P. Public utility records.

1. Alabama Public Services Commission: The Commission is required to “keep a record of all their proceedings, which shall be open at all times to the inspection of the public.” Ala. Code § 37-1-8 (Supp. 2005).

2. Alabama Public Utilities Commission: “[A]ll reports, records and accounts in the possession of the [Commission] shall be open to inspection by the public at all times . . . .” Ala. Code§ 37-1-62 (1992).

3. Publicly owned public utilities: The records of these utilities are open. 197 Op. Att’y Gen. Ala. 24 (Nov. 27, 1984).

4. Telephone records (ATTNet remote access) for members of the Alabama Senate and House of Representative: In 1989, a Montgomery County trial court ordered the State Finance Director, the Clerk of the State House, and the Secretary of the State Senate to preserve the “records that reflect, by ATTNet remote access code number, the quantity, duration, and cost of long-distance telephone calls logged per month against each remote access code number assigned to the Alabama Senate and House of Representatives,” as well as the “records that identify, by individual name and ATTNet remote access code number, the members or staff of the Alabama Senate [or Alabama House of Representatives] to whom ATTNet remote access code numbers have been assigned” “for at least one year after any change in the assignment of ATTNet remote access code numbers to the Alabama Senate and House of Representatives.” The court also ordered that those records be made available for inspection and copying. Birmingham News Co. v. Swift, CV 88-1390 G (Cir. Ct. of Montgomery County, Ala., Sept. 7, 1988). An amendment to State law thereafter, however, requires the Alabama Telecommunications Division of the Department of Finance to “destroy and discard from its system all records of telephone usage six months following the payment of the billing for that usage period.” Ala. Code § 41-4-284(9) (2000).