Under OPRA, when is a record considered public?

A record is considered public under the Open Public Records Act (OPRA) when it serves as evidence of a public agency’s actions. This principle is rooted in the idea that transparency in government is essential for accountability. Documents that provide a record of how a public agency operates, its decisions, and the rationale behind those decisions directly support the public's right to access information that pertains to the functioning and accountability of government entities.

When a record serves as evidence of a public agency’s actions, it showcases the agency's compliance with regulatory requirements and reflects its interactions with the public. This promotes informed citizenry, as the public can review and analyze the decisions made on their behalf.

While other considerations such as longevity, online availability, and ownership by private entities might influence the accessibility or categorization of records, they do not determine the public status of those records under OPRA. The focus is primarily on the function and contextual evidence of government actions in recognizing a record as public.