Ala. Admin. Code r. 420-1-5-.04

Current through Register Vol. 43, No. 1, October 31, 2024

Section 420-1-5-.04 - Open Records

(1) All public records of the State Board of Health are available for public inspection during business hours. Requests for such records may be made by Alabama citizens either electronically, by mail, or in person, pursuant to the provisions of the Alabama Open Records Act, Code of Ala. 1975, § 36-12-40.

(a) Copies of meeting minutes, department forms, bureau records, and county health department records maintained in hard copy may be obtained at a cost of $20 per hour, including a standard, minimum fee of $20, for time spent locating, retrieving, and preparing records for production. Unless otherwise provided by law or rule, requestors will also be charged a per-page fee of $.50 for copies produced on standard 8.5 x 11 paper. This charge may be waived in the case of requests by governmental agencies or indigent persons.

(b) Copies of records maintained electronically, including messages and attachments exchanged via electronic mail, or for record searches related to extraordinary events, such as public health emergencies of any kind, may be obtained at a cost of $20 per hour, including a standard, minimun fee of $20, for time spent locating, retrieving, and preparing records for production, unless otherwise provided by law or rule. There is no per-page charge for records obtained and provided electronically. Copies of records pertaining to extraordinary events may be provided to members of the press who are not citizens of the state, subject to the requested charge.

(c) The department will send a written acknowledgment of receipt of a request for public records within 2 business days. Responses to standard requests that seek one or more specifically and discretely identified public records that the department determines would take less than 8 hours of staff time to process and require no or minimal clarification from the requestor will be provided within 15 business days of the acknowledgement of receipt. If additional time is required, the department may extend this period in 15-business day increments upon written notice to the requestor.

(d) Requestors will be notified within 15 business days of the acknowledgment of receipt if the department determines that a request is time-intensive, requiring more than 8 hours of staff time to process, including vague or overly broad requests and any time needed to redact or take other measures to withhold legally protected information. At that time, the department will provide notice of any likely fees and allow the requestor to withdraw the time-intensive request and submit a new request that is not time-intensive. If the requestor elects to proceed with the time-intensive request, the department will provide a substantive response fulfilling or denying the request within 45 business days after the election to proceed. If additional time is required, the department may extend this period in 45-business day increments upon written notice to the requestor.

(2) Medical or clinic records, notifiable disease records, records of epidemiological investigations, investigative records of the Bureau of Health Provider Standards or records that are proprietary by statute, case law, rule or custom are not "public records" per se and are not open to the public inspection. Release of records by subpoena in civil or criminal actions are governed by individual statutes or court rules.

(3) Charge for response to subpoenas - In accordance with Rule 45(a)(3)(c) Alabama Rules of Civil Procedure, a reasonable charge may be requested for response to subpoenas. Such records shall be obtained at a cost of a $5 retrieval fee plus $1 per page for the first 25 pages and $.50 for every page thereafter unless otherwise provided by law or rule.

(4) Nothing in the rule is intended to require that information defined by 45 CFR, Parts 160 and 164 as "protected health information" or that information otherwise protected as confidential by rule or statute, be made available to the public. All questions as to whether a particular document or class of information is public or confidential should be referred to the Office of General Counsel.

Ala. Admin. Code r. 420-1-5-.04

Filed July 20, 1990. Amended: Filed January 15, 2003; effective February 19, 2003. Amended: Filed April 21, 2004; effective May 26, 2004. Amended: Filed December 17, 2009; effective January 21, 2009.

Amended by Alabama Administrative Monthly Volume XXXIX, Issue No. 09, June 30, 2021, eff. 8/14/2021.

Amended by Alabama Administrative Monthly Volume XLI, Issue No. 08, May 31, 2023, eff. 7/15/2023.

Author: P. Brian Hale

Statutory Authority:Code of Ala. 1975, §§ 13A-14-2, 22-2-2(6), 41-22-4.