Publicly funded organizations often must comply with state freedom of information laws. For example:
- ESPN reported in October that a Florida judge ordered the release of documents related to cheating by Florida State University football players. While the decision was controversial, Florida State is a public university that receives government funding, so university documents qualify as public records under the Florida Sunshine Law.
- Federally funded biomedical research projects conducted at universities, hospitals and other research institutions have been compiled into a searchable online database by the National Institutes of Health.
Typically, an institution that receives a majority of its funding from the state is then subject to public records requests, but each state has a different interpretation. Compiled from individual state laws and relevant court decisions, following is a summary of which states consider these institutions' records to be public:
All publicly funded institutions are subject to public records laws:
- Alaska Public Records Act
- Arizona Public Records Law
- Arkansas Freedom of Information Act
- Colorado Open Records Act
- Delaware Freedom of Information Act
- Georgia Public Records Act
- Illinois Freedom of Information Act
- Indiana Access to Public Records Act
- Indiana Access to Public Records Act
- Iowa Open Records Act
- Kansas Open Records Act
- Minnesota Data Practices Act
- Nebraska Public Records Law
- New Mexico Inspection of Public Records Act
- North Dakota Open Records Statute
- Oklahoma Open Records Act
- South Carolina Freedom of Information Act
- Tennessee Open Records Act
- Texas Public Information Act
Some publicly funded institutions are subject to public records laws:
- California Public Records Act and the California Legislative Open Records Act
- Connecticut Freedom of Information Act
- Florida Sunshine Law
- Louisiana Public Records Act
- Michigan Freedom of Information Act
- Missouri Sunshine Law
- Nevada Open Records Act
- North Carolina Public Records Law
- Ohio Open Records Law
- Oregon Public Records Law
- Pennsylvania Right to Know Law
- Rhode Island Access to Public Records Act
- Utah Government Records Access and Management Act
- Vermont Public Records Law
- Virginia Freedom of Information Act
- West Virginia Freedom of Information Act
- Wisconsin Open Records Law
Publicly funded institutions are not necessarily subject to public records laws:
- Mississippi Public Records Act
- New Jersey Open Records Act
- Wyoming Sunshine Law
There is no precedent or mention of publicly funded institutions in public records laws:
- Alabama Public Records Law
- District of Columbia Freedom of Information Act
- Hawaii Uniform Information Practices Act
- Idaho Public Records Act
- Maine Freedom of Access Act
- Maryland Public Information Act
- Massachusetts Public Records Act
- Montana Public Records Act
- New Hampshire Right to Know Law
- New York Freedom of Information Law
- South Dakota Sunshine Act
- Washington Public Records Act
For more detailed information about your state's public records laws, visit the Sunshine Review.