Missouri Code of State Regulations › Title 20 - DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE AND INSURANCE › Division 10 - General Administration › Chapter 2 - Public Meetings and Records › Section 20 CSR 10-2.400 - Records

Current through Register Vol. 49, No. 14, July 15, 2024
PURPOSE: This rule complies with sections
				  610.023
				  and
				  610.028,
				  RSMo regarding public records.
(1) Access. Any member of the public may have
				access to any open record of the department. As used in this rule, the
				department includes the director, deputy director, division directors, and any
				employee or agent of the department acting in his/her official capacity.
				Written request must be made of the custodian of records before access will be
				granted. Telephone requests may be granted at the discretion of the custodian
				of records.
(2) Open Records. Any
				public record, as that phrase is defined in section
				610.010(4),
				RSMo, shall be an open record unless it is
				described as a closed record under section (3) of this rule.
(3) Closed Records. Any closed record is not
				subject to disclosure. The following list is the exclusive list of closed
				records of the department and its divisions:
(A) Any communication relating to current or
				contemplated administrative, civil or criminal regulatory or enforcement action
				whatsoever, between the director, deputy director, division directors, general
				counsel, any member of the department or a division within the department or
				its representatives and its attorneys (see section
				610.021(1),
				RSMo);
(B) Work product of any
				attorney for the department or its representatives (see section
				610.021(1),
				RSMo);
(C) Any record which relates
				to leasing, purchase or sale of real estate by the department where public
				knowledge of the transaction might adversely affect its legal consideration
				(see section
				610.021(2),
				RSMo);
(D) Personnel records
				relating to specific employees which are maintained for the purpose of hiring,
				firing, disciplining or promoting (see section
				610.021(3),
				RSMo). These records include, but are not limited to, any record which
				discloses information about a specific employee, such as the time spent by an
				employee on particular tasks, the amounts of travel expenses charged by an
				employee or the amounts of travel expenses charged by an examiner for specific
				examinations. Any record which merely identifies an employee as its author or
				as the person to whom the record was directed is not a record maintained for
				the purpose of hiring, firing, disciplining or promoting;
(E) Testing and examination materials
				prepared by or under contract with the department (see section
				610.021(7),
				RSMo). Tests and examinations are repeated indefinitely;
(F) Preparation, including any discussions or
				work product, on behalf of the department or its representatives for
				negotiation with employee groups (see section
				610.021(9),
				RSMo);
(G) Software codes for
				electronic data processing and documentation (see section
				610.021(10),
				RSMo);
(H) Specifications for
				competitive bidding, until either the specifications are officially approved by
				the department or the specifications are published for bid (see section
				610.021(11),
				RSMo);
(I) Sealed bids and related
				documents, until the earlier of either when the bids are opened or all bids are
				accepted or all bids are rejected (see section
				610.021(12),
				RSMo);
(J) Individually
				identifiable personnel records, performance ratings or records pertaining to
				employees or applicants for employment (see section
				610.021(13),
				RSMo). These records include, but are not limited to, personnel files and
				records which identify an individual employee or applicant and state any
				information about the employee or applicant, such as time spent on particular
				tasks or performance appraisals. Records which merely identify an employee as
				its author or as the person to whom the record was directed are not closed
				records under this subsection. The names, positions, salaries and lengths of
				service of officers and employees of the department once they are employed are
				not closed records under this subsection. Salaries means the annual wages paid
				to the officer or employee;
(K)
				Records protected from disclosure by law. Records of the department and its
				divisions, which are closed by operation of section
				610.021(14),
				RSMo, and other statutory provisions including, but are not limited to, the
				following:
1. Insurance examination and
				investigation records under section 374.070.1, RSMo.
A. Work product and work papers of
				examinations of companies and investigations of companies and insurance
				producers are closed. "Work papers" means records produced by the director,
				his/her employees or agents in the course of the author's duties, during and
				pursuant to the examination or investigation, including any examination or
				investigation report. "Work papers" do not, however, include communications
				between an examiner or investigator and other employees or agents of the
				department. These communications may be confidential communications, but are
				not work papers. Except as otherwise provided in this rule or by applicable
				law, work papers shall not become open to public inspection.
B. Confidential communications to the
				department are closed. "Confidential communications" means any communication
				produced by the director, his/her employees or agents in the course of the
				author's duties, which communication is intended by the author to be accessible
				only by employees or agents of the department. The author is presumed to have
				intended to limit access to employees or agents of the department if the
				communication was directed to him/herself, a department file, or another
				employee or agent of the department, with no indication that it was directed or
				that a copy was provided to anyone who was not then an employee or agent of the
				department. A confidential communication becomes an open record if and only if
				the director so decides in writing with reference to the specific communication
				under consideration;
2.
				Trade secret of persons under sections 417.450-417.467, RSMo. Records
				containing any trade secret under section
				417.453(4), RSMo are
				closed records if the trade secret has been reasonably designated as such. If
				the trade secret can be redacted from a record that is otherwise open, the
				record may be open. The director may employ reasonable procedures to evaluate
				claimed trade secrets under paragraph (3)(L)8. of this rule, and may open
				records determined to not contain trade secrets under those
				procedures;
3. Insurance producer
				registry under section
				375.022,
				RSMo. Any information filed by an insurance company or obtained by the
				department pursuant to section
				375.022,
				RSMo and any document, record or statement required by the department under the
				provisions of section
				375.022,
				RSMo;
4. Insurance examination
				records under section
				374.205,
				RSMo. All working papers, recorded information, documents and copies thereof in
				the course of an examination are confidential;
5. Insurance investigation records under
				sections
				374.071
				and
				374.190,
				RSMo. All records, books, papers, documents obtained pursuant to an inquiry
				into or investigation of an insurance company or producer under section
				374.190,
				RSMo are closed;
6. Report of the
				Missouri Property and Casualty Guaranty Association under section 375.776.5(3),
				RSMo. Any report or recommendation by the guaranty association to the
				department upon any matter germane to the solvency, liquidation, rehabilitation
				or conservation of any member insurer or to the solvency of any company seeking
				to do insurance business in this state is confidential under section
				375.776.5(3), RSMo;
7. Reports of
				the Missouri Life and Health Insurance Guaranty Association under section
				376.743,
				RSMo. Any report or recommendation by the guaranty association to the director
				upon any matter germane to the solvency, liquidation, rehabilitation or
				conservation of any member insurer or to the solvency of any company seeking to
				do insurance business in this state is confidential under section
				376.743,
				RSMo;
8. Insurer registration and
				examination records under section
				382.230,
				RSMo. All information, documents and copies obtained by or disclosed to the
				department or any other person in the course of an examination or investigation
				made pursuant to section
				382.220,
				RSMo, and all information reported pursuant to section
				382.100,
				RSMo. The director in his/her sole discretion may make any record under this
				paragraph an open record by following the provisions of section
				382.230,
				RSMo;
9. Real estate malpractice
				insurance reporting under section
				383.069,
				RSMo. Information reported, compiled or summarized relating to real estate
				malpractice is closed under section
				383.069,
				RSMo;
10. Legal malpractice
				insurance reporting under section
				383.083,
				RSMo. Information reported, compiled or summarized relating to legal
				malpractice is closed under section
				383.083,
				RSMo;
11. Medical malpractice
				insurance reporting under section
				383.115,
				RSMo. Information submitted pursuant to section 383.105.2(1), (3) and (6),
				RSMo, relating to medical malpractice, except as provided in section
				383.125,
				RSMo is closed under 383.115, RSMo. Statistics in summary form of the
				information submitted pursuant to sections 383.100-383.125, RSMo, except as
				otherwise provided in this paragraph shall be an open record;
12. Insurance consumer complaints under
				section
				374.071,
				RSMo. Consumer complaint records in their entirety are closed under the open
				records law, but are subject to disclosure pursuant to subpoena. The department
				does offer consumers submitting a complaint the option to pre-authorize the
				release of a copy of the consumer's complaint upon request to any interested
				person, thereby creating an open record. Pursuant to section 374.071.3, RSMo,
				the department shall also provide on request the following open records
				pertaining to consumer complaints:
A. Incident
				reports which summarize the facts and circumstances surrounding each consumer
				report or complaint without identifying the name or identifying characteristics
				of the consumer unless authorized by the consumer; and
B. Publish complaint data without identifying
				consumer information, so other consumers are able to make informed decisions in
				selecting an insurer;
13. Financial institution and company
				examination records under section
				361.080,
				RSMo. Examination and investigative work papers and records of bank or trust
				companies or small loan businesses are confidential;
14. Professional registration investigation
				records under section
				620.111, RSMo. Complaint
				files, investigation files and investigative reports concerning persons
				regulated by the Division of Professional Registration or boards or commissions
				assigned to that division are confidential and therefore closed records. At the
				discretion of the agency, a record may be released in some
				circumstances;
15. Accountant
				investigation reports under section
				326.134, RSMo. Complaint
				files, investigation files and investigative reports concerning accountants are
				confidential and therefore closed records; and
16. Any other record expressly protected from
				disclosure by applicable law of this state or of the federal government;
				and
(L) Public records
				relating to scientific and technological innovations in which the owner has a
				proprietary interest (see section
				610.021(15),
				RSMo).