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Department says records chapter rewrite removes duplication but cannot override public-records law
Summary
The Department of Health and Welfare presented a rewrite of its records-use and disclosure chapter to remove regulatory duplication with Idaho statute and federal law; the department told the committee it cannot protect documents beyond what the Public Records Act allows.
The committee considered and approved a rewrite of the Department of Health and Welfare’s "use and disclosure of department records" chapter intended to remove duplicative provisions and serve as an internal manual for processing varied record requests.
Jared Larson told senators the chapter pares back internal rules while leaving statutory and federal protections intact: "I want you to be assured that by approving this docket, you are not making any of these documents ... available to the public if that causes you any concern because they are governed by relevant state law or other relevant federal law." He cited the department’s vital-statistics chapter (Title 39, Chapter 2) and the Public Records Act (Title 74, Chapter 1) as covering many record types, and noted federal requirements such as HIPAA also apply.
Larson said the rewrite preserves processes for records requests that are not already covered by statute and emphasized the department has no authority to restrict access beyond legislative standards. The committee moved and carried the records docket on a voice vote with no additional committee changes recorded in the transcript; staff will implement the approved administrative-code edits and update senators’ notebooks.
