Current through Register Vol. 47, No. 6, September 18, 2024
(1)
General. Agency records are open for public inspection and
copying unless otherwise provided by rule or law.
(2)
Confidential records.
The following records may be withheld from public inspection. Records are
listed by category, according to the legal basis for withholding them from
public inspection.
a. Sealed bids received
prior to the time set for public opening of bids. (Iowa Code section
72.3
)
b. Tax records made available to
the agency. (Iowa Code sections
422.20
and
422.72
)
c. Records which are exempt from
disclosure under Iowa Code section
22.7.
d. Minutes of closed meetings of a government
body. (Iowa Code section
21.5(4)
)
e. Identifying details in final orders,
decisions and opinions to the extent required to prevent a clearly unwarranted
invasion of personal privacy or trade secrets under Iowa Code section
I7A.3(1)"d. "
f.
Those portions of agency staff manuals, instructions or other statements issued
which set forth criteria or guidelines to be used by agency staff in auditing,
in making inspections, in settling commercial disputes or negotiating
commercial arrangements, or in the selection or handling of cases, such as
operational tactics or allowable tolerances or criteria for the defense,
prosecution or settlement of cases, when disclosure of these statements would:
(1) Enable law violators to avoid
detection;
(2) Facilitate disregard
of requirements imposed by law; or
(3) Give a clearly improper advantage to
persons who are in an adverse position to the agency. (See Iowa Code sections
I7A.2 and I7A.3)
g.
Records which constitute attorney work product, attorney-client communications,
or which are otherwise privileged. Attorney work product is confidential under
Iowa Code sections
22.7(4),
622.10
and
622.11, Iowa R.
Civ. R 122(c), Fed. R. Civ. R 26(b)(3), and case law. Attorney-client
communications are confidential under Iowa Code sections
622.10
and
622.11, the rules
of evidence, the Code of Professional Responsibility, and case law.
h. Any other records made confidential by
law.
(3)
Authority to release confidential records. The agency may have
discretion to disclose some confidential records which are exempt from
disclosure under Iowa Code section
22.7 or other law.
Any person may request permission to inspect these records withheld from
inspection under a statute which authorizes limited or discretionary disclosure
as provided in rule 3.4(17A,22). If the agency initially determines that it
will release such records, the agency may, where appropriate, notify interested
parties and withhold the records from inspection as provided in subrule
3.4(3).
