Maximum transparency towards citizens. Nevada started the road to achieve this challenge through its
Public Records Act (NPRA), which will
come into force as of October 1, 2019.
With this law, citizens can request for
any document whenever they want and government agencies have to reply in five business days.
Why is NPRA so important? Here, the answers:
NPRA Purpose
The Nevada Public Records Act fosters democratic principles by providing citizens access to inspect and copy public books and records permitted by law.
Who is committed to providing record access for requestors?
Nevada Secretary of State’s office.
Is there a fee for providing a copy of public records?
Yes. Requestors can be charged a fee depending on the actual hard cost the governmental entity needs to provide the copy (ink, toner, paper, media, postage, etc.).
In other words, the government can no longer charge fees for personnel time spent retrieving and researching the records.
How many public records does Nevada have?
Nevada State Records contains information about criminal records, court records, vital records, state background checks, and over 23 million additional public records.
Are there any exemptions for denying access to public records?
Yes. Agencies can deny access to records that are declared by law as confidential or the ones that could harm law enforcement or personal privacy.
How much time do agencies spend in meeting public records requests?
On average 260 minutes per day.
How much time do agencies spend on copying paper documents?
On average, 1,000 minutes per day
Are there any sanctions if government officials deny records to citizens?
Yes. Courts will be allowed to impose monetary sanctions on the official responsible for unlawfully withholding or restricting access to public records.
What should I do to comply with the NPRA law and avoid fines?
For Nevada government bodies, there’s an issue. Like we mentioned before, Nevada has an archive of more than 23 million public records. This means you need to be prepared before October 1st, 2019 to comply with the law and satisfy requestors in time.
This is why you need a tool that guarantees quick delivery of documents to requestors by:
- Simplifying Request Submittal and Approval
- Avoiding Incomplete Requests
- Reducing Time from Submission to Delivery
- Streamlining the Delivery of Documents
- Centralizing Content for Easy Access
- Improving Process Transparency and Reporting
- Giving Additional Self-Service Tools to requestors
The solution: OnBase Public Records Request Management
With our solution, you will have a complete audited history of all requests, as well as a policy and procedure that is defensible.
From beginning to end,
your request process will be automated, guaranteeing a quick delivery of any public records request, transparency and most importantly avoid fines.
How does this solution work?
First, the requestor can fill a web-based request submission. Then, automation allows you to manage the request in a dashboard, where tracking, routing, notifications, and timers are automated. You’ll have reporting dashboards on every step and finally, the requestor will obtain an electronic requests package.
When should I start?
As soon as possible, all records must be indexed and organized digitally in order to automate the process. Remember
the Nevada Public Records Act comes into force as of October 1, 2019.
Taking care of the public budget, you can
pay $2K a month using this Requordit solution.
