State Public Records Law
Iowa Code, Chapter 22 (2023)
Read the full text
Exemptions to Disclosure
The following records are confidential:
- Trade secrets;
- Work product;
- Records containing information from persons outside of government, if disclosure could discourage persons from providing the information not required by law;
- Information concerning the nature and location of any archaeological resource or site if, in the opinion of the state archaeologist, disclosure of the information will result in unreasonable risk of damage to or loss of the resource or site where the resource is located;
- Information concerning the nature and location of any ecologically sensitive resource or site if, in the opinion of the director of the department of natural resources after consultation with the state ecologist, disclosure of the information will result in unreasonable risk of damage to or loss of the resource or site where the resource is located.
Access Rights
- Every person
- Customary office hours; if less than 30 hours per week, can inspect, etc. at any time from 9AM-12PM and 1PM-4PM Monday-Friday excluding legal holidays, unless custodian and requestor agree on a different time
- Fee structure available
Destruction of Public Records
- Records are the property of the state and shall not be mutilated, destroyed, removed, or disposed of, except as provided by law, rule, or policy. Iowa Code Chapter 305.
Whistleblower Score
Rank: 29/51
Iowa has an average state whistleblower law with fair coverage (21 out of 33 possible points) and a fair degree of usability (18 out of 33) and remedies (16 out of 33), plus 1 bonus point for employee notice of whistleblower rights.
Tim Mason | Effigy Mounds National Monument
Tim Mason led PEER to uncover the biggest official mass desecrations of Indian pre-historic burial sites in U.S. history. The National Park Service built more than 78 illegal structures at Effigy Mounds National Monument intruding on the very ancient Indian mounds the monument is supposed to protect.
Sadly, Tim passed away on September 12, 2018 but his spirit lives on through his work to protect wild places. We send our sincere condolences to his family.
