in iowa, they just completed an audit of the counties' compliance with the open records law. and the journalists involved, are publishing a series, and it looks to be a good one. but here are some of the things i wanted to remember, and pass along:

Here's a smattering of the government records available to the public. A growing
number of records are available online at government agency Web sites.

FEDERAL GOVERNMENT:

* Tax returns, called Form
990, for private, non-profit corporations, which include salaries of top
directors and officers.

* Periodic financial reports, named Call
Reports, filed by local banks with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.

STATE GOVERNMENT:

* Minutes of meetings of
various state boards, commissions and advisory groups within state government,
even those not covered by the open-meetings law.

* Packets of background
information prepared for use by members of state boards and commissions at
meetings.

* Compensation paid annually to any employee of a state
government agency, or one of the state universities.

* Campaign-finance
reports, including lists of donations and expenses, filed with the Iowa Ethics
and Campaign Disclosure Board by individual candidates for political offices.

* Vital records kept by the Iowa Department of Public Health, including
birth certificates, death certificates and marriage licenses issued in Iowa
(some restrictions apply on who has access to these documents).

* Annual
Progress Reports submitted to the Iowa Department of Education by each school
district.

* Economic development incentives paid to local businesses by
the Iowa Department of Economic Development.

* Periodic reports that
owners of Iowa's casinos are required to file with the Iowa Racing and Gaming
Commission.

* Statistical data kept by Iowa Workforce Development on
employment and unemployment in each county in the state.

* Retail sales
tax data kept by the Iowa Department of Revenue and Finance for each city and
county and for various retail business sectors in these cities and counties.

SCHOOL DISTRICTS:

* Minutes of meetings of the
local school board and other administrative and advisory groups within the
district, even those not covered by the open-meetings law.

* Budgets and
lists of expenditures for the district or for individual schools within the
district.

* The salary for and information about the vacation and sick
leave usage (although not the reason for the sick leave) by any employee in the
district.

* The contracts with the superintendent or other
administrators or with the district's teachers.

* Aggregate test scores
for the district's students on state achievement tests.

* Aggregate
numbers of suspended students, of students in gifted classes, etc.

*
Construction plans, contracts and payments for buildings or projects in the
district.

LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT:

* Incident
reports prepared by police officers or sheriff's deputies responding to reports
of crimes, accidents or other public-safety incidents.

* Records of
arrests made by local police or sheriff's deputies.

* Police "blotter"
or trip log listing complaints to which officers or deputies responded.

* List of concealed-weapons permits the county sheriff has issued,
allowing people to carry concealed handguns.

* Logs of prisoners
incarcerated in the city or county jail.

CITY AND COUNTY
GOVERNMENT:

* Minutes of meetings of the city council and
various city boards, commissions and advisory groups, even those not covered by
the open-meetings law.

* Packets of background information prepared for
use by members of the city council or other city boards and commissions at
meetings.

* Copies of ordinances and resolutions passed by government
bodies.

* Copies of letters or e-mail correspondence of government
officials.

* Budgets for the city overall or for individual city
departments.

* Bids and contract information.

* Expense reports
for government employees.

* Bills paid by the city council or other city
board (including credit card and telephone bills)

* Information about
the compensation and vacation and sick leave usage (although not the reason for
the sick leave) of any city employee.

* Any claim filed against a
government agency.

* Information kept by the county assessor's office
about houses and commercial buildings, including owners' names, assessed value,
estimated taxes and details about the house or building

* Details about
real estate transactions, including buyer and seller.

* Some lists of
license holders (for example, animal licenses, weapons permits).

* Birth
certificates, death certificates and marriage licenses (although some
restrictions apply to these vital records).

* Individual voter
registration records kept by the county auditor's office.

COURTHOUSES:

* Most records of criminal cases
and lawsuits kept in the county clerk of court's office, unless specifically
sealed by a judge.

* Records of traffic cases handled by the local
magistrate.

* Applications for and an inventory of items seized with a
search warrant after the warrants are executed, unless a judge seals the
records.

* Convictions, judgments (including whether a person has paid
off a judgment)

* Some exceptions to openness include official juvenile
records; domestic abuse cases until after time for appeal has expired; divorce
records until the final decree is entered; records pertaining to involuntary
hospitalization cases.

* The Iowa Freedom of Information Council may be contacted with questions regarding open-meetings and public-records laws. The council can be reached at (515) 271-2295.

* The State Citizens'Aide/Ombudsman Office in Des Moines can also provide guidance at (515) 281-5164.

* The Iowa League of Cities, (515) 244-7287 or www.iowaleague.org, and the Iowa State Association of Counties, (515) 244-7181 or www.iowacounties.org, may also be able to help.