![]() ![]() That's fine for people searching for one thing, but it squashes researchers' ability to download and analyze the full data set. In other cases, it only permits individual queries, as in Alabama’s open checkbook. Sometimes it’s presented in PDF style, which makes it near impossible to manipulate and assess. Many researchers are aggravated by the format of data on government websites. After a Texas House committee's three and a half hour meeting on jail management, for example, the minutes amounted to little more than a few meager summary paragraphs. But months often pass before meeting minutes are posted, and sometimes, they're more like seconds than minutes. Sounds good, but (of course there's a but) the email was an automated out-of-office message - from the year before.Ī great way to find out what’s going on in government is to check out the minutes for legislative, board, commission or task force meetings. We recently heard from an Alexandria, Va., resident who used the communities’ so-called “call, click, connect” feature in March 2015 to get help repairing broken playground equipment near his home. But the link was broken in early May - and as this went to press. For example, Rhode Island’s House Fiscal Office offers a link to the state’s budget office. There's good software available to weed out broken links on websites, yet it doesn’t appear to be used on many government sites. Note: No work will be done to fulfill your request until the payment is received.Based on personal experiences as well as conversations with government researchers, these are five of the biggest problems with dot-govs. Payment: You must pay costs for duplications and fees in advance. Total Cost: You will be notified of the total cost for fulfilling your request.Ĥ. Note: Fees may vary greatly depending on the nature of your request.ģ. Fees cover research, preparation and recovery costs. Fees: You will be notified of the administration fees associated with the request. Duplications: Once your submission is received and reviewed, you will be notified of the estimated number of pages and the total duplication costs ($1.00 per page for standard duplications).Ģ. Payment must be provided before documents will be made available.ġ. The requestor will be provided with an estimated cost for reproduction and fees prior to the fulfillment of the request. The total cost may vary greatly depending on the type of request that is being made. An administrative fee that covers research, preparation and/or recovery costs will also be assessed for each request. Such requests will not be viewed as ORA requests.Įxemptions: State law provides that some information may be exempted from reproduction including, but not limited to, registration and circulation records and information concerning the use of university libraries records concerning security plans, procedures, assessments, measures, or systems, and any other records relating to, or having an impact upon, the security or safety of persons, structures, facilities, or other infrastructures, including information concerning critical infrastructures and critical energy infrastructures the public disclosure of which may reasonably be expected to be detrimental to the public safety or welfare records that the disclosure of which would otherwise be detrimental to the best interests of the public or, records protected from disclosure by other state and federal laws, including the Family Educational Rights and Privacy (FERPA) law.Ĭosts: The cost for standard reproductions of documents is $1.00 per page. Also note that the ORA does not require the University to answer questions or provide official comments. The time and costs to fulfill such requests may vary greatly. Please note: The fulfillment of public records requests is contingent upon the resources that are available to fulfill such requests without interfering with the daily job duties of University personnel. ![]() The request will not be reviewed without the submission of a completed form. Requestors should complete and submit the records request form that can be found here. Alabama State University has adopted guidelines and a form for individuals and news media requesting public records from the University. Alabama State University complies with the laws of the State of Alabama, including granting citizens (including news media) the right to obtain copies of certain public writings in accordance with Alabama Code §36-12-40, et.
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