Missouri
Access
to electronic records in Missouri is pretty good compared to some states. The
law allows agencies leeway to make determination in charging fees and whether
to do custom searches. As a result, some agencies are access-friendly, others
are not. In some cases, agencies have provided databases to news organizations
that could have been withheld under the law. Agencies that have been particularly
difficult to get databases from include law enforcement agencies and universities.
The law.
The Sunshine Law defines “public record” as “any record, whether
written or electronically stored . . . including any report, survey, memorandum,
or other document or study.” Mo. Rev. Stat. § 610.010(6).
A public body may
close records relating to “software codes for electronic data processing
and documentation thereof.” § 610.021(10). A separate law provides
access to “records, instruments or documents” required to be kept
pursuant to a statute or ordinance. §§ 109.180, 109.190. If a community
creates a geographic information system, it may set terms and conditions to
limit access to the database. § 67.319(2)-(3). Political subdivisions of
the state may place their records into state data processing machinery and allow
the state to take responsibility for storage, retrieval and copying. §
67.350.
No public governmental
body shall grant any person or entity the exclusive right to access and disseminate
public records, although there is a narrow exception when there is a need to
facilitate coordination with industry regulators. § 610.023(2). A public
governmental body keeping records in an electronic format is strongly encouraged
to provide online or other electronic access to public records. Agencies are
to provide information in a usable electronic format “to the greatest extent
feasible.” § 610.029.
A public governmental
body “may” provide electronic services involving public records to
members of the public. By statute, public governmental bodies are “strongly
encouraged,” but not required, “to make information available in usable
electronic formats to the greatest extent feasible.” § 610.029.1.
Customized searches of computer databases are authorized, but not mandated,
by the statute. § 610.029.
Cases &
opinions. The Missouri State Library, the Missouri public institutions of
higher education and local public libraries can restrict copying of records
received from a not-for-profit online computerized cataloguing service that
provides a shared database of bibliographic records. Mo. Op. Att’y Gen.
138-87 (Dec. 18, 1987). The Court of Appeals held that selling state statutes
on computer tape through bidding impermissibly limited public access by depriving
it to all but the highest bidder. It was irrelevant that the highest bidder
later marketed these statutes to the public. Deaton v. Kidd, 932 S.W.2d
804 (Mo. Ct. App. 1996).
The names, addresses,
and water bills of customers of a public water supply district are records subject
to disclosure under Chapter 610, Mo. Rev. Stat. Att’y Gen. Op. 95-2001
(June 4, 2001)
Pursuant to subsection
3 of Section 566.617, Mo. Rev. Stat., as enacted by Conference Committee Substitute
for House Committee Substitute for Senate Committee Substitute for Senate Bill
No. 56, 89th General Assembly, First Regular Session (1997), a local law enforcement
agency shall provide to any person upon request a complete list of the names
and addresses of sex offenders registered within such agency’s jurisdiction
as well as the crime for which each offender was convicted. Mo. Op. Att’y
Gen. 145-97 (Sept. 5, 1997).
Electronic information
is treated the same as paper information. In the instances where litigation
has been brought to secure the information, the electronic status of the information
was not an issue. See, e.g., Pulitzer Publishing Co. v. Missouri State Employees’
Retirement System, 927 S.W.2d 477 (Mo. Ct.App. 1996) (pension payment records,
which were stored electronically, were ordered disclosed).
Fees. The Sunshine Law limits “fees for providing access to public records maintained on computer facilities, recording tapes or discs” to “the cost of copies and staff time required for making copies and programming, if necessary, and the disk or tape used for the duplication.” Mo. Rev. Stat. § 610.026.1(2). Fees for copying public records shall not exceed the actual cost of document search and duplication. Upon request, the governmental body shall certify in writing that the actual cost of document search and duplication is fair, reasonable and does not exceed the actual cost incurred. § 610.026.1(1). The custodian may require advance payment. § 610.026.1(2). However, waiver or reduction of fees is allowed when disclosure “is in the public interest because it is likely to contribute significantly to public understanding of the operations or activities of the public governmental body and is not primarily in the commercial interest of the requester.” § 610.026(1)(1). The public records law allows a records custodian to charge “a reasonable rate for his services or for the services of a deputy for the use of the room or place where” a requester makes his own copies. § 109.190.
“Fees for
providing access to public records maintained on computer facilities, recording
tapes or discs, video tapes or visual items or devices, shall include only the
cost of copies and staff time required for making copies and programming, if
necessary, and the disk or tape used for the duplication.” Mo.Rev.Stat.
§ 610.026.1(2).
Software. Software
codes for electronic data processing and documentation thereof may be closed.
Mo. Rev. Stat. § 610.021(10).
GIS.
Political subdivisions may charge a fee covering developmental costs, in addition
to actual costs, for information from, or a copy of, a geographical information
system database. § 67.319(1)(1998).
Resources. Missouri Press Association