Pub. Employees' Ret. Sys. of Nev. v. Nev. Policy Research Inst., Inc.

429 P.3d 280
CourtNevada Supreme Court
DecidedOctober 18, 2018
DocketNo. 72274
StatusPublished
Cited by7 cases

This text of 429 P.3d 280 (Pub. Employees' Ret. Sys. of Nev. v. Nev. Policy Research Inst., Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Nevada Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Pub. Employees' Ret. Sys. of Nev. v. Nev. Policy Research Inst., Inc., 429 P.3d 280 (Neb. 2018).

Opinion

By the Court, DOUGLAS, C.J.:

In this appeal, we consider whether the Nevada Public Records Act (the Act) requires the Public Employees' Retirement System of Nevada (PERS) to disclose certain employment and pension payment information about its government retirees held in its computer database when sought through a public records request. We hold that where the requested information merely requires searching a database for existing information, is readily accessible and not confidential, and the alleged risks posed by disclosure do not outweigh the benefits of the public's interest in access to the records, the Act mandates that PERS disclose the information. Because PERS represents that the computer database may no longer be able to produce the information as it existed when the public records request was made, we remand for the district court to determine an appropriate way for PERS to comply with the request.

FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

Respondent Nevada Policy Research Institute, Inc. (NPRI) submitted a public records request to appellant PERS seeking payment records of its government retirees, including retiree names, for the year 2014. NPRI sought to post this information on their TransparentNevada.com website for the public to view. Despite having previously disclosed the requested information to NPRI for the year 2013, PERS refused to disclose the requested information for the following year. PERS argued that the raw data feed that an independent actuary uses to analyze and value the retirement system did not contain the names of its government retirees, only redacted social security numbers, and it had no duty to create a new document in order to satisfy NPRI's request. NPRI alternatively requested any other records that would contain the following information for the year 2014: retiree name, years of service credit, gross pension benefit amount, year of retirement, and last employer. PERS still refused to disclose the requested information by denying the availability of any such record.

NPRI filed a petition for a writ of mandamus in district court seeking retiree name, payroll amount, date of retirement, years of service, last employer, retirement type, original retirement amount, and COLA increases. NPRI asserted that the requested information is not confidential because it is a public record and is easily accessible through an electronic search of the PERS database. Following an evidentiary hearing, the district court concluded that the requested information was not confidential, that the risks posed by disclosure did not outweigh the benefits of the public's interest in access to these records, and that PERS had a duty to create a document with the requested information. Thus, the district court granted NPRI's petition and ordered disclosure. However, the district court ordered PERS to produce only retiree name, years of service credit, gross pension benefit amount, year of retirement, and last employer.

DISCUSSION

PERS argues that the district court erred by requiring disclosure because the information was confidential, and the risks posed by disclosure outweigh the benefits of the public's interest in access to the records. It also argues that the district court's decision goes against this court's holding in Public Employees' Retirement System of Nevada v. Reno Newspapers Inc. , (Reno Newspapers ), 129 Nev. 833, 313 P.3d 221 (2013), where we *283held that there is no duty "to create new documents or customized reports by searching for and compiling information from individuals' files or other records,'' id. at 840, 313 P.3d at 225, and that the narrow exception we subsequently created in Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department v. Blackjack Bonding, Inc. (Blackjack Bonding), 131 Nev. 80, 343 P.3d 608 (2015), only applies where the records are under the control of a third party, that third party can readily generate a report, and a report has been routinely generated in the past.

Conversely, NPRI argues that the information requested constitutes a public record under the Act because it is information that is stored on a governmental computer and that under Blackjack Bonding , PERS is required to disclose the information because the records are readily accessible and PERS has previously disclosed the information sought.

Standard of review

This court generally reviews a district court's decision to grant a writ petition for an abuse of discretion, but when the writ petition raises questions of statutory interpretation, this court reviews the district court's decision de novo. City of Reno v. Reno Gazette-Journal, 119 Nev. 55, 58, 63 P.3d 1147, 1148 (2003).

The Nevada Public Records Act

The Nevada Legislature enacted the Nevada Public Records Act to "foster democratic principles," NRS 239.001, and "promote government transparency and accountability by facilitating public access to information regarding government activities." Reno Newspapers, 129 Nev. at 836-37, 313 P.3d at 223 ; Reno Gazette-Journal, 119 Nev. at 59, 63 P.3d at 1149. To accomplish these goals of transparency and accountability, the Act provides that unless otherwise provided by statute or "declared by law to be confidential, all public books and public records of a governmental entity must be open at all times during office hours to inspection by any person, and may be fully copied...." NRS 239.010(1).

We are cognizant of these important goals and, thus, have held that the Act's "provisions must be liberally construed to maximize the public's right of access," and "any limitations or restrictions on [that] access must be narrowly construed." Reno Newspapers, Inc. v. Gibbons (Gibbons),

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
429 P.3d 280, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/pub-employees-ret-sys-of-nev-v-nev-policy-research-inst-inc-nev-2018.