Frequently Asked Questions
Florida Public Records Law
Q. What is the Public
Records Law?
A. Chapter 119 of the Florida Statutes is known
as the Florida Public Records Act.
(top)
Q. What does the Public
Records Law provide?
A. This law states that "all documents ...
regardless of the physical form, characteristics,
or means of transmission, made or received pursuant
to law or ... in connection with the transaction
of official business by any agency" is a
public record.
(top)
Q. Are e-mail messages
public records?
A. E-mails are public records and must not be
destroyed except as provided for under the public
records retention schedule mentioned below. Some
e-mail messages may be destroyed soon after receipt
if the proper records retention request has been
filed. Other e-mails must be maintained for three
fiscal years. A separate memorandum has been made
available on the specific issue of e-mails. However,
any e-mail record that exists at a time a request
for public records is made must be disclosed if
within the scope of the request made.
(top)
Q. What is the University’s
obligation under the Public Records Law?
A. The University is required to provide access
to any public record upon request within a reasonable
time of the request. There is no set time within
which the University must respond, but documents
that are readily available should be provided
within twenty-four (24) hours, if possible.
(top)
Q. May the University
impose any requirements for disclosure of public
records?
A. Once a determination has been made that the
records requested are public records, the only
requirement that may be imposed as a condition
of release of the documents is payment of $0.15
per page (or $0.20 per two-sided copies) or a
previously, agreed-upon charge as provided below.
The person requesting the documents is not required
to make the request in writing, provide reasons
for the request, state the use that will be made
of the documents requested or comply with similar
conditions.
(top)
Q. Are additional charges
permitted for voluminous requests for records
or copies of a special nature?
A. If the nature or volume of public records to
be copied requires extensive use of information
technology resources or clerical or supervisory
assistance, the University may add a special service
charge, which shall be reasonable, in addition
to the actual cost of duplication. The service
charge should be based on the labor cost of the
personnel involved in gathering and duplicating
the records and other actual costs. An estimate
of the charges should be given to the person making
the request and obtain the person's approval prior
to responding to the request.
(top)
Q. Are there any
records that are not public?
A. Yes. Personal notes, which are neither shared
with anyone nor filed as a permanent record, are
not public records. These include notes made at
a meeting that are kept solely for later recollection
of the events, and the calendar that is maintained
by any University employee. Additionally, drafts
that are not circulated to others for comments
are not public records. However, if these non-circulated
documents are placed in the file "to perpetuate
knowledge," they become public records and
are subject to disclosure.
There are also other documents, which are public
records but are exempted from disclosure under
either the public records law or some special
law. The exemptions that apply most often to the
University include the following:
- Academic evaluations of employee performance
(see Section 1012.91, Florida Statutes).
- Student records, except for "directory
information." Directory information includes
name, address and telephone number of students,
major, dates of attendance and graduation, and
information of a similar nature (see Section
1002.22, Florida Statutes and the federal law
known as the "Buckley Amendment").
Most of the records the University maintains
concerning its students are student records
and are confidential.
- Raw research data and other kinds of research
records, including proprietary information or
potentially patentable information.
- Certain medical information maintained on
employees, particularly information pertaining
to disability.
- The social security numbers of University
employees.
- Records maintained during the course of an
investigation of an employee's misconduct or
complaint of discrimination while the investigation
is in process.
(top)
Q. How should
we handle a public records request?
A. The best procedure is to forward all requests for public records to the OGC. OGC would advise on how to proceed. If the request is voluminous or requires extensive clerical or supervisory staff, a Charge Procedure Form used by the University should be provided to the requestor prior to gathering and duplicating the records. When the requestor agrees to pay the estimated cost of gathering and duplicating those records, the request should be processed accordingly.
(top)
Q. Does any protocol
have to be followed before destroying public records?
A. Yes. The University has established records
retention schedules that provide the length of
time every University public record must be maintained.
However, there are some records for which no retention
schedule has been established and they can be
destroyed when administrative value for the documents
is lost. Before destroying records for which a
retention period has been established, the University
is required to obtain authorization from Tallahassee.
The person in charge of the records retention
schedule at the University is the University Archivist.
(top)
Q. Are there
any penalties for violating the Public Records
Law?
A. The penalties include criminal sanctions and
imposition of attorney's fees for the cost of
enforcing the provisions of the Public Records
Law.
(top)
|
