46-23-110. Records -- dissemination. - Montana Statutes

     46-23-110. Records -- dissemination. (1) The department and the board shall keep a record of the board's acts and decisions. Citizens may inspect and make copies of the public records of the board, as provided in 2-6-102 and this section.
     (2) Records and materials that are constitutionally protected from disclosure are not subject to disclosure under the provisions of subsection (1). Information that is constitutionally protected from disclosure is information in which there is an individual privacy or safety interest that clearly exceeds the merits of public disclosure.
     (3) Upon a request to inspect or copy records of the board's acts and decisions, the board or a board staff member shall review the file requested and determine whether any document in the file is subject to a personal privacy or safety interest that clearly exceeds the merits of public disclosure.
     (4) The board may assert the privacy or safety interest and may withhold a document if the board determines that the demand for individual privacy clearly exceeds the merits of public disclosure or if the document's contents would compromise the safety, order, or security of a facility or the safety of facility personnel, a member of the public, or an inmate of the facility if disclosed.
     (5) The board may not withhold from public scrutiny under subsections (2) through (4) any more information than is required to protect an individual privacy interest or a safety interest.
     (6) The board may charge a reasonable fee for copying and inspecting records.
     (7) The board may limit the time and place that the records may be inspected or copied.

     History: En. Sec. 5, Ch. 450, L. 1999.