Transparency Coalition to States: Don’t Limit Open Records Requests to State Citizens
March 12, 2024 | The Right on Transparency coalition released a new model policy today that urges states to remove residency requirements from their open-records laws. Freedom of information statutes should instead allow “any person” to submit a request for public records. The coalition writes:
Barring non-state citizens from the open-records process offends the people’s foundational right to access government information. The fact a potential requester lives in a different state should not determine his or her ability to request public records. State policy choices often have impacts beyond a state’s borders. More importantly, first principles of good government, such as ensuring accountability for decision-making, counsel in favor of broad access to public records. . . . Most states do not have such limits, and they process requests from out-of-state requesters without issue.
At least are known to restrict the right to request public records, either by statute or legal opinion, to citizens of the state, including:
- Alabama
- Arkansas
- Delaware
- Tennessee
- Virginia
Other states have public records laws that contain language that, while not generally acknowledged or currently interpreted as a bar to out-of-state requesters, leaves open that possibility.
Read the model policy.
Endorsements:
- AFP Foundation
- Beacon Center of Tennessee
- Better Cities Project
- Goldwater Institute
- Mackinac Center for Public Policy
- National Taxpayers Union
- Parents Defending Education
- Southeastern Legal Foundation
Visit the coalition website at rightontransparency.org.
If you are a member of the media looking to talk to a transparency expert or if your organization is interested in joining the coalition, please contact:
Kevin Schmidt, Director of Investigations, Americans for Prosperity Foundation at kschmidt@afphq.org