§ 36-12-44 — Duties of Public Officers; Requests for Public Records Clarification or Additional Information; Timing

Alabama § 36-12-44

• Jurisdiction: Alabama
• Title 36: Public Officers and Employees
• Ch. 12: Maintenance, Use, Etc., of Public Property, Records, Etc
• Art. 3: Inspection and Copying of Records

Text

(a) A public officer shall respond to a standard request subject to each of the following provisions:
(1) The public officer may require the requester to submit his or her request using a standard request form or by following the written procedures for accepting requests for public records established by the public officer.
(2) The public officer may require the requester to pay a reasonable fee set by the public officer before the requester may receive any public records. If the public officer elects to charge a fee, the public officer shall notify the requester of the estimated fee and withhold any public records until receipt of payment. The requester may opt not to pay the fee and thus not receive any substantive response. Additionally, the public officer shall have the discretion to require the requester to pay all or a portion of the estimated fee prior to searching for any responsive public records.
(3) The public officer shall acknowledge a proper request within 10 business days of receiving the request.
(4) The public officer shall provide a substantive response fulfilling or denying a proper request within 15 business days of acknowledging receipt. Although the public officer may extend this period in 15-business-day increments upon written notice to the requester, the public officer should process a standard request as expeditiously as possible considering the requester’s time constraints, the public officer’s workload, and the nature of the request.
(5) There shall be a rebuttable presumption that a proper standard request has been denied by the public officer if:
a. A substantive response is not provided to the standard request within the earlier of 30 business days or 60 calendar days following acknowledgment of receipt by the public officer; or
b. The public records are not produced within the earlier of 30 business days or 60 calendar days following the payment of the estimated fees to the public officer.
(6) There shall be no presumption that a proper standard request has been denied if:
a. The request is not proper or the public officer is not obligated or required to respond as provided in this section;
b. The public officer has responded in part;
c. The public officer and requester have reached an agreement regarding the time or substance, or both, of the response;
d. Negotiations are ongoing between the public officer and the requester; or
e. The public officer has reasonably communicated the status of the request to the requester.
(b) A public officer shall respond to a proper, time-intensive request subject to each of the following provisions:
(1) The public officer shall require the requester to submit his or her request using a standard request form or by following the written procedures for accepting requests for public records established by the public officer.
(2) The public officer shall require the requester to pay a reasonable fee set by the public officer before providing a substantive response to the requester. The public officer shall notify the requester in advance of any likely fees and shall withhold any substantive response until receipt of payment. Additionally, the public officer shall have the discretion to require the requester to pay all or a portion of the estimated fee prior to searching for any responsive public records.
(3) The public officer shall acknowledge the request within 10 business days of receiving the request.
(4) The public officer shall notify the requester within 15 business days after acknowledging receipt that the request qualifies as a time-intensive request. At that time, the public officer shall notify the requester of any likely fees and allow the requester to withdraw the time-intensive request and submit a new request that is not a time-intensive request. If the requester elects to proceed with a time-intensive request, the public officer shall provide a substantive response fulfilling or denying the request within 45 business days after the requester elected to proceed with his or her time-intensive request. The public officer may extend this period in 45-business-day increments by notifying the requester in writing.
(5) At or around the time of designating the request as time-intensive, the public officer shall make a record in a log maintained for keeping track of currently pending time-intensive requests. For each such currently pending request, the log shall identify the name of the requester and the date of acknowledgment pursuant to subdivision (3). The log shall be a confidential document that is not subject to disclosure pursuant to this article, provided the log may remain discoverable pursuant to proper discovery methods provided under applicable rules of procedure.
(6) There shall be a rebuttable presumption that a proper time-intensive request has been denied by the public officer if:
a. A substantive response is not provided within the earlier of 180 business days or 270 calendar days following the requester’s election to proceed with a time-intensive request.
b. The records are not produced within the earlier of 180 business days or 270 calendar days following the payment of the estimated fees to the public officer.
(7) There shall be no presumption that a proper time-intensive request has been denied if:
a. The request is not proper or the public officer is not obligated or required to respond as provided in this section;
b. The public officer has responded in part;
c. The public officer and requester have reached an agreement regarding the time or substance, or both, of the response;
d. Negotiations are ongoing between the public officer and the requester; or
e. The public officer has reasonably communicated the status of the request to the requester.
(c) A request made pursuant to this article shall identify the requested public record with reasonable specificity. A public officer shall not be obligated to respond to a public records request that is vague, ambiguous, overly broad, or unreasonable in scope.
(d) A public officer shall not be required to create a new public record if the requested record does not already exist.
(e) A public officer shall not be required to respond to requests that seek information or other materials that are not public records.
(f) A public officer may request reasonable evidence to establish proof of residency. A public officer may respond to public records requests made by nonresidents, in which case, a public officer’s decision to respond to such requests shall not operate as a waiver of the public officer’s right to deny other or future requests made by nonresidents.
(g) If a public officer responds to a request by seeking clarification or additional information, the timelines established in this section shall be tolled and shall restart once the public officer receives the requested clarification or additional information as if the requester had submitted a new request. A public officer’s decision to seek clarification or additional information with respect to any particular request shall not operate as a waiver of the public officer’s right to seek clarification or additional information in response to other, future requests.
(h) Nothing in this article shall be construed to prohibit a public officer from processing a public records request in a manner that is less expensive or more prompt from the perspective of the requester.

Legislative History

(Act 2024-278, §2.)