Non-federal COVID-19 response (Office of the Governor

4 Communications
1 File

Communications

From: Emma North-Best

04/23/2020

Subject: Nebraska Public Records Act Request: Non-federal COVID-19 response (Office of the Governor - Nebraska)

To Whom It May Concern:

Pursuant to the Nebraska Public Records Act, I hereby request the following records:

Memos, emails, letters, documents, reports, recorded phone calls and virtual meetings and other media discussing or describing COVID-19 response, shutdown and stay-at-home plans and orders, quarantines, and "re-opening" plans, as well as copies of discussions of COVID-19 with CDC, White House, FEMA or similar emergency management agencies, offices of Surgeons General and similar bodies, and management of medical facilities or organizations. This request excludes unsolicited messages from the public which received no response.

I am a member of the news media and request classification as such. I have previously written about the government and its activities, with some reaching over 100,000 readers in outlets such as Gizmodo, MuckRock, Motherboard, Property of the People, Unicorn Riot, and The Outline, among others. As such, as I have a reasonable expectation of publication and my editorial and writing skills are well established. In addition, I discuss and comment on the files online and make them available through non-profits such as the library Internet Archive and the journalist non-profit MuckRock, disseminating them to a large audience. While my research is not limited to this, a great deal of it, including this, focuses on the activities and attitudes of the government itself. As such, it is not necessary for me to demonstrate the relevance of this particular subject in advance.

As my primary purpose is to inform about government activities by reporting on it and making the raw data available, I request that fees be waived.

The requested documents will be made available to the general public, and this request is not being made for commercial purposes.

In the event that there are fees, I would be grateful if you would inform me of the total charges in advance of fulfilling my request. I would prefer the request filled electronically, by e-mail attachment if available or CD-ROM if not.

Thank you in advance for your anticipated cooperation in this matter. I look forward to receiving your response to this request within 4 business days, as the statute requires.

Sincerely,

Emma Best

From: Office of the Governor - Nebraska

04/27/2020

Subject: RE: Nebraska Public Records Act Request: Non-federal COVID-19 response (Office of the Governor - Nebraska)

Good morning,

Our office is in receipt of your public records request received in the Governor's Office on April 23, 2020. Specifically you have requested:

"Memos, emails, letters, documents, reports, recorded phone calls and virtual meetings and other media discussing or describing COVID-19 response, shutdown and stay-at-home plans and orders, quarantines, and "re-opening" plans, as well as copies of discussions of COVID-19 with CDC, White House, FEMA or similar emergency management agencies, offices of Surgeons General and similar bodies, and management of medical facilities or organizations. This request excludes unsolicited messages from the public which received no response."
Due to the large-scale demands, heavily increased workload, and limited staff availability that our office is experiencing as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, we are unable to complete your request within four business days and need to request an extension. I anticipate being able to respond to your public records request no sooner than four weeks from today, or at a time when the demands of this rapidly changing event have eased. If additional time beyond four weeks is needed, I will contact you and keep you updated.

If you have any questions please let me know.

Sincerely,

Lana Gillming-Weber
Admin. Assist. to Governor Ricketts

Office of Governor Pete Ricketts
OFFICE 402-471-1960
lana.gillming-weber@nebraska.gov<mailto:lana.gillming-weber@nebraska.gov>
governor.nebraska.gov <http://www.governor.nebraska.gov/> | Facebook<https://www.facebook.com/GovernorPeteRicketts> | Twitter<https://twitter.com/GovRicketts>

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From: Office of the Governor - Nebraska

05/20/2020

Subject: FW: Nebraska Public Records Request - Muckrock

Dear Ms. Best,

I am writing in response to your public records request received in the Governor's Office on April 23, 2020. I responded on April 27th indicating that an extension of four weeks was needed due to the demands of the COVID-19 pandemic.

You have requested the following:

"Memos, emails, letters, documents, reports, recorded phone calls and virtual meetings and other media discussing or describing COVID-19 response, shutdown and stay-at-home plans and orders, quarantines, and "re-opening" plans, as well as copies of discussions of COVID-19 with CDC, White House, FEMA or similar emergency management agencies, offices of Surgeons General and similar bodies, and management of medical facilities or organizations. This request excludes unsolicited messages from the public which received no response."
Our preliminary search has identified approximately 22,000 pages of material that may be potentially responsive to your request. Due to the voluminous amount of records, your request will take a significant amount of time to process. You may wish to consider limiting the scope of your request, which may enable us to process it more quickly. At this time, our office would anticipate being able to respond to your request by the end of August, or at a later date depending upon the ongoing demands of the emergency created by the pandemic and the legislative session that will be reconvening on July 20 - August 13, 2020.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me.

Sincerely,

Lana Gillming-Weber
Admin. Assist. to Governor Ricketts

From: Office of the Governor - Nebraska

05/27/2020

Subject: FW: Nebraska Public Records Request - Muckrock

Dear Ms. Best,

I'm just sending a quick note to ensure you received my prior email (copied below) regarding the volume of documents identified as potentially responsive to your records request. Please let me know how you would like me to proceed with your request.

Thanks,

Lana Gillming-Weber
Admin. Assist. to Governor Ricketts

Files

04/27/2020

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Submitted	April 23, 2020
Est. Completion	Aug. 13, 2020