Section 1200-35-01-.04 - INSPECTION AND COPYING OF PUBLIC RECORDS(1) Preliminary Review of Request.(a) Upon receiving a request to inspect a Department record, other than a record available for purchase, the Records Custodian shall make a preliminary assessment of the nature and scope of the request. If the Records Custodian determines that it is not practicable to make the record promptly available for inspection and/or copying, the Records Custodian shall, within seven business days: 1. Make the information available to the requestor; or2. Deny the request in whole or in part by providing a completed records request response in the form provided by OORC stating the basis for any denial; or3. Provide the requestor with a completed records request response form in the form provided by OORC stating the time reasonably necessary to produce the record.(b) To preserve a record of the request, the Department may ask the requestor to submit the request in writing, in accordance with Rule 1200-35-01-.03(2) above; provided, that failure to put the request in writing shall not prevent the requestor from making a personal inspection of records at the appropriate office during normal business hours.(c) In processing a request for the inspection of non-routine records, the Department will first determine whether the requested records exist within the custody of the Department. If the requested records exist within the custody of the Department, the Department will locate and review the requested records as soon as reasonably practicable, taking into consideration the nature and/or volume of the request and the availability of Department staff.(d) If the requested records either do not exist within the custody of the Department, or are confidential records, the requestor shall be so advised; provided, however, that nothing in this Chapter shall be construed to require the Department to generate a detailed description of each confidential record withheld from inspection, such as may be required with respect to the production of documents in discovery under the Tennessee Rules of Civil Procedure.(e) If a requested record contains confidential information (e.g., certain information maintained in personnel records) but is otherwise a public record, the Department will generate a copy of the record from which the confidential information has been removed and the redacted record will be made available for inspection. As provided in Rule 1200-35-01-.05(1) below, the Department may require reimbursement for the employee time associated with making the redacted record for copying.(f) If the requested record or information is available in an electronic or digital database or other non-printed form, and providing access to the record will require development of a program/application or the reloading of backup files to produce the record or put it into a readable format, the Department may require reimbursement for any employee time and/or other costs associated with developing the program or application and producing the record for copying, as provided in Rule 1200-35-01-.05(2) below.(2) Form of Record Produced. (a) Nothing in this Chapter shall be construed to require the Department to make any public record available for inspection in the exact form requested by the requestor, e.g., the Department may make a public record maintained in electronic or digital form available for inspection in printed form.Tenn. Comp. R. & Regs. 1200-35-01-.04
Original rule filed October 5, 2012; effective January 3, 2013.Authority: T.C.A. § 8-4-604, §§ 10-7-503, 10-7-504 and 10-7-506.