Editor’s Note: Sunshine Request makes no claim as to the veracity of any statements or information contained in any of the requests, or public records, we receive.
** Editor’s Note 09/08/25: The 13 submissions above have been marked as “Completed”.
We built Sunshine Request as a tool to submit anonymous requests for public records (recorded info such as documents, emails, and data sets) to government entities. We are a small 3-person team, and we run this website in addition to our primary business. Due to our availability, the volume of requests we receive, and the time required to review/fulfill/respond to each one — our focus is on processing requests which are in the public interest, and evaluating if there is a public benefit to that info being available.
Overall, we find many aspects of the 13 submissions to be overly broad or burdensome, redundant, or unclear for any entity or our team to properly fulfill. Comparing the Subjects, written Messages, “Start Date / End Date”(s), it’s unclear to what specific time period(s) some of the requested info should actually apply, or to what specific entity some of these requests should be addressed (if such requests are appropriate to be addressed to those entities at all). There are many overlapping, unclear / unspecified, or overly broad timelines listed within the various requests – as well as multiple different entities named within a request. This makes the request itself unclear, as well as the 1 specific entity to which the request should be sent.
Much of what’s being requested also seems like more of informational type questions for government entities to answer, rather than a clear request for specific searchable records or data sets. Various aspects of many of the requests or related topics and entities named have also already been fulfilled or addressed on our site in some way, over the past 1 – 2 years. On several occasions we’ve received similar submissions “submitted in bulk” to our site, and those have also been responded to by our Team or other entities (via our emails to them), in various ways. Please perform a “search” of our site for requests made to any of the specific entities that you’ve named. [Just one example: The topic of “the oath of office” or “surety bonds” has been addressed several times. Depending what entity is contacted, we’ve been given numerous differing answers as to who provides (or if they will provide) that information.]
Due to the broad and generally unclear nature of the info being sought, along with the volume and frequency with which we received these (and other) similar requests recently, we are no longer able to spend time writing Editor’s Notes addressing every individual request. We also will not submit multiple similar / unclear requests to the same entity, at the same time.
Over the coming weeks we’ll be making updates to our website, including new policies / processes / guidance about submitting requests. We will also ask that site users do not submit multiple requests for the same or similar information from the same entities within the same day. And, possibly, that site users do not submit more than one request per day in general.
Given the nature of what is being requested, the volume of requests being made, and the unclear entities involved, we recommend that the sender reaches out directly to the appropriate entities for assistance with their requests.
General Advice:
– It is important what you’re requesting is specific and reasonable. Please specify the exact records you’d like to receive, rather than any “possible” or “potential” info that could be searched.
– When requesting communication records, it’s important to specify the exact type of communications (such as emails, text messages, etc.) being requested, who the communications are “sent to”, “sent from”, or “sent between”, and any specific people / staff / departments etc. that should be included. It’s also important to include a specific date or time period, and any specific subject matter or specific keywords that should be included in the search.
– We recommend limiting communications requests like this to cover a three month time period, or shorter. Remember that the larger the request, the more time it takes to fulfill. If you’d like to request records over a larger time frame, then please include more keywords, to / from addresses etc. to limit the number of responsive records.
– Remember that the larger the request, the more time it takes to fulfill. Clarifying this info will help to greatly narrow the scope of the request, and will also reduce the amount of time it takes the Disclosing Agency to process the request.
Sunshine Request will not fulfill the following types of requests:
☀️ Requests that are incomplete, non-specific, or vague.
While we do proofread requests we receive for general spelling and clarity, we may choose not to fulfill the request if it is incomplete, or it is unclear what specific information the requester hopes to receive. In this case, the sender may rewrite and resubmit the request.
It’s the requester’s responsibility to write the request in a manner that clearly specifies a record that is being requested, and to what government entity it should be sent.
☀️ Requests that include profanity, personal statements, opinions, possibly defamatory statements, or other unnecessary info that is not relevant to making a records request.
Please do not include personal opinions and statements in the request’s Subject or Message. Please omit any extraneous statements that are not specific to the exact information you’d like to receive. This is not relevant information pertinent to the processing of a records request, and the request will not be published.
☀️ Requests for public safety information specific to a single individual, address, incident or name.
This includes police reports, calls for service, complaints / incident reports / citations, criminal / arrest type records, or camera footage. We will, on a case by case basis, fulfill public safety related requests that focus on system-level trends and data.
Due to the personal nature of this type of information, we recommend that the sender reach out directly to the appropriate entity for assistance with the request.
☀️ Please be specific:
It is important that what you are requesting is specific and reasonable, and is an actionable records request. Please specify the exact type of records you’d like to receive, rather than any “possible” or “potential” info that could be searched. Remember that the larger your request, the more time it usually takes to fulfill. Specificity will often help reduce the amount of time needed to process the request.
It is important that a request has a clearly written and complete Subject and Message, and also specifies the Government Entity (or entities), City and/or County, and State to which the request should be sent. If applicable, please also include any responsive timelines for the info that should be requested.
While we do proofread requests we receive for general spelling and clarity, we may choose not to fulfill the request if it is incomplete, or it is unclear what specific info the requester hopes to receive, or if it violates our policies.
Before submitting a request, please take a moment to review our tips for How to write and make a successful request. If you have additional questions about our site or how to make requests, please check out our FAQs or Policies page.
☀️ Code of Conduct: Please do not use Sunshine Request or any of the results of public records requests to harass government entities / employees, businesses, private citizens / individuals, or otherwise.
☀️ Please note that we cannot pay any fees / associated costs related to any of the requests on our site. If it is not possible for a Government Agency to process our request without incurring fees, then it is the responsibility of that Agency to let us know what the potential costs may be — at which point we will ask that they cease processing the request. We will mark the request as “Completed” on our site, and the sender can contact the Government Agency directly, should they wish to further pursue a request.
Thank you for using Sunshine Request!