7(1)(h)
FOIABids and proposals, until a contract is awarded
Bids and proposals, until a contract is awarded
Read the full statute text on /statutes →
Jump to the 3 issues decided under this provision, with a drafting brief ↓
2 upheld (no violation found) · 0 rejected (violation found) · 1 closed / insufficient info / other, out of 3 documents.
Not legal advice, and not a per-exemption ruling — this reflects each document's overall disposition. See the FAQ disclaimer.
How the Public Access Counselor has treated 7(1)(h)
Section 7(1)(h) covers bids, proposals and proposed agreements submitted to or by a public body, allowing them to be withheld until a final selection or award is made. The decisions describe it as applying to records such as a proposed offtake agreement with a private company and a city's proposal to host a private headquarters project.
In these decisions, the PAC found no violation where public bodies withheld such records before a final selection. For the proposed agreement and the Amazon HQ2 bid, the PAC agreed the records were exempt at the time of the request. Where requesters sought bid-related records for a commercial purpose, including emails about a cancelled bid and records to support a bid protest, the PAC closed the matters without further action, stating it lacked authority under section 9.5(b) to review denials of commercial-purpose requests.
At a glance: 3 documents(0 binding opinions, 3 determination letters). Most often cited alongside: 7(1)(f) (Preliminary drafts, notes, and deliberative materials) (1); 7(1)(m) (Attorney/auditor communications and litigation-preparation materials) (1).
Recurring issues
- Whether a proposed agreement between a public body and a private company may be withheld before final action. (A proposed biogas production agreement)
- Whether a city's bid proposal to host a private project may be withheld before a final selection is made. (A city's bid proposal for a corporate headquarters)
- Whether the PAC can review a denial of emails about a cancelled bid when the request was made for a commercial purpose. (Emails about cancellation of a protested bid)
- Whether the PAC can review a denial of records sought to support a business's bid protest as a commercial-purpose request.
Practical points
- A public body withheld a bid proposal and a proposed agreement before final selection without violating FOIA.
- A requester seeking bid-related records for a commercial purpose, such as supporting a bid protest, cannot obtain PAC review of the denial.
- A commercial-purpose characterization prevented PAC review even where the underlying records concerned a cancelled bid.
Summary drafted from the linked decisions and checked against them; read the decisions themselves before relying on it. Not legal advice.
All 3 documents citing 7(1)(h)
- A proposed biogas production agreementDetermination letter · No violation
No violation found
- A city's bid proposal for a corporate headquartersDetermination letter · No violation
No violation found
- Emails about cancellation of a protested bidDetermination letter · Closed no further action
Closed, no further action
Issues decided under 7(1)(h)
Individual questions the Public Access Bureau decided under this provision, with the rule it applied, grouped by outcome. Extracted automatically from the letters; check each source letter.
3 issues across 3 determination letters:3 no violation.
Counts are per issue, not per letter, and come from automated extraction checked against sampled letters. Determination letters are not binding precedent.
Authorities the Bureau cites most on this issue
Drafting brief for an AI assistant
Copy this into your assistant to help draft a request, appeal, or challenge to a denial that turns on this issue. It carries the rules and decisions, not your facts: add those yourself. Machine-readable version: foia-7-1-h.json.
No violation (3)
Withholding PPA under section 7(1)(h)
Rule: Section 7(1)(h) exempts proposals and bids for contracts, grants, or agreements until an award or final selection is made, and the PPA is part of a pending tax credit proposal.
No violation Application materials for a housing development assessment · June 24, 2024
Section 7(1)(h) exemption for bids submitted by public body
Rule: Section 7(1)(h) exempts bids and proposals submitted by a public body until an award or final selection is made.
No violation A city's bid proposal for a corporate headquarters · March 29, 2018
Withholding proposed offtake agreement under section 7(1)(h)
Rule: Section 7(1)(h) exempts proposals and bids from disclosure until an award or final selection is made, and no final selection had been made.
No violation A proposed biogas production agreement · July 6, 2017