Public Records Definition

Public Records Definition: what the decisions show

Public records definition questions ask whether a communication or document pertains to public business and is therefore subject to FOIA, regardless of where it is stored or who physically holds it. These decisions address emails, texts, calendars, meeting recordings, contractor and third-party holdings, social media pages, and requests that would require compiling data.

The PAC has generally treated records relating to public business as public records even when they are on private equipment, held by a contractor or outside entity, or maintained by a related organization. It has found violations where bodies withheld such records or deleted them. It has found no violation where communications were purely personal or political, or where the request sought data that did not exist as a pre-compiled record and would require creating a new record.

At a glance: 26 documents from 2013 to 2024(8 binding opinions, 18 determination letters). Outcome: 12 found a violation (in whole or part), 9 found none. Most often cited alongside: 7(1)(f) (Preliminary drafts, notes, and deliberative materials) (3); 7(1)(m) (Attorney/auditor communications and litigation-preparation materials) (3); 7(1)(b) (Private information) (2); 7(1)(c) (Personal privacy) (2); 7(1)(g) (Trade secrets and confidential commercial/financial information) (2).

Recurring issues

• Officials claimed messages about public business on privately owned phones or email accounts were not public records. (City council members' electronic communications during meetings, A mayor's text messages with public officials)
• Public bodies claimed records held by a private contractor, outside vendor, conference, or related nonprofit were not in their possession. (Aggregate inmate head injury data and evaluation policies, Settlement agreements with a paramedic services contractor, A university's media rights contract with a conference)
• Requesters sought data, compilations, or answers that the body said would require creating a new record. (Website usage data from office computers, Selective enrollment test data and phone call logs, Metadata compilation of electronic monitoring call recordings)
• Bodies treated calendars, task force materials, or meeting recordings as personal, unofficial, or non-public. (The Governor's calendar with meeting details, Transit authority president's schedule and calendar, Records of the Danville Housing Task Force)

Practical points

• Ask for identifiable existing records rather than asking a body to compile scattered data or answer questions.
• A body should preserve and search for records about public business even if they are on private devices or held by a contractor performing a governmental function.
• Use of a public email system alone does not make a purely personal communication a public record, and purely personal or political messages may be distinguished from public business.

Summary drafted from the linked decisions and checked against them; read the decisions themselves before relying on it. Not legal advice.