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Introduction

Oregon’s public records and meetings laws establish a simple expectation: that its government will be transparent to her people. Government records are available to the public, and governing entities of public bodies must deliberate and make decisions in the open. This manual contains opinions of the Attorney General construing these requirements.

Oregon’s Attorneys General have long recognized that this transparency is vital to a healthy democracy. Public scrutiny helps ensure that government spends tax dollars wisely and works for the benefit of the people. In August 1973, just after the enactment of Oregon’s Public Records and Public Meetings Laws, the first Attorney General’s Public Records and Meetings Manual was published. Since then, successive versions of this manual have aimed to illuminate, for Oregonians and government entities alike, the requirements of Oregon’s transparency laws.

The legislature has recognized exceptions to the general policy of openness. For example, the law protects the privacy of Oregonians whose confidential records are held by the government. And the law protects public safety by exempting from disclosure documents that would reveal security measures and investigatory documents that could compromise criminal investigations, if disclosed.

For over five decades, the Office of the Attorney General has strived to faithfully interpret the Public Records and Public Meetings Laws in a manner consistent with the fundamental premise of transparency. This means ambiguities in the law generally should be resolved in favor of the public’s right to know. When public bodies have the authority to exclude the public, any exception must be interpreted narrowly to preserve Oregonians’ ability to understand and oversee the activities of their government.

From time to time, the Attorney General reviews and updates this manual for consistency with legislative changes to the Public Records and Public Meetings Laws, recent appellate court decisions interpreting these statutes, and Public Records Orders issued by the Oregon Department of Justice.

This 2024-2025 edition addresses significant recent changes to the public meetings law such as: Oregon Government Ethics Commission enhanced oversight and enforcement authority; permission to all members of the pubic to request authoritative opinions and advice from the commission concerning real or hypothetical public meetings scenarios; and expansion of the grounds for grievances or complaints against public bodies for alleged violations of the law.

We thank you for your interest and are pleased to be able to better serve the public with this updated manual. We hope it is helpful to our state client agencies and to the public. We gratefully acknowledge the contributions of Assistant Attorneys General Andrew Foltz, Sean Brady, Daniel Gilbert, and Johanna Riemenschneider; Special Counsel Michael Kron; Paralegal Carmen Graham; and Legal Secretary Nancy Barrera.

ELLEN F. ROSENBLUM
Attorney General

Preface

This Manual is organized in two parts: Part I discusses the Public Records Law; Part II discusses the Public Meetings Law. Each part is followed by its own set of appendices, which include answers to commonly asked questions about the law; sample forms; summaries of court decisions, Attorney General opinions and public records orders; and a reprint of the statutes.

The Manual cites to various types of sources in the footnotes:

• A cite to “ORS” refers to the Oregon Revised Statutes, which are available at https://www.oregonlegislature.gov/bills_laws/Pages/ORS.aspx ».
• A cite to “OAR” refers to a rule adopted by a state agency. Rules are available at https://secure.sos.state.or.us/oard/ruleSearch.action ».
• A cite to “Or” refers to an opinion by the Oregon Supreme Court, while a cite to “Or App” refers to an opinion by the Oregon Court of Appeals. Opinions issued since January 1998 are available at https://cdm17027.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/ », while older opinions may be found at sites like Google Scholar and at law libraries.
• A cite to “Op Atty Gen” refers to an opinion by the Oregon Attorney General, while a cite to “Letter of Advice” refers to an opinion by the Oregon Department of Justice’s Chief Counsel of the General Counsel Division. Opinions issued since January 1997 are available at https://www.doj.state.or.us/oregon-department-of-justice/office-of-the-attorney-general/attorney-general-opinions/, while older opinions may be found at law libraries or by submitting a public records request to the Oregon Department of Justice.
• A cite to a “Public Records Order” refers to decisions by the Office of the Oregon Attorney General interpreting Oregon’s Public Records Law. Orders issued since 1981 are available at https://cdm17027.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/p17027coll2 ». Keep in mind that older orders may have been superseded by legislative action, opinions of Oregon’s appellate courts, or newer public records orders.

Renumbering of Public Record Law

In 2017, the Public Records Law was significantly renumbered the Oregon Revised Statutes. The below table provides a guide to that renumbering.