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Opinion Letter No. 97-10
December 30, 1997
Experience Certificates of Applicants for Contractors Licenses
Prior to a Contractors License Board decision on
an application for a contractors license, experience
certificates submitted as part of the application are exempt from
disclosure under the UIPA’s
exception for disclosure that would constitute "a clearly unwarranted
invasion of personal privacy." In
balancing the individual’s privacy interest against the public
interest in disclosure, the OIP considered
the Legislature’s determination that an individual has a significant
privacy interest in the information
contained in the experience certificates as "information compiled
as part of an inquiry into an
individual’s fitness to be granted…a license."
While the requester suggested that disclosure prior to board action
on the application would enhance
the public’s ability to comment on an applicant’s qualification
for licensure, the public interest in
disclosure under the UIPA lies in reviewing the government’s
actions. Because, prior to board action
on an application, no government action has occurred, the OIP determined
that public interest in
disclosure does not outweigh the individual’s significant
privacy interest in the information contained in
the experience certificates.
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