PUBLIC NOTICE DESCRIBING PROCEDURES FOR REQUESTING INSPECTION OF PUBLIC RECORDS
NOTICE OF RIGHT TO INSPECT PUBLIC RECORDS
By law, under the Inspection of Public Records Act, every person has the right to inspect public records of the Village of Corrales. Compliance with requests to inspect public records is an integral part of the routine duties of the officers and employees of the Village of Corrales.
Procedures for Requesting Inspection. Requests to inspect public records should be submitted to the records custodian, located at 4324 Corrales Road. Corrales, NM 87048. Phone: 505-897-0502 ext. 208 Fax: 505- 897-7217 email: mromero [at] corrales-nm.org.
A person desiring to inspect public records may submit a request to the records custodian orally or in writing. However, the procedures and penalties prescribed by the Inspection of Public Records Act apply only to written requests. A written request must contain the name, address and telephone number of the person making the request. Written requests may be submitted in person or sent via US mail, email or facsimile. The request must describe the records sought in sufficient detail to enable the records custodian to identify and locate the requested records.
The records custodian must permit inspection immediately or as soon as practicable, but no later than 15 calendar days after the records custodian receives the inspection request. If inspection is not permitted within three business days, the person making the request will receive a written response explaining when the records will be available for inspection, or when the public body will respond to the request. If any of the records sought are not available for public inspection, the person making the request is entitled to a written response from the records custodian explaining the reasons inspection has been denied. The written denial shall be delivered or mailed within 15 calendar days after the records custodian receives the request for inspection.
Procedures for Requesting Copies and Fees. Electronic copies of documents will be provided at no charge when possible. Audio and Video files are too large to email and can either be viewed in person at the clerk's office at no charge, or a copy can be provided on CD/DVD or USB drive. If a person requesting inspection would like a copy of a public record, a reasonable fee may be charged. The fee for printed documents 11 inches by 17 inches or smaller is $1.00 per page. The fee for downloading copies of public records to a computer disk or USB storage device is $10.00 per CD/DVD. Open USB drives will not be accepted from the public, but documents will be transferred onto a drive provided by the requester if it is still in a factory sealed package. If a person requests that a copy of a public record be transmitted, a fee of United States Postage Rate may be charged for transmission by mail, $0 for transmission by email and $0 for transmission by facsimile. The records custodian may request that applicable fees for copying public records be paid in advance, before copies are made. A receipt indicating that the fees have been paid will be provided upon request to the person requesting the copies.
[NOTE: The procedures for copying records specified in this model notice apply to a public body with copy machines or other facilities for making copies of public records. Public bodies that do not have copy machines available for copies of public records should describe the applicable procedures they follow to furnish copies of public records in compliance with the Act.]
Limits of IPRA
- The Inspection of Public Records Act (IPRA) does not require public bodies to answer questions, compile information or data into a document, or create any new record.
- Requests into the future, sometimes referred to as standing or rolling requests, are not allowed under IPRA, as the public body will only provide documents that exist at the time the request is received.
- While IPRA allows oral requests, only written requests are enforceable.
- IPRA only applies to inspection of records, not retention or destructions of public records. A public body that has not properly retained a record is not violating IPRA but may be violating other laws related to state records retention or preservation.
- IPRA is similar but not identical to the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), a federal law governing public access to records of the federal government.