Availability of Public Records

Availability of Public Records (a) Hours for inspection of records. Public records are available for inspection and copying during normal business hours of the DFA, Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., excluding legal holidays. Records must be inspected at the office of the DFA. The time, place and manner of inspection and copying of records will not be allowed to interfere with other essential duties of the DFA. (b) Organization of records. The DFA will maintain its records in a reasonably organized manner, subject to the rules of record retention. The DFA will take reasonable actions to protect records from damage and disorganization. A requester shall not take the DFA records from the DFA offices. A variety of records is available on the DFA web site at www.dfa.ms.gov and at www.transparency.mississippi.gov. Requesters are encouraged to view the documents available on the web site prior to submitting a records request. (c) Making a request for public records. Any person wishing to inspect or copy public records of the DFA should make the request in writing on the DFA request form, or by letter, fax, or e- mail addressed to the Director of Communications and including the following information: 1. Name of requester; 2. Address of requester; 3. Other contact information, including telephone number and any e-mail address; 4. Identification of the public records adequate for the Director of Communications or designee to locate the records; and 5. The date and time of day of the request. If the requester wishes to have copies of the records made instead of simply inspecting them, he or she should so indicate and make arrangements to pay for copies of the records or a deposit. Pursuant to Rule 1.8. Costs of Providing Public Records of this policy, standard 8 ½” X 11” photocopies will be provided at $.25 a page. (See No. 8 Costs of Providing Public Records for additional costs and charges). A form is available for use by requesters at the office of the Director of Communications and on-line at www.dfa.ms.gov. The Director of Communications or designee may accept requests for public records that contain the above information by telephone or in person. If the Director of Communications or designee accepts such a request, he or she will confirm receipt of the information and the substance of the request in writing.