Open Up Oregon

2019-04-02T02:15:00.000-07:00

In theory, Oregon's state agencies will provide public records - emails, budgets, invoices, meeting minutes, etc - to anyone who asks, on request. But in practice, the Oregon DOJ has taken a narrow interpretation of those laws, and it is much harder to get public records in Oregon than is true in most other states. Open Up Oregon attempts to address this situation by providing practical advice about how to get public records, and by pressuring the Oregon DOJ to enforce and interpret Oregon's public records law to encourage agencies to improve access to records.

How to get Oregon public records, background.
How the Oregon Attorney General's Public Records and Meeting Manual got online
Carl Malamud and Public.Resource.Org puts all AG manuals online
Oregon AG John Kroger's new Government Transparency initiative
How to improve Oregon AG John Kroger's new Government Transparency initiative (in progress)
President Obama and US AG Eric Holder's FOIA reforms - a model for Oregon
Google is now in charge of the law.

Statesman Journal

2011-03-13T10:14:00.001-07:00

grows skeptical of AG Kroger's commitment to Transparency:

http://www.statesmanjournal.com/article/20110313/OPINION/103130349/1001/NEWS/Public-has-right-OSH-information?odyssey=nav|head

And President Obama is way behind as well:

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2011/03/13/us/politics/AP-US-Sunshine-Week-FOIA-Study.html?hp

AG John Kroger keeps some promises

2010-12-20T19:36:00.000-08:00

12/20/2010: Attorney General John Kroger has followed through with the promise he made during his Transparency Town Halls this summer, proposing two substantial improvements to Oregon's public records law.

LC 865 is here. From the summary:

Establishes deadlines by which public bodies must respond to public records requests. Provides exceptions. Delays application of deadlines to local governments until July 1, 2013. Provides exceptions. Limits amount of fees public bodies may charge for responding to public records requests. Provides exceptions. Establishes jurisdiction of Attorney General to hear petitions for review of public records in custody of elected ofﬁcials by persons denied right to inspect records. Requires Attorney General to develop training materials on public records. Declares emergency, effective on passage.

LC 876 is here:

Requires certain governing bodies of public bodies to make audio, audio-video or digital recording of public meetings. Requires written record of meetings and speciﬁes content of written record. Requires recordings and related written records to be available within seven working days of meeting or within one working day of request to review or inspect, whichever is later. Requires Attorney General to develop training materials to educate public employees on public meetings law requirements. Declares emergency, effective on passage.

Kroger apparently has decided not to pursue his plans to rationalize the many exemptions to the public records law, at least for now. In my opinion he has his priorities right. State agencies routinely use delays and fees to stall and frustrate people's right to know what their government is doing, and the revisions Kroger has proposed address both those important issues. His proposal on audio-video recordings of public meetings - and the 7 day deadline - is also right on target.

I've been a skeptic on the seriousness of Kroger's willingness to take political risks to fix Oregon's disastrous public records situation. This is because of the retrograde public records opinions coming out his office - like this absurdity from his Deputy AG, Mary Willliams. These proposed legislation changes make me want to change my mind.

2010 Public Records Manual

2010-11-15T07:26:00.000-08:00

11/15/2010: The Oregon Attorney General's office has now posted the Public Records and Meetings Manual online, here. They have also made what appear to be significant pro-transparency improvements in their interpretation of the law.

It is not yet clear if they will follow through on the promise this provides, with actual rulings on public records petitions involving fee waivers and delays. That's the hard part. But this is a start.

Kroger promises progress on PERS

2010-10-30T10:51:00.000-07:00

10/29/2010: The Oregonian has an editorial today on Oregon Attorney General John Kroger's decision to require PERS to release info on retired state employees getting more than $100,000 a year in PERS benefits. This is serious progress. A sceptic might not that the announcement comes just before the election, while the follow through will not come until after. Still, it's a good sign.

Free, clean searchable pdf of the Oregon Public Records Manual

2010-04-25T14:16:00.000-07:00

10/26/2009: (short repost with link to new pdf)

Every 2 years the Oregon DOJ publishes the "Oregon Attorney General's Public Records and Meetings Manual". Essential reading for people trying to use their right to get public records from Oregon government agencies. The Oregon DOJ has been trying to keep me from redistributing this manual.

The Oregon DOJ email to me said:

"The State, by and through DOJ, owns copyright to the Manual, and it is not to be redistributed without our permission in any format. This measure is to help protect the copyright."

But James Madison, author of the US Constitution, said:

"A popular Government, without popular information, or the means of acquiring it, is but a Prologue to a Farce or a Tragedy; or, perhaps both. Knowledge will forever govern ignorance: And a people who mean to be their own Governors, must arm themselves with the power which knowledge gives."

Given that this quote is prominently posted on the cover of the very manual which AG John Kroger is trying to keep off the internet, I hold with those who favor farce, and, with the help of Carl Malamud at public.resource.org, I've posted the manual online at my official UO faculty website.

So, you can go here and pay the DOJ $25 for the dead-tree version or download a searchable and environmentally friendly 6MB pdf, free, here.

UPDATE: In November - 5 months after I first tried to get this manual, the AG caved. It's now posted online at the Oregon DOJ website complete with a creative commons copyright.

More on this is on the OPB show Think Out Loud with Attorney General John Kroger and UO Economics Professor Bill Harbaugh. Stories in Oregonian, RG, Jack Bog, LoveSalem, Oregonian Editorial.

Database of Oregon DOJ Public Records Orders for 2008-present

2009-12-27T20:16:00.000-08:00

We are now working to put all of the DOJ PROs (starting from 2008) online, along with some metadata. The DOJ's Government Transparency Counsel, Michael Kron, has been sending us these as a courtesy, which we very much appreciate. There are about 125 of them at the moment, so the details will take a bit and we are still working on what data to include. But all links are active. Comments welcome. Go here to see the whole spreadsheet. If you would like to edit the spreadsheet metadata, email me at openuporegon at gmail dot com.

ATTORNEY GENERAL JOHN KROGER ANNOUNCES GOVERNMENT TRANSPARENCY INITIATIVE

2009-12-02T15:00:00.000-08:00

Update: The OPB show "Think Out Loud" is doing a show with Attorney General John Kroger and UO Economics Professor Bill Harbaugh (of OpenUpOregon) at 9 AM Monday. It should be interesting.

This is - potentially - a very significant step towards the reform of Oregon's public records process. Stories in Oregonian, RG, Jack Bog, LoveSalem, Oregonian Editorial. Here is the press release:

December 2, 2009
Initiative seeks to improve Oregon's open government laws

Attorney General John Kroger today announced a broad plan to improve government transparency in Oregon. "A democracy cannot properly function without strong open government laws," said Attorney General Kroger. "We've implemented some immediate reforms that will improve transparency in state government. But I'm also committed to far greater changes."

Immediate changes include:

Putting the 2008 Attorney General's Manual on Public Records and Public Meetings online. Until now, the manual has been exclusively available in a hard copy at a cost of $25. Free online access will significantly increase its usefulness.

The Oregon Department of Justice web site now includes a Citizen's Guide to Public Records and Public Meetings. The guide is designed for citizens who need a quick and easy understanding of Oregon's open government laws.

A new online Public Records Request Form is also now available. Previously, public records request forms needed to be printed out and mailed or faxed. The form is designed for requesting records from the Department of Justice.

Attorney General Kroger also has created the Government Transparency Counsel, a new position in the Department of Justice designed to ensure that state government properly complies with state transparency laws.

The next step is a systematic review of Oregon's open government laws to identify weak points and suggest improvements for the 2011 Legislature. This effort requires input from the public, the media and government officials. To that end, Attorney General Kroger will conduct meetings around the state that will be co-sponsored by the Oregon Newspaper Publishers' Association.

The online PR manual appears to be the direct consequence of pressure from this website and from Carl Malamud at Public Resource - creative commons license and all. The "Government Transparency Counsel (Michael Kron) has a great title and we hope will have authority to ride herd on the state agencies.

We are a little worried about the hearings. We started this website in part to encourage the DOJ to use the authority they have under current law to prevent agencies from using unreasonable delays, excessive redactions, and unreasonable fees to prevent access to public records. They have made progress on the delays, but have not done much - that I can see - on the other topics. I am cautiously optimistic that Michael Kron will make this a priority - and I intend to find out soon!

More from Carl Malamud

2009-10-30T13:56:00.000-07:00

10/30/2009: Carl Malamud of public.resource.org has now posted still more "copyrighted" manuals from the Oregon DOJ for download as printable, searchable pdfs. All free.

gov.oregon.ag.adminlaw.2008.pdf  30-Oct-2009 13:43   48M  Attorney General's Administrative Law Manual
gov.oregon.ag.contracts.2008.pdf 30-Oct-2009 12:41   55M  Attorney General's Public Contracts Manual
gov.oregon.ag.meetings.2008.pdf  26-Oct-2009 12:21  5.8M  Attorney General's Public Records and Public Meeting Manual
or_fire.pdf                      30-Oct-2009 13:46   41M  The Oregon Fire Code, which incorporates IFC-2006, the 2006 International Fire Code.
or_mechanical.pdf                30-Oct-2009 13:46   23M  The Oregon Mechanical Code, which incorporates IMC-2006, the 2006 International Mechanical Code.
or_residential.pdf               30-Oct-2009 13:46   42M  The Oregon Residential Code, which incorporates IRC-2006, the 2006 International Residential Code.
or_structural.pdf                30-Oct-2009 13:46   69M  The Oregon Structural Specialty Code, which incorporates IBC-2006, the 2006 International Building Code.
ors_2005.tgz                     12-Apr-2008 18:49   16M  2005 Oregon Revised Statutes
ors_2007.tgz                     12-Apr-2008 18:46  115M  2007 Oregon Revised Statutes

A pdf of the Oregon Fire Code costs $79.20 from the website recommended by the State Fire Marshal. Seems like Oregon Attorney General Kroger should be helping Mr. Malamud break this copyright, and that's the way we hope this fight ends. More at Boingboing.net.

Carl Malamud in Oregon

2009-10-25T19:47:00.000-07:00

I've been lax on updates, but a lot has been happening on the public records front. Carl Malamud from public.resource.org made a sweep through Oregon - giving talks at Attorney General Kroger's law school, Lewis and Clark, and the University of Oregon Library, with a stop in between to buy copies of the legal manuals the Oregon DOJ is trying to keep off the web. I wonder what he is going to do with them?

Here's video of his talk at UO. It's a great talk, ranging from the definition of a "smatterer" (1:50 in) to an insinuation of nepotism by John Adams to the early history of the SCOTUS to the rationale for copyright law to why John Kroger is going to have a really hard time asserting copyright on the Oregon DOJ manuals on public records, and other topics. My favorite part is here, of course! CJ Ciamarella has a good article in the ODE about Carl's visit.

Maybe Kroger is Serious?

2009-07-10T04:06:00.000-07:00

From the Oregonian:

Oregon attorney general to review public records law

Posted by The Associated Press July 08, 2009 14:56PM

By TIM FOUGHT
Associated Press Writer

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) -- Attorney General John Kroger says he'll review Oregon's open government laws to see whether they're being interpreted correctly and whether he should ask the Legislature to change them.

Kroger says Oregonians tell him they value transparency in government, but he hears from journalists that it's gotten more difficult to get public records.

The attorney general called a meeting Tuesday with journalists at offices of The Oregonian newspaper to discuss his plans.

Oregon open government laws date to 1973, a year when the Watergate scandal was leading toward the resignation of a president and open government reform was building in many states.

Since then, critics say, the Oregon laws have been watered down by exceptions the Legislature has approved, narrow interpretations from state lawyers, agency foot-dragging, and high fees charged to prepare data for release.

The effect has been to stand the law on its head, say journalists and their advocates.

"The starting point is not disclosure, as the law intended, but the starting point is the media has to prove that it's public before it can be released," said Therese Bottomly, an Oregonian managing editor who was host at the meeting.

She called Kroger's plans for review a good first step.

Kroger said the review will include a look at laws in other states. Oregon is often low on state-by-state rankings of open government, he said.

He said the work will take time, but open government is important to the state's future.

"It's very important for me to get this right," he said.

The attorney general's office provides legal advice throughout state government. Kroger said he wants to make sure the advice about open records and meetings is consistent.

He urged journalists to maintain an "ongoing dialogue" with agencies when conflicts arise and said he was interested in a way to bring a third party into disputes, citing the open government ombudsman who works for the Washington state attorney general's office.

John Kroger can fix Oregon's public records law today.

2009-03-13T02:52:00.000-07:00

Oregon's public records law gives too much discretion to state agencies and too little power to citizens who want to know what those agencies are doing. We need change. We can get it quickly. Here's how.

In theory, Oregon's public records law makes it simple for people to get documents that are in the possession of a state or local agency. An email to the agency head saying "this is a public records request for" followed by a description of the document is all it should take. The agency is required to make a pro-forma response "as soon as practicable" and make "proper and reasonable" efforts to get you the documents promptly.

In practice things don’t work this way. Oregon law doesn't tell agencies how long they have to respond and some use this loophole with glee. The only recourse - short of court - is to petition Oregon’s Attorney General and ask him to order the agency to comply with the law. But with no firm deadline, the interpretation of "proper and reasonable" is all up to the AG. Former AG Hardy Meyers and his deputy Pete Shepherd routinely let state agencies take at least a month - sometimes even two - to produce even a single page document.

John Kroger, Oregon's new Attorney General, can change this by using a more proper and reasonable definition of "reasonable and proper". The obvious choice would be the same 5 day standard that most other states use. In a pinch agencies could take longer, but only if they could justify it to the AG. Oregon would move, well, not to the front, but at least to the middle of the pack with respect to public records access.

How to get Oregon public records

2009-03-12T03:08:00.000-07:00

In theory, Oregon's public records law makes it quick and simple for people to get documents that are in the possession of a state or local gov't agency. You just need to ask the agency. No form is required. An email to the agency head saying "this is a public records request for" followed by a description of the document is all it should take. If they don't respond to an email, call the office's secretary and ask for an email response. The agency can charge actual costs, but if your request is related to a public purpose you can ask for a fee waiver. The agency is required to make a pro-forma response "as soon as practicable" and make "proper and reasonable" efforts to get you the documents promptly. If you want a pdf of the documents or a machine readable file instead of a paper dump, just ask.

In practice, Oregon's public records law has a big loophole - a "proper and reasonable" standard for compliance, rather than a firm deadline. Most other states have deadlines and most of those that do give agencies no more than 5 working days to provide the documents. This document compares Oregon's practice to that of other states.
Government agencies use several strategies to prevent releasing documents that they prefer to keep secret. First, they will argue that they are busy. The second strategy is to try to intimidate you with exorbitant fee estimates. The third is to argue that your request is vague or confusing to them. The fourth strategy is delay. Particularly paranoid agencies, for example the University of Oregon and its General Counsel Melinda Grier, will use a sequence of these strategies, with a week or two of delay to your clarifying questions thrown in. This can be devilishly effective if you lack persistence. Keep at it and they will crack.

In theory, if the agency tries to use these tactics to avoid its public responsibility there is a simple solution. Send an email to Oregon Attorney General John Kroger at john.kroger@state.or.us, explain that you made a public records request and were ignored/denied, and ask that he issue a "public records order" or PRO requiring the agency to give you the documents and/or waive the fees. CC the AG's Government Transparency Czar, Michael Kron, at michael.c.kron@doj.or.us By state law, the AG has a week to order compliance or to deny your petition and justify the denial. You will get an official response to your petition, probably from Deputy Attorney General Mary Williams. The response will deny or grant your petition and it will explain why with reference to applicable law and past DOJ PRO decisions.

Importantly, the DOJ will bill the state agency from which you are trying to get the records for the cost of writing the PRO opinion. The DOJ charges $137 an hour, and the typical opinion costs the agency about $1200. As the petitioner you pay nothing. Therefore, if you are requesting a fee waiver on the grounds of public interest, I suggest you mention in your original PR request that you may well petition in case of a fee waiver denials, and that you ask the agency to consider the potential cost of such a petition when deciding whether or not to grant your waiver request. This is a new strategy, lets see if it works.

In practice, the DOJ may well deny your petition. They will often so so with reference to their past PRO rulings. During the Hardy Myers years these rulings were very hostile to PR access. While we hope this is changing under Kroger, the jury is still out. If your petition is denied, you need to get a lawyer and challenge the denial in Marion Circuit Court. If the court rules in your favor, the DOJ (or maybe the agency) has to pay your legal fees. Good luck!

PRR Deadlines in the rest of the US

2009-01-26T09:17:00.000-08:00

This table shows the maximum number of working days agencies can take to provide public records in those 35 states that give a statutory deadline or where one has been established by courts. Half the states allow no more than 5 working days.

Former Oregon AG Hardy Myers and Deputy Pete Shepherd often gave agencies 40 days. I am hoping our new AG John Kroger will quickly change this.

Arizona 1
Florida 1
Maryland 1
Montana 1
Vermont 2
Arkansas 3
Colorado 3
Idaho 3
...

Louisiana 3
Georgia 3
Kansas 3
Kentucky 3
Missouri 3
Connecticut 4
Nebraska 4
Hawaii 5
Maine 5
Michigan 5
New Hampshire 5
Washington 5
West Virginia 5
Illinois 7
Indiana 7
Ohio 8
Alaska 10
California 10
Delaware 10
Iowa 10
Massachusetts 10
Pennsylvania 10
Rhode Island 10
Utah 10
Mississippi 14
D.C. 15
New Mexico 15
New York 25

Note: All data is from http://www.rcfp.org, downloaded 11/9/08.