Setting up a Public Information Coordinator (PIC) System Lauren Downey, Office of the Attorney General Cary Grace, City of Austin Bob Davis, Texas Department of Insurance Views expressed are those of the presenter, do not constitute legal advice and are not official opinions of the Office of the Texas Attorney General

Central Triage System  Make sure all requests are received in a central location  requests to the designated address  PIC (or designated person) determines: When was the request received? What is being requested?  Clarification required? Where is potential responsive information?  Organizational chart  Case management system  Other tracking system

Liaisons  Assign liaisons for each division/department/office Liaisons with experience and knowledge of their entity and its records Understanding of importance of deadlines Back-ups to fill in when needed

System to Notify Liaisons  Have a reliable system to enter requests and notify appropriate liaisons Database system system List serve  Create a file keeping system for requests & responses Physical folders with deadlines  Requestor Name, Assigned Number, Date of Receipt, 10 Day Deadline Electronic folders for responsive documents

PIC Liaison Process  PIC liaisons determine best system to locate responsive information in their division out with responses collected Database tracking system Case management system File keeping system Memory test Keep all lines of communication open!

Calendars and Deadlines  Keep a calendar or similar way to track the days  Set internal deadlines for liaisons to respond Do they have documents?  Must respond within 2 days of receiving notification  If NO documents within the division, informs PIC office  If DOCUMENTS within the division, liaison responds to PIC office that the division has responsive information

Liaison Responds YES to PIC  If liaison responds “yes, we have responsive information” As soon as possible, let PIC know what type of information Is there a concern with releasing the information?  Pending civil or criminal case  Attorney-client communications  Confidential information (account numbers, medical information, proprietary information, etc.) Does PIC or the liaison need to contact the requestor? Requestor may agree to exclude certain information.

How Much Responsive Information?  How much information is responsive to request? Boxes? File Folders? Electronic Records? Do documents have to be pulled from storage? Do multiple divisions have responsive information?  Develop a way to track responses when more than one division has information Spreadsheet, s, etc. Shared PIC Office boxes  Does the requestor want copies or to inspect? Does the requestor want records electronically?

Cost Estimate? If a large amount of information, a cost estimate may be needed  Know the numbers ahead of time Average number of pages in a box Average number of pages copied per hour Average amount of time to locate and pull files  Pull a representative sample of the information  OAG Public Information Cost Estimate Model available on OAG website Remember, if a cost estimate is being sent, do not do the work ahead of time!

By Day 7- Review Documents  At least by day 7, liaison and PIC office should know what documents are at issue PIC office and/or liaisons review for release, redaction of confidential information, or briefing issues  Talk to document holders  Ask questions  Determine if an ORD ruling is needed Please remember that only certain information can be redacted without requesting a ruling from ORD

By Day 10 (Slide 1 of 2)  By the 10 th business day after the date the request was received, you must: Release documents or schedule inspection (see section ) Send a cost estimate if needed If you intend to release the documents but need additional time, you must send a letter notifying the requestor of the exact date and hour the records will be available (see section (d))

By Day 10 (Slide 2 of 2) If you determine some of the information may or must be withheld, you must request a ruling from the Open Records Division of the OAG pursuant to section  Raise all applicable exceptions. If necessary, raise all exceptions ( of the PIA)  Notify any 3 rd parties if they may have a proprietary interest in the information (see section and the notice on the OAG’s website)  Copy the requestor on request for ruling

By Day 15- Submit Brief to ORD  By day 15, you must submit to the Open Records Division of the OAG: A copy of the request Briefing explaining what exceptions are applicable Responsive information (or a representative sample of the responsive information)  Send copies, not originals to ORD Send the requestor a copy of the brief

Tips for a PIC or PIC Liaison  Communication, communication, communication!  Be organized  Be diligent, but courteous  Be flexible  Be timely  Have a copy of the PIA handbook

Resources  Public Information Handbook  Open Government Hotline: OPENTEX 