PUBLIC RECORDS DISCLOSURE POLICY

The Office of the Secretary of State complies with the Oregon Public Records Law, ORS 192.311 et seq., and responds to public records requests as soon as practicable and without unreasonable delay, in the manner described below.

Public Records Request Procedure

Public records requests to the Office of the Secretary of State must be made through, or entered in, the Public Records Request Center on the agency’s website.¹ There are five exceptions:

• Requests for voter lists under ORS 247.940 and/or ORS 247.945 must be made by filing a form SEL 510;
• Requests for ballot-challenge lists under ORS 254.431 must be made by filing a form SEL 534 ;
• Requests for business registration, Uniform Commercial Code, and notary filings must be made by submitting the appropriate form(s) provided on the web page for the Corporation Division;²
• Requests for records that have been transferred to the Oregon State Archives must be made by completing the reference unit's online form or contacting that unit directly; and
• Requests for administrative rule filings submitted to the Archives Division by other state agencies must be made by contacting the administrative rules unit.

The Secretary’s designated public records officer is responsible for managing and coordinating responses to public records requests made to the Office of the Secretary of State.

Each division of the Office of the Secretary of State shall also have its own public records officer, appointed by the director of the Division. The Secretary’s public records officer may assign responsibility for a public records request to the public records officer of the applicable division.

The public records officers shall consult with other members of agency staff and legal counsel, as appropriate, to fulfill public records requests.

Acknowledgement of Public Records Requests

Consistent with ORS 192.324(2) , the assigned public records officer will acknowledge public records requests within five (5) business days of receipt. The acknowledgement shall include one of the following:

• A statement that the Office of the Secretary of State is the custodian of some or all of the requested records;
• A statement that the Office of the Secretary of State is not the custodian of the requested records; or
• If the Office of the Secretary of State is uncertain whether it is the custodian of the requested records, a statement seeking further clarification regarding the nature of the request.

While a public records request is pending, the requester may track the status of the request through the Secretary’s Public Records Request Center.

Response to Public Records Requests

Consistent with ORS 192.329(5), the assigned public records officer will respond to public records requests as soon as reasonably possible and in any event within fifteen (15) business days of receipt. The response shall include one of the following:

• A complete response to the public records request; or
• A statement that the Office of the Secretary of State is still processing the public records request and a reasonable estimated completion date based on currently available information.

Consistent with ORS 192.329(3) and (4), the public records officer may also provide an estimate of any fees associated with the request and/or seek additional information or clarification for the purpose of expediting the request. In such cases, the obligation of the Office of the Secretary of State to complete its response to the request is suspended until the fee has either been paid or waived; and/or the requester has either provided, or affirmatively declined to provide, the requested information or clarification.

While a public records request is pending, the requester may track the status of the request through the Secretary’s Public Records Request Center.

Completion of Public Records Requests

Consistent with ORS 192.329(2), a public records request shall be deemed complete when the assigned public records officer has provided the requester with the following:

• Access to, or copies of, all requested public records for which the Office of the Secretary of State does not claim an exemption from disclosure, with any redactions required by ORS 192.338, or an explanation of where the records are already publicly available;
• A statement asserting any exemptions from disclosure claimed by the Office of the Secretary of State, and, if asserting ORS 192.355(8) or (9), the specific state or federal laws relied on;
• If exemptions are claimed, a statement that the requester may seek review of that determination pursuant to the public records appeal process, as outlined in ORS 192.427 and ORS 192.431;
• Where applicable, a statement that the Office of the Secretary of State is not the custodian of the requested records; and/or
• A statement that state or federal law prohibits the Office of the Secretary of State from acknowledging whether the records exist and a citation to the relevant state or federal law.

When a public records request is completed, the requester may download any records directly from the Secretary’s Public Records Request Center.

Publication of Public Records Requests

Once a public records request is fulfilled and public records are provided, both the request and the records are immediately made available to the public in the Secretary’s Public Records Request Center.³

Non-Responsive Requesters

If a requester fails to pay an associated fee or respond to a good-faith request for information or clarification within sixty (60) calendar days, the Office of the Secretary of State shall, consistent with ORS 192.329(3)(b) and/or (4)(b), close the request.

Non-responsive requests may be resubmitted and will be processed as new requests.

Fees

The Oregon Public Records Law allows agencies to recover actual costs in fulfilling a public records request.

The Office of the Secretary of State does not charge a fee for routine public records requests that can be completed in one hour or less.

If the assigned public records officer anticipates that a request will take more than one hour to complete, resulting in fees, they will prepare a cost estimate for review and approval by the Secretary’s public records officer. Once the cost estimate is approved, the assigned public records officer will send it to the requester for payment. The assigned public records officer will not proceed with the request until payment is received.

In the event the total cost of a request is later projected to exceed the initial cost estimate, the assigned public records officer shall prepare an updated cost estimate for review and approval by the Secretary’s public records officer. Once the updated cost estimate is approved, the assigned public records officer will send it to the requester for payment. The assigned public records officer will not proceed further with the request until additional payment is received.

The Office of the Secretary of State charges for voter lists in accordance with ORS 247.940, ORS 247.945, and OAR 165-002-0020; for business registration, Uniform Commercial Code, and notary filings in accordance with ORS 56.140, OAR 160-005-0005, and OAR 160-040-0104; and for archival records in accordance with OAR 166-010-0016. Except as otherwise provided by statute or rule, the Office of the Secretary of State charges for public records consistently with the Department of Administrative Services Statewide Policy No. 107-001-030.

Requests for fee waivers or reduced fees shall be made in writing and directed to the assigned public records officer.

On receipt of such a request, the Office of the Secretary of State may, consistent with ORS 192.324(5), furnish records without charge or at a substantially reduced fee if it is determined that the waiver or reduction of fees is in the public interest because making the record available primarily benefits the general public.

When the public records are ready for production, the Office of the Secretary of State will generate an invoice for completing the public records request. If the amount of the invoice is less than the estimated fees, the Office of the Secretary of State will issue the requester a refund.