to public records laws may have an effect on the ease in which a party may obtain water rights files. Water rights files are public records, and are instrumental for solving water use disputes and determining the scope of water rights. An interested person must apply to the Oregon Water Resources Department in order to inspect or copy water right files. The public records law reforms discussed above may expedite this process, and may result in increased waivers of fees for requests in the public interest.
Schroeder Law Offices, P.C. routinely aids clients with water right file requests. For a flat fee the firm will file the request, go to the Oregon Water Resources Department office to copy the records, and will deliver the records to the client. This service is very helpful to clients who do not have experience requesting the specific public records in question, or who are not in close proximity to the Oregon Water Resources Department office in Salem.
