Iowa Administrative Code › Agency 497 - Iowa Public Information Board › Chapter 7 - Fair Information Practices › Rule 497-7.5 - Requests for Treatment of a Government Record as a Confidential Record and Its Withholding From Examination by the Board

Current through Register Vol. 47, No. 3, July 24, 2024
(1)
Board to maintain confidential
			 status of government records.
If, pursuant to the board's
			 investigation of a complaint, the record of a government body comes into the
			 board's possession, either pursuant to the government body's voluntary response
			 to the board's request or in response to a board subpoena, and if the
			 government body makes a claim that all or part of the record constitutes a
			 confidential record under Iowa Code section
			 22.7 or other provision of law,
			 the board shall maintain the confidential status of the record or part of the
			 record until the claim is adjudicated as hereafter provided. If a person
			 provides the board with a government record without the apparent authority of
			 the lawful custodian, the board shall confirm the authenticity of the record
			 with the government body and shall inquire of the government body if it makes
			 claim that all or part of the record constitutes a confidential record under
			 Iowa Code section 22.7 or other provision of law.
			 If the government body makes claim that all or part of the record constitutes a
			 confidential record, the board shall maintain the confidential status of the
			 record or part of the record until the claim is adjudicated as hereafter
			 provided.
(2)
Who may file
			 request.
Any person, including a government body, who would be
			 aggrieved or adversely affected by disclosure of all or a part of a record to
			 members of the public may file a request, as provided in this rule, for the
			 record's treatment as a confidential record. Failure of a person to request
			 confidential record treatment for all or part of a record, such as information
			 obtained in the course of a board investigation or to achieve voluntary
			 compliance with 2012 Iowa Acts, chapter 1115, does not preclude the board from
			 treating the record as a confidential record. The information may become an
			 open record once the matter is resolved or dismissed.
(3)
Form of request. A
request for the treatment of a government record as a confidential record shall
			 be in writing and shall be filed with the board custodian of the record. The
			 request shall include the specific grounds justifying confidential record
			 treatment for all or part of the record; the specific provision of law that
			 authorizes such confidential record treatment; and the name, address, and
			 telephone number of the person authorized to respond to any board action
			 concerning the request. A person, including a government body, filing such a
			 request shall attach a copy of the record in question. The material to which
			 the request applies shall be physically separated from any materials to which
			 the request does not apply. The request shall be attached to the materials to
			 which it applies. Each page of the material to which the request applies shall
			 be clearly marked confidential. If the original record is being submitted to
			 the board by the person requesting confidentiality at the same time the request
			 is filed, the person shall indicate conspicuously on the original record that
			 all or portions of it are a confidential record. A request for treatment of all
			 or portions of a record as a confidential record for a limited time period
			 shall also specify the precise period of time for which such confidential
			 record treatment is requested.
(4)
Failure to request confidentiality.
If a person, including a
			 government body, who has submitted business information to the board does not
			 request confidential record treatment for all or part of that information, the
			 board custodian of records containing that information may assume that the
			 person who submitted the information has no objection to its
			 disclosure.
(5)
Time.
A board decision with respect to the confidentiality of
			 all or parts of a record may be made when a request for the record's treatment
			 as a confidential record is filed or when the board receives a request for
			 access to the record, or when a complaint alleging a violation of Iowa Code
			 chapter 22 is resolved by the board.
(6)
Effect of granted
			 request.
If a request for confidential record treatment is granted, or
			 if action on such a request is deferred, a copy of the record from which the
			 matter in question has been deleted and a copy of the board decision will be
			 placed in the public file in lieu of the original record.
(7)
Board denial of request for
			 confidential record treatment.
If the board determines that the record
			 of a government body which is claimed to be confidential in whole or in part is
			 not entitled to confidential treatment under Iowa Code chapter 22 or under
			 other applicable provisions of law or applicable precedent, the board may enter
			 its decision denying the request for confidential record treatment. If the
			 record is the subject of a pending complaint, the board may withhold an order
			 addressing confidentiality until the complaint is resolved. Upon resolution of
			 the complaint, the board may enter an order concluding the record is
			 confidential, or directing the government body to release the record, or any
			 part thereof which the board determines not to be entitled to confidential
			 record treatment.