Alabama Attorney General Opinion 1979-0173

• OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL ~9—GCl7.3 44d1L4 CHARLES A. GRADDICK ATTORNEY GENERAL STATE OF ALABAMA 6,43, • Lit L. MALI A0111811 IVO SVII•OINS GI NOOTI4 VNION *VOW ow. st. tam *IMO (Oen 554•111119 OCIPWTY ww.i..was M. .110 gIteCwf•Vill Wtell I.? crsiar w1151 TTTTT ATTOWWs v JAMIE MUSICS ^Ohler41 ;VS A1151 Honorable Arnold W. Umbach, Jr. City Attorney - City of Auburn P. O. Box 2069 Opelika, Alabama 36801 April 26, 1979 See ALA. CODE § 32-10-11 (1999). Municipalities-Auburn-Public Records • A traffic accident report is a public record. The City of Auburn may lawfully charge a fee for a copy of a traffic accident report. A citizen may inspect a traffic accident re- port without obtaining a copy of it. Dear Mr. Umbach: I am responding to your letter of February 22, 1979 re- garding the present policy of the City of Auburn, Alabama of charging $3.00 to any individual for a copy of a traffic accident report. Your request for an opinion from this office reads, in part: "FACTS "The City of Auburn presently has a policy of charging $3.00 to any individual for a copy of a traffic accident report or any incident/offense report. In addition, because the City is not presently equipped to supervise individuals who merely wish to copy information from the report, the City does not turn over to the individual Honorable Arnold W. Umbach, Jr. Page Two the original report. Rather, the City simply makes a photocopy of the report and charges the individual $3.00 even if the individual wants the information rather than a copy of the report itself. "LAW "As your office is aware, Section 36-14- 40, 36-12-41 and 36-12-42 of the Code of Alabama (1975) provides as follows: "136-12-40. RIGHTS OF CITIZENS TO INSPECT AND COPY PUBLIC UR1TING. Every citizen has a right to in- spect and take a copy of any public writing of this state, except as otherwise expressly provided by statute. "536-12-41. PUBLIC OFFICERS TO PRO- VIDE CERTIFIED COPIES OF WRITINGS UPON PAYMENT OF FEES THEREFOR; AD- MISSIBILITY IN EVIDENCE OF COPIES. Every public officer having the custody of a public writing which a citizen has a right to inspect is bound to give him, on demand, a certified copy of it, on payment of the legal fees therefor, and such copy is admissible as evidence in like =easss and with like effect as the itIginal writing. "536-12-42. REFUSAL OF PUBLIC OFFICER TO PERMIT EXAMINATION OF RECORDS FREE OF CHARGE. Any public officer having charge of any book or record who shall refuse to allow any person to examine such book or record free of charge shall, on conviction, be fined not less than $50.00. Honorable Arnold W. Umbach, Jr. Page Three "QUESTIONS "1. Is a traffic accident report a public document within the meaning of the Laws of the State of Alabama and particularly the above-quoted sections of the Alabama Code? "2. If the traffic accident report is a public document, may the City of Auburn lawfully charge for a copy of said document, and if so, is the sum of $3.00 a reasonable charge for this document? "3. May the City require an individual to receive and pay for a copy of the traffic accident report when the in- dividual merely wants to copy informa- tion from the report, or is the City required to furnish the original of the report to the citizen for the citizen's use?" In response to your first question, it is my opinion that a traffic accident report is a public record within the meaning of Section 41-13-1, Code of Alabama 1975, which defines "public records," and Section 36-12-2, Code of Alabama 1975, which lists the records which are to be kept and preserved by public officials. A traffic accident re- port is a document made in pursuance of law by a public officer of the State. See Section 32-10-7, Code of Alabama 1975, whitkp;Ovides that every officer who in the regular course of litin*, investigates a motor vehicle accident must file an accident report within 24 hours. Accordingly, in answer to your second question it is my opinion that the City of Auburn may lawfully charge for a copy of said document, pursuant to S36-12-41, Code of Alabama 1975, which you cite in your letter and which specifically provides that a public officer is bound to give a citizen a copy of a public writing only upon payment of a fee therefor. Whether or not $3.00 is a reasonable charge for the copy is a factual question which cannot be determined by this office. • Honorable Arnold W. Umbach, Jr. Page Four In answer to your third question, 136-12-40, Code of Alabama 1975 states that every citizen has a rightTETainct and take a copy of any public writing of this state, except as otherwise expressly provided by statute. I am not aware of any statute which revokes a citizen's right to inspect a traffic accident report made by a police officer. Please note that this ruling does not apply to accident reports made by persons involved in accidents or by garages, inasmuch as those reports are limited to confidential use under Section 32-10-11, Code of Alabama 1975. Other than the exceptions noted, it is my opinion that if a citizen wishes to inspect the traffic accident report at the place where it is kept rather than to obtain a copy of it he or she must be allowed to do so. Sincerely, CHARLES A. GRADDICR Attorney General By- LINDA C. BRELAND Assistant Attorney General LCB:bb