Answer

The media may request public records in the same manner as any member of the public and the request should be responded to in the same manner as any other public records request. In this case, as there is confidential information in the records requested (social security numbers, health information and/or other Personal Identifiable Information knows as PII) and/or some records may be exempt from disclosure, the records custodian should work with legal counsel, likely the district attorney’s office as they are a special district, in responding to the public records request. Their legal counsel can assist them in addressing any PII or other information that should be redacted or if any requested information is exempted from disclosure under the Public Records Law. They should ensure they timely respond to the request once received. They may state to the requestor that the documents have to be reviewed to redact PII before they can be disclosed and they should give the requestor a date when they expect the records to be ready for review. Louisiana Legislative Auditor website: 12/22/2024 12:19:52 AM