Search the Open Government Guide

There is no statutory or case law addressing this issue.

Records regarding bids for the sale or lease of public lands are open. Ala. Code § 9-15-78 (2001). Contracts and documents related to the sale of public assets are subject to disclosure under the Public Records Law. See Tenn. Valley Printing Co. v. Health Care Auth. of Lauderdale County, 2010 ALA. LEXIS 213 (Ala. Oct. 29, 2010).

The Supreme Court of Alabama has implicitly held zoning records to be public records.  See Riverchase Homeowners Protective Asso. v. Hoover, 531 So. 2d 645 (Ala. 1988) (holding that the master development plan of a suburban mall was a public record)

a. Athletic Coach Contracts: Jacksonville State University was required to disclose the contracts of its coaches to a newspaper pursuant to a request under the Public Records law. Op. Att'y Gen. Ala. No. 2007-067, 2007 Ala. AG LEXIS 40 (Apr. 3, 2007).

b. NCAA Letter of Inquiry to State university: The NCAA Letter of Inquiry must be disclosed, but disclosure may be deferred until after the time for the university to file its Response to the Letter of Inquiry. Birmingham News Co. v. Muse [Muse I], 21 Media L. Rep. (BNA) 1094, 1095 (Cir. Ct. of Lee County, Ala., Dec. 7, 1992); Birmingham News Co. v. Sayers, 23 Media L. Rep. (BNA) 2473, 2479-80 (Cir. Ct. of Tuscaloosa County, Ala., May 16, 1995).

c. NCAA Self Reports: The self-report of NCAA violations submitted by Alabama State University to the NCAA with student information redacted was subject to inspection under the Public Records Law. The Advertiser Co. v. Lee, CV 06-900013 (Cir. Ct. of Montgomery, Ala., Apr. 28, 2007.

d. State university’s Response to NCAA Letter of Inquiry: Auburn University was permitted to keep its Response confidential because “the majority of the statements which are part of the Response were received under express promises of confidentiality,” and that confidential material and information was so intertwined with nonconfidential material that “[i]f the promises [of confidentiality] are to be honored, it would be difficult, if not impossible, to edit out this material and release a response that made sense.” Birmingham News Co. v. Muse [Muse II, 2d appeal], 669 So. 2d 138 (Ala. 1995); see also Birmingham News Co. v. Muse [Muse II, 1st appeal], 638 So. 2d 853 (Ala. 1994) (quoting and adopting trial court’s findings).