Citations
Oklahoma Open Records Act, 51 O.S. 24A.1
(https://www.oscn.net/applications/oscn/Index.asp?ftdb=STOKST51&level=1)
Exemptions to Disclosure
Public records do not include:
- Computer software;
- Nongovernment personal effects.
Records exempt from disclosure include:
- Records protected by attorney-client privilege
The following records may be kept confidential:
- Personal notes and personally created materials prepared as an aid to memory or research leading to the adoption of a public policy or the implementation of a public project;
- Computer programs or software but not data thereon;
- Confidential personal communications exercising constitutional rights;
- Crop and livestock reports provided by farmers, ranchers, and agribusinesses to the extent the reports individually identify the providers;
- Information related to research, the disclosure of which could affect the conduct or outcome of the research, the ability to patent or copyright the research, or any other proprietary rights any entity may have in the research or the results of the research;
- Environmental agency’s or public utility’s vulnerability assessments of critical assets in both water and wastewater systems
Access Rights
Records available to anyone. Agencies can charge 25 cents per page for normal copies, and not more than $1/page for certified copies. However, if the request is solely for a commercial purpose, or would clearly cause excessive disruption of the essential functions of the public body, fees can be charged for searching and copying.
Destruction of Public Records
- The Records Management Act, 67 O.S. 201et seq., states that records “shall not be mutilated, destroyed, transferred, removed, altered or otherwise damaged or disposed of, in whole or in part, except as provided by law.” In addition, “no state record shall be destroyed or otherwise disposed of unless it is determined by the Archives and Records Commission that the record has no further administrative, legal, fiscal, research or historical value.” Nonrecords may, if not otherwise prohibited by law, be destroyed at any time by the agency in possession of such materials with the prior approval of the Administrator. (https://www.oscn.net/applications/oscn/Index.asp?ftdb=STOKST67&level=1)
