§92F-42  Powers and duties of the office ofinformation practices.  The director of the office of informationpractices:

(1)  Shall, upon request, review and rule on an agencydenial of access to information or records, or an agency's granting of access; providedthat any review by the office of information practices shall not be a contestedcase under chapter 91 and shall be optional and without prejudice to rights ofjudicial enforcement available under this chapter;

(2)  Upon request by an agency, shall provide and makepublic advisory guidelines, opinions, or other information concerning thatagency's functions and responsibilities;

(3)  Upon request by any person, may provide advisoryopinions or other information regarding that person's rights and the functionsand responsibilities of agencies under this chapter;

(4)  May conduct inquiries regarding compliance by anagency and investigate possible violations by any agency;

(5)  May examine the records of any agency for thepurpose of paragraph (4) and seek to enforce that power in the courts of thisState;

(6)  May recommend disciplinary action to appropriateofficers of an agency;

(7)  Shall report annually to the governor and thestate legislature on the activities and findings of the office of informationpractices, including recommendations for legislative changes;

(8)  Shall receive complaints from and activelysolicit the comments of the public regarding the implementation of thischapter;

(9)  Shall review the official acts, records,policies, and procedures of each agency;

(10)  Shall assist agencies in complying with theprovisions of this chapter;

(11)  Shall inform the public of the following rightsof an individual and the procedures for exercising them:

(A)  The right of access to records pertainingto the individual;

(B)  The right to obtain a copy of recordspertaining to the individual;

(C)  The right to know the purposes for whichrecords pertaining to the individual are kept;

(D)  The right to be informed of the uses anddisclosures of records pertaining to the individual;

(E)  The right to correct or amend recordspertaining to the individual; and

(F)  The individual's right to place astatement in a record pertaining to that individual;

(12) Shall adopt rules that set forth an administrativeappeals structure which provides for:

(A)  Agency procedures for processing recordsrequests;

(B)  A direct appeal from the divisionmaintaining the record; and

(C)  Time limits for action by agencies;

(13)  Shall adopt rules that set forth the fees andother charges that may be imposed for searching, reviewing, or segregatingdisclosable records, as well as to provide for a waiver of fees when the publicinterest would be served;

(14)  Shall adopt rules which set forth uniformstandards for the records collection practices of agencies;

(15)  Shall adopt rules that set forth uniformstandards for disclosure of records for research purposes;

(16)  Shall have standing to appear in cases where theprovisions of this chapter are called into question;

(17)  Shall adopt, amend, or repeal rules pursuant tochapter 91 necessary for the purposes of this chapter; and

(18)  Shall take action to oversee compliance with partI of chapter 92 by all state and county boards including:

(A)  Receiving and resolving complaints;

(B)  Advising all government boards and thepublic about compliance with chapter 92; and

(C)  Reporting each year to the legislature onall complaints received pursuant to section 92-1.5. [L 1988, c 262, pt of §1;am L 1989, c 192, §10; am L 1998, c 137, §5]