Granted: Access to records of fire company as a local agency
April 03, 2009 Filed in: Granted
| Denied
| Appealed to
court | Court
reversed | Morris Twp
| Vol. fire
companies | HIPAA
| Other laws
| Third-party
contractors | Governmental
function | Record
not in possession | Non-specific
requests
Granted in part and denied in
part: A request to Morris Township and
the Morris Township Fire Company for five types
of documents related to the operation of the fire
company. The township had denied the request
based on non-possession, and the fire company had
denied access by saying it was not subject to the
Right to Know Law.
From
the Pennsylvania Freedom of Information
Coalition
Granted in part and denied in part: A request to Morris Township and the Morris Township Fire Company for five types of documents related to the operation of the fire company. The township had denied the request based on non-possession, and the fire company had denied access by saying it was not subject to the Right to Know Law.
The Office of Open Records ruled that the volunteer fire companies are local agencies "and subject to the RTKL in all its aspects."
The OOR's decision was reversed by the Tioga County Court of Common Pleas.
The requester sought copies of the fire company's rules, regulations and procedures, i.e., its by-laws; copies of records showing names of those responding to calls; an assortment of financial records; correspondence and emails; and meeting minutes.
The Office of Open Records that the township, in issuing its denial, failed to identify its open records officer, did not restate the request, and did not include the required information about how to appeal.
In response to the OOR, the township attested that there is no contract between it and the fire company, and that the fire company was incorporated as a non-profit separate from the township.
The Office of Open Records ruled that the township sufficiently proved it did not have possession or control over fire company records, and that because it has no contract with the company, is not obligated to procure the records. The OOR ruled that without a contract, the provision in the RTKL relating to agency responsibility to procure documents from third-party contractors fulfilling government functions does not apply.
However, the OOR also ruled that the volunteer fire company itself qualifies as a local agency subject to the Right to Know Laws. "Unlike the old law," it noted, "an 'agency' is not limited to named governmental units or branches, nor providers of essential governmental services, but includes 'any similar governmental entity."
"Non-profit entities like the fire company may qualify as local agencies if they are sufficiently governmental in nature," the Office of Open Records wrote. "Because fire-fighting has been defined as a governmental function, and volunteer fire companies have been treated as local agencies in many legal contexts, the OOR concludes that volunteer fire companies are local agencies and subject to the RTKL in all its aspects."
As to the records requested from the fire company, the OOR ruled:
-- That the fire company's by-laws are public records that must be disclosed.
-- That while another law (the federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act - HIPAA) prohibits the release of certain personal health information, the entire call response logs were not protected. It directed the fire company to produce redacted copies of the records with only the personal health information and identifiers redacted.
-- That the fire company's financial records are presumed to be public, subject to redaction of any personal identification information, to the extent it applies.
-- That the request for correspondence and emails was not sufficiently specific, "because it does not set forth a subject matter for the communications, nor identify a specific and relatively limited number of people." The OOR noted that the request only specified a timeframe and agencies, "and without more does not qualify as a sufficiently specific request."
-- That the fire company's minutes are presumed to be public.
Pierce vs. Morris Township Fire Department -- AP 2009-0116
APPEALED TO TIOGA COUNTY COURT OF COMMON PLEAS: April 24, 2009
JUDICIAL DECISION July 8, 2009 – OOR DETERMINATION REVERSED
(A link to the decision will be posted as soon as it is available.)
Granted in part and denied in part: A request to Morris Township and the Morris Township Fire Company for five types of documents related to the operation of the fire company. The township had denied the request based on non-possession, and the fire company had denied access by saying it was not subject to the Right to Know Law.
The Office of Open Records ruled that the volunteer fire companies are local agencies "and subject to the RTKL in all its aspects."
The OOR's decision was reversed by the Tioga County Court of Common Pleas.
The requester sought copies of the fire company's rules, regulations and procedures, i.e., its by-laws; copies of records showing names of those responding to calls; an assortment of financial records; correspondence and emails; and meeting minutes.
The Office of Open Records that the township, in issuing its denial, failed to identify its open records officer, did not restate the request, and did not include the required information about how to appeal.
In response to the OOR, the township attested that there is no contract between it and the fire company, and that the fire company was incorporated as a non-profit separate from the township.
The Office of Open Records ruled that the township sufficiently proved it did not have possession or control over fire company records, and that because it has no contract with the company, is not obligated to procure the records. The OOR ruled that without a contract, the provision in the RTKL relating to agency responsibility to procure documents from third-party contractors fulfilling government functions does not apply.
However, the OOR also ruled that the volunteer fire company itself qualifies as a local agency subject to the Right to Know Laws. "Unlike the old law," it noted, "an 'agency' is not limited to named governmental units or branches, nor providers of essential governmental services, but includes 'any similar governmental entity."
"Non-profit entities like the fire company may qualify as local agencies if they are sufficiently governmental in nature," the Office of Open Records wrote. "Because fire-fighting has been defined as a governmental function, and volunteer fire companies have been treated as local agencies in many legal contexts, the OOR concludes that volunteer fire companies are local agencies and subject to the RTKL in all its aspects."
As to the records requested from the fire company, the OOR ruled:
-- That the fire company's by-laws are public records that must be disclosed.
-- That while another law (the federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act - HIPAA) prohibits the release of certain personal health information, the entire call response logs were not protected. It directed the fire company to produce redacted copies of the records with only the personal health information and identifiers redacted.
-- That the fire company's financial records are presumed to be public, subject to redaction of any personal identification information, to the extent it applies.
-- That the request for correspondence and emails was not sufficiently specific, "because it does not set forth a subject matter for the communications, nor identify a specific and relatively limited number of people." The OOR noted that the request only specified a timeframe and agencies, "and without more does not qualify as a sufficiently specific request."
-- That the fire company's minutes are presumed to be public.
Pierce vs. Morris Township Fire Department -- AP 2009-0116
APPEALED TO TIOGA COUNTY COURT OF COMMON PLEAS: April 24, 2009
JUDICIAL DECISION July 8, 2009 – OOR DETERMINATION REVERSED
(A link to the decision will be posted as soon as it is available.)