PUBLIC RECORDS 16-4-201. Definitions. (a) As used in this act: (i

ARTICLE 2 - PUBLIC RECORDS

16-4-201. Definitions.

(a) As used in this act:

(i) "Custodian" means the official custodian or any authorized person having personal

custody and control of the public records in question;

(ii) "Official custodian" means any officer or employee of the state or any agency,

institution or political subdivision thereof, who is responsible for the maintenance, care and

keeping of public records, regardless of whether the records are in his actual personal custody

and control;

(iii) "Person in interest" means the person who is the subject of a record or any

representative designated by the person, except if the subject of the record is under legal

disability or is the dependent high school student of his parents, "person in interest" means the

parent or duly appointed legal representative;

(iv) "Political subdivision" means every county, city and county, city, incorporated and

unincorporated town, school district and special district within the state;

(v) "Public records" when not otherwise specified includes any information in a

physical form created, accepted, or obtained by the state or any agency, institution or political

subdivision of the state in furtherance of its official function and transaction of public business

which is not privileged or confidential by law. Without limiting the foregoing, the term "public

records" includes any written communication or other information, whether in paper, electronic,

or other physical form, received by the state or any agency, institution or political subdivision of

the state in furtherance of the transaction of public business of the state or agency, institution or

political subdivision of the state, whether at a meeting or outside a meeting;

(vi) Public records shall be classified as follows:

(A) "Official public records" includes all original vouchers, receipts and other

documents necessary to isolate and prove the validity of every transaction relating to the receipt,

use and disposition of all public property and public income from all sources whatsoever; all

agreements and contracts to which the state or any agency or subdivision thereof is a party; all

fidelity, surety and performance bonds; all claims filed against the state or any agency or

subdivision thereof; all records or documents required by law to be filed with or kept by any

agency or the state of Wyoming; and all other documents or records determined by the records

committee to be official public records;

(B) "Office files and memoranda" includes all records, correspondence, exhibits,

books, booklets, drawings, maps, blank forms, or documents not defined and classified in

subparagraph (A) of this subsection as official public records; all duplicate copies of official

public records filed with any agency of the state or subdivision thereof; all documents and

reports made for the internal administration of the office to which they pertain but not required

by law to be filed or kept with the office; and all other documents or records, determined by the

records committee to be office files and memoranda.

(vii) Repealed By Laws 2012, Ch. 74, 2.

(viii) "This act" means W.S. 16-4-201 through 16-4-205;

(ix) "Application" means a written request for a public record. However, a custodian

may in his discretion deem a verbal request to be an application;

(x) "Information" means opinions, facts, or data of any kind and in whatever physical

form kept or maintained, including, but not limited to, written, aural, visual, electronic or other

physical form.

16-4-202. Right of inspection; rules and regulations; unavailability.

(a) All public records shall be open for inspection by any person at reasonable times,

during business hours of the state entity or political subdivision, except as provided in this act or

as otherwise provided by law, but the official custodian of any public records may make rules

and regulations with reference to the inspection of the records as is reasonably necessary for the

protection of the records and the prevention of unnecessary interference with the regular

discharge of the duties of the custodian or his office.

(b) If the public records requested are not in the custody or control of the person to whom

application is made, the custodian or authorized person having personal custody and control of

the public records shall notify the applicant within seven (7) business days from the date of

acknowledged receipt of the request of the unavailability of the records sought, unless good

cause exists preventing a response within such time period. In the event the applicant is not

satisfied that good cause exists, the applicant may petition the district court for a determination

as to whether the custodian has demonstrated good cause existed.

application is made but are in active use or in storage, and therefore not available at the time an

applicant asks to examine them, the custodian or authorized person having personal custody and

control of the public records shall notify the applicant of this situation within seven (7) business

days from the date of acknowledged receipt of the request, unless good cause exists preventing a

response within such time period. In the event the applicant is not satisfied that good cause

exists, the applicant may petition the district court for a determination as to whether the

custodian has demonstrated good cause existed. If a public record is readily available, it shall be

released immediately to the applicant so long as the release does not impair or impede the

agency's ability to discharge its other duties.

(d) If a public record exists primarily or solely in an electronic format, the custodian of the

record shall so inform the requester. Electronic record inspection and copying shall be subject to

the following:

(i) The reasonable costs of producing a copy of the public record shall be borne by the

party making the request. The costs may include the cost of producing a copy of the public

record and the cost of constructing the record, including the cost of programming and computer

services;

(ii) An agency shall provide an electronic record in alternative formats unless doing so

is impractical or impossible;

(iii) An agency shall not be required to compile data, extract data or create a new

document to comply with an electronic record request if doing so would impair the agency's

ability to discharge its duties;

(iv) An agency shall not be required to allow inspection or copying of a record in its

electronic format if doing so would jeopardize or compromise the security or integrity of the

original record or of any proprietary software in which it is maintained;

(v) Nothing in this section shall prohibit the director of the office of homeland security

from enacting any rules pursuant to his authority under W.S. 19-13-104(d)(v).

16-4-203. Right of inspection; grounds for denial; access of news media; order

permitting or restricting disclosure; exceptions.

(a) The custodian of any public records shall allow any person the right of inspection of the

records or any portion thereof except on one (1) or more of the following grounds or as provided

in subsection (b) or (d) of this section:

(i) The inspection would be contrary to any state statute;

(ii) The inspection would be contrary to any federal statute or regulation issued

thereunder having the force and effect of law; or

(iii) The inspection is prohibited by rules promulgated by the supreme court or by the

order of any court of record.

(b) The custodian may deny the right of inspection of the following records, unless

otherwise provided by law, on the ground that disclosure to the applicant would be contrary to

the public interest:

(i) Records of investigations conducted by, or of intelligence information or security

procedures of, any sheriff, county attorney, city attorney, the attorney general, the state auditor,

police department or any investigatory files compiled for any other law enforcement or

prosecution purposes;

(ii) Test questions, scoring keys and other examination data pertaining to administration

of a licensing examination and examination for employment or academic examination. Written

promotional examinations and the scores or results thereof shall be available for inspection, but

not copying or reproduction, by the person in interest after the examination has been conducted

and graded;

(iii) The specific details of bona fide research projects being conducted by a state

institution;

(iv) Except as otherwise provided by Wyoming statutes or for the owner of the

property, the contents of real estate appraisals made for the state or a political subdivision

thereof, relative to the acquisition of property or any interest in property for public use, until such

time as title of the property or property interest has passed to the state or political subdivision.

The contents of the appraisal shall be available to the owner of the property or property interest

at any time;

(v) Interagency or intraagency memoranda or letters which would not be available by

law to a private party in litigation with the agency;

(vi) To the extent that the inspection would jeopardize the security of any structure

owned, leased or operated by the state or any of its political subdivisions, facilitate the planning

of a terrorist attack or endanger the life or physical safety of an individual, including:

(A) Vulnerability assessments, specific tactics, emergency procedures or security

procedures contained in plans or procedures designed to prevent or respond to terrorist attacks or

other security threats;

(B) Building plans, blueprints, schematic drawings, diagrams, operational manuals or

other records that reveal the building's or structure's internal layout, specific location, life and

safety and support systems, structural elements, surveillance techniques, alarms, security systems

or technologies, operational and transportation plans or protocols, personnel deployments for

airports and other mass transit facilities, bridges, tunnels, emergency response facilities or

structures, buildings where hazardous materials are stored, arenas, stadiums and waste and water

systems;

or any of its political subdivisions that reveal the building's or structure's life and safety systems,

surveillance techniques, alarm or security systems or technologies, operational and evacuation

plans or protocols or personnel deployments; and

(D) Records prepared to prevent or respond to terrorist attacks or other security

threats identifying or describing the name, location, pharmaceutical cache, contents, capacity,

equipment, physical features, or capabilities of individual medical facilities, storage facilities or

laboratories established, maintained, or regulated by the state or any of its political subdivisions.

(vii) An application for the position of president of an institution of higher education,

letters of recommendation or references concerning the applicant and records or information

relating to the process of searching for and selecting the president of an institution of higher

education, if the records or information could be used to identify a candidate for the position. As

used in this paragraph "institution of higher education" means the University of Wyoming and

any community college in this state.

this section is allowed to any officer or employee of any newspaper, radio station, television

station or other person or agency in the business of public dissemination of news or current

events, it may be allowed to all news media.

(d) The custodian shall deny the right of inspection of the following records, unless

otherwise provided by law:

(i) Medical, psychological and sociological data on individual persons, exclusive of

coroners' verdicts and written dockets as provided in W.S. 7-4-105(a);

(ii) Adoption records or welfare records on individual persons;

(iii) Personnel files except those files shall be available to the duly elected and

appointed officials who supervise the work of the person in interest. Applications, performance

ratings and scholastic achievement data shall be available only to the person in interest and to the

duly elected and appointed officials who supervise his work. Employment contracts, working

agreements or other documents setting forth the terms and conditions of employment of public

officials and employees are not considered part of a personnel file and shall be available for

public inspection;

(iv) Letters of reference;

(v) Trade secrets, privileged information and confidential commercial, financial,

geological or geophysical data furnished by or obtained from any person;

(vi) Library, archives and museum material contributed by private persons, to the extent

of any limitations placed thereon as conditions of the contributions;

(vii) Hospital records relating to medical administration, medical staff, personnel,

medical care and other medical information, whether on individual persons or groups, or whether

of a general or specific classification;

(viii) School district records containing information relating to the biography, family,

physiology, religion, academic achievement and physical or mental ability of any student except

to the person in interest or to the officials duly elected and appointed to supervise him;

(ix) Library patron transaction and registration records except as required for

administration of the library or except as requested by a custodial parent or guardian to inspect

the records of his minor child;

(x) Information obtained through a 911 emergency telephone system or through a

verification system for motor vehicle insurance or bond as provided under W.S. 31-4-103(e)

except to law enforcement personnel or public agencies for the purpose of conducting official

business, to the person in interest, or pursuant to a court order;

(xi) Records or information compiled solely for purposes of investigating violations of,

and enforcing, internal personnel rules or personnel policies the disclosure of which would

constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy;

(xii) Information regarding the design, elements and components, and location of state

information technology security systems and physical security systems;

(xiii) Records or information relating to individual diagnoses of contagious, infectious,

communicable, toxic and genetic diseases maintained or collected by the Wyoming state

veterinary laboratory as provided in W.S. 21-17-308(e);

(xiv) Information concerning an agricultural operation, farming or conservation

practice, or the land itself, if the information was provided by an agricultural producer or owner

of agricultural land in order to participate in a program of the state or any agency, institution or

political subdivision of the state. The custodian shall also deny the right of inspection to

geospatial information maintained about the agricultural land or operations. Provided, however,

that if otherwise permitted by law, the inspection of the information described in this paragraph

shall be allowed in accordance with the following:

(A) The custodian may allow the right of inspection when responding to a disease or

pest threat to agricultural operations, if the custodian determines that a threat to agricultural

operations exists and the disclosure of information is necessary to assist in responding to the

disease or pest threat as authorized by law;

(B) The custodian shall allow the right of inspection of payment information under a

program of the state or of any agency, institution or political subdivision of the state, including

the names and addresses of recipients of payments;

transformed into a statistical or aggregate form without naming:

(I) Any individual owner, operator or producer; or

(II) A specific data gathering site.

(D) The custodian shall allow the right of inspection if the disclosure of information

is pursuant to the consent of the agricultural producer or owner of the agricultural land;

(E) As used in this paragraph:

(I) "Agricultural operation" means the production and marketing of agricultural

products or livestock;

(II) "Agricultural producer" means any producer of livestock, crops or dairy

products from an agricultural operation.

(xv) Within any record held by an agency, any income tax return or any individual

information derived by the agency from an income tax return, however information derived from

these documents may be released if sufficiently aggregated or redacted so that the persons or

entities involved cannot be identified individually;

(xvi) Except as required in a contested case hearing, any individual records involved in

any workers' compensation claim, however information derived from these documents may be

released if sufficiently aggregated or redacted so that the persons or entities involved cannot be

identified individually.

(e) If the custodian denies access to any public record, the applicant may request a written

statement of the grounds for the denial. The statement shall cite the law or regulation under

which access is denied and shall be furnished to the applicant.

(f) Any person denied the right to inspect any record covered by this act may apply to the

district court of the district wherein the record is found for any order directing the custodian of

the record to show cause why he should not permit the inspection of the record.

(g) If, in the opinion of the official custodian of any public record, disclosure of the

contents of the record would do substantial injury to the public interest, notwithstanding the fact

that the record might otherwise be available to public inspection, he may apply to the district

court of the district in which the record is located for an order permitting him to restrict

disclosure. After hearing, the court may issue an order upon a finding that disclosure would

cause substantial injury to the public interest. The person seeking permission to examine the

record shall have notice of the hearing served upon him in the manner provided for service of

process by the Wyoming Rules of Civil Procedure and has the right to appear and be heard.

(h) Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, the following applies to the

Wyoming natural diversity database located at the University of Wyoming and any report

prepared by the custodian from that database:

(i) The custodian may charge a reasonable fee for searching the database and preparing

a report from that database information. The interpretation of the database in a report shall not

contain recommendations for restrictions on any public or private land use;

(ii) The custodian shall allow the inspection of all records in the database at a level of

spatial precision equal to the township, but at no more precise level;

(iii) Research reports prepared by the custodian funded completely from nonstate

sources are subject to paragraph (b)(iii) of this section;

(iv) Any record contained in the database pertaining to private land shall not be released

by the University of Wyoming without the prior written consent of the landowner. Nothing in

this paragraph prohibits the release of any information which would otherwise be available from

any other information source available to the public if the original source is cited.

16-4-204. Right of inspection; copies, printouts or photographs; fees.

(a) In all cases in which a person has the right to inspect and copy any public records he

may request that he be furnished copies, printouts or photographs for a reasonable fee to be set

by the official custodian. Where fees for certified copies or other copies, printouts or

photographs of the record are specifically prescribed by law, the specific fees shall apply.

Nothing in this section shall be construed as authorizing a fee to be charged as a condition of

making a public record available for inspection.

(b) If the custodian does not have the facilities for making copies, printouts or photographs

of records which the applicant has the right to inspect, then the applicant shall be granted access

to the records for the purpose of making copies, printouts or photographs. The copies, printouts

or photographs shall be made while the records are in the possession, custody and control of the

custodian thereof and are subject to the supervision of the custodian. When practical the copy

work shall be made in the place where the records are kept, but if it is impractical to do so, the

custodian may allow arrangements to be made for this purpose. If other facilities are necessary

the cost of providing them shall be paid by the person desiring a copy, printout or photograph of

the records. The official custodian may establish a reasonable schedule of time for making

copies, printouts or photographs and may charge a reasonable fee for the services rendered by

him or his deputy in supervising the copying, printing out or photographing as he may charge for

furnishing copies under this section.

first be authorized by duly enacted or adopted statute, rule, resolution, ordinance, executive order

or other like authority.

(d) All state agencies may adopt rules and regulations pursuant to the Wyoming

Administrative Procedure Act establishing reasonable fees and charges that may be assessed for

the costs and services set forth in this section.

(e) The department of administration and information shall adopt uniform rules for the use

of state agencies establishing procedures, fees, costs and charges for inspection, copies and

production of public records under W.S. 16-4-202(d)(i), 16-4-203(h)(i) and 16-4-204.

16-4-205. Civil penalty.

Any person who knowingly or intentionally violates the provisions of this act is liable for a

penalty not to exceed seven hundred fifty dollars ($750.00). The penalty may be recovered in a

civil action and damages shall be assessed by the court. Any action pursuant to this section shall

be initiated by the attorney general or the appropriate county attorney.