McKnight, James

Arizona Public Records Law

§39-121 et seq.

The Arizona Public Records Law has been in existence for more than 100 years and mandates that all public records be open to inspection by any person at all times during office hours. Public records include books, papers, maps, photographs or other documentary materials. Lake v. City of Phoenix recently established that digital meta-data, attached to files stored in any electronic form are considered part of that document and are thus subject to open records requests.

The Arizona Public Records Law does have some exceptions which include: student records, research records, donor information, or if the release of a record would constitute an invasion of personal privacy and that invasion outweighs the public’s right to know, of if the disclosure of a record is detrimental to the best interests of the state. Arizona law also requires individuals who are making a FOIA request for commercial purposes to state those purposes.