Opinion ID: 2630598
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 6

Heading: Nevada Public Records Act, NRS 239.010

Text: In 1911, the Nevada Legislature enacted the Nevada Public Records Act, NRS 239.010. The purpose of this statute is to ensure the accountability of the government to the public by facilitating public access to vital information about governmental activities. [10] The statute provides, in relevant part: All public books and public records of a governmental entity, the contents of which are not otherwise declared by law to be confidential, must be open at all times during office hours to inspection by any person, and may be fully copied or an abstract or memorandum may be prepared from those public books and public records. [11] This statute plainly provides that public records must be available for inspection, unless the records are declared by law to be confidential. [12] Thus, the relevant inquiry is whether these records are confidential. [13] If the records in question have been declared by law to be confidential, they are exempt from the Nevada Public Records Act. 49 C.F.R. § 24.9(b) The federal Act provides that [t]he head of the lead agency shall ... develop, publish, and issue ... such regulations as may be necessary to carry out this chapter. [14] The Act designates the Department of Transportation as the lead agency. [15] One of the regulations issued pursuant to the Act is 49 C.F.R. § 24.9(b), which states that [r]ecords maintained by an Agency in accordance with this part are confidential regarding their use as public information, unless applicable law provides otherwise. We interpret a regulation according to its plain meaning. [16] This regulation plainly makes records involved in the acquisition of real property for federally funded programs confidential, and not public information, unless there is a law providing that they are not confidential. The RGJ argues that the Nevada Public Records Act is the applicable law that makes these records public. We disagree. We have previously stated that it is an accepted rule of statutory construction that a provision which specifically applies to a given situation will take precedence over one that applies only generally. [17] Here, the federal regulation specifically provides that these records are confidential regarding their use as public information, unless applicable law provides otherwise. [18] The Nevada Public Records Act merely provides that public records that are not declared by law to be confidential, must be open for inspection. [19] It does not declare that records regarding acquisition of property are public. Acquisition records have been declared confidential under 49 C.F.R. § 24.9(b), which was adopted by statute into Nevada law. Therefore, these records fit within the exemption provided in the Nevada Public Records Act. The Nevada Public Records Act is not applicable law changing the confidential nature of these records.