Deliberative process exemption

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Contents Explanation Among the states

Explanation

A deliberative process exemption to open records requests is one that shields from public scrutiny that papers and materials that elected officials use in the course of reaching a decision. There are two clear arguments for this exemption. The first argument for the exemption centers on the notion that public officials should be able to conceal much of the thought process behind making a decision in order to protect the free flow of opinions and information. The courts and legislatures have traditionally argued that without the exemption in place, the ability of public officials to receive opinions from their constituents would be hampered. In addition, the exemption is in place to protect the internal thought processes and notes of public officials from public scrutiny, as predecisional material is typically considered work product and is thus exempt. Various states approach this exemption differently, with some enforcing a broad definition while others reject it outright.

Among the states

This is a small graph which quickly breaks down the deliberative process exemption amongst all 50 states.

Rating	State	Working Papers	Free flow of information	Separation of Powers	Executive	Legislative	Judicial	Local	Law	Court
b	Alabama	f	f	f	f	f	f	f	f	f
c	Alaska	p[1]	p[1]	f	p [2]	f	f	p [3]	f	p
b	Arizona	f	f	f	f	f	f	f	f	f
c	Arkansas	p [4]	f	f	p [4][5]	p [4][6]	f	f	p[4]	f
c	California	p[7]	p[8]	f	p[7][9]	p[10]	f	p[7]	p[7]	f
c	Colorado	p[11]	p [11]	f	p[11]	p[11]	n/a	p[11]	p	f
c	Connecticut	p[12]	p [13]	f	p[12]	p[12]	p[12]	p[12]	p[12]	f
c	Delaware	p[14]	p[15]	p[16]	p[17]	p [18]	f	f	p [19]	p [20]
	Florida
	Georgia
	Hawaii
	Idaho
	Illinois
	Indiana
	Iowa
	Kansas
	Kentucky
	Louisiana
	Maine
	Maryland
	Massachusetts
	Michigan
	Minnesota
	Mississippi
	Missouri
	Montana
	Nebraska
	Nevada
	New Hampshire
	New Jersey
	New Mexico
	New York
	North Carolina
	North Dakota
	Ohio
	Oklahoma
	Oregon
	Pennsylvania
	Rhode Island
	South Carolina
	South Dakota
	Tennessee
	Texas
	Utah
	Vermont
	Virginia
	Washington
	West Virginia
	Wisconsin
	Wyoming

References