Each agency shall designate the locations where records shall
be available for public inspection and copying.
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General
Provisions, Art. II)]
A. A written request may be required, but oral requests may be accepted
when records are readily available.
B. If records are maintained on the internet, the requester shall be
informed that the records are accessible via the internet and in printed
form either on paper or other information storage medium.
C. A response shall be given within five business days of receipt of
a request by:
(1) Informing
a person requesting records that the request or portion of the request
does not reasonably describe the records sought, including direction,
to the extent possible, that would enable that person to request records
reasonably described;
(2) Granting
or denying access to records in whole or in part;
(3) Acknowledging
the receipt of a request in writing, including an approximate date
when the request will be granted or denied in whole or in part, which
shall be reasonable under the circumstances of the request and shall
not be more than 20 business days after the date of the acknowledgment,
or if it is known that circumstances prevent disclosure within 20
business days from the date of such acknowledgment, providing a statement
in writing indicating the reason for inability to grant the request
within that time and a date certain, within a reasonable period under
the circumstances of the request, when the request will be granted
in whole or in part; or
(4) If the
receipt of request was acknowledged in writing and included an approximate
date when the request would be granted in whole or in part within
20 business days of such acknowledgment, but circumstances prevent
disclosure within that time, providing a statement in writing within
20 business days of such acknowledgment specifying the reason for
the inability to do so and a date certain, within a reasonable period
under the circumstances of the request, when the request will be granted
in whole or in part.
D. In determining a reasonable time for granting or denying a request
under the circumstances of a request, personnel shall consider the
volume of a request, the ease or difficulty in locating, retrieving
or generating records, the complexity of the request, the need to
review records to determine the extent to which they must be disclosed,
the number of requests received by the agency, and similar factors
that bear on the ability to grant access to records promptly and within
a reasonable time.
E. A failure
to comply with the time limitations described herein shall constitute
a denial of a request that may be appealed. Such failure shall include
situations in which an officer or employee:
(1) Fails
to grant access to the records sought, deny access in writing or acknowledge
the receipt of a request within five business days of the receipt
of a request;
(2) Acknowledges
the receipt of a request within five business days but fails to furnish
an approximate date when the request will be granted or denied in
whole or in part;
(3) Furnishes
an acknowledgment of the receipt of a request within five business
days with an approximate date for granting or denying access in whole
or in part that is unreasonable under the circumstances of the request;
(4) Fails
to respond to a request within a reasonable time after the approximate
date given or within 20 business days after the date of the acknowledgment
of the receipt of a request;
(5) Determines
to grant a request in whole or in part within 20 business days of
the acknowledgment of the receipt of a request, but fails to do so,
unless the agency provides the reason for its inability to do so in
writing and a date certain within which the request will be granted
in whole or in part;
(6) Does
not grant a request in whole or in part within 20 business days of
the acknowledgment of the receipt of a request and fails to provide
the reason in writing explaining the inability to do so and a date
certain by which the request will be granted in whole or in part;
or
(7) Responds
to a request, stating that more than 20 business days is needed to
grant or deny the request in whole or in part and provides a date
certain within which that will be accomplished, but such date is unreasonable
under the circumstances of the request.
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General
Provisions, Art. II)]
A. There shall be no fee charged for:
(3) Any certification pursuant to this chapter.
B. Copies may
be provided without charging a fee.
C. Fees for copies may be charged, provided that:
(1) The fee for copying records shall not exceed $0.25 per page for photocopies
not exceeding nine inches by 14 inches. This section shall not be
construed to mandate the raising of fees where agencies or municipalities
in the past have charged less than $0.25 for such copies;
(2) The fee for photocopies of records in excess of nine inches by 14
inches shall not exceed the actual cost of reproduction; or
(3) An agency has the authority to redact portions of a paper record
and does so prior to disclosure of the record by making a photocopy
from which the proper redactions are made.
D. The fee an agency may charge for a copy of any other record is based
on the actual cost of reproduction and may include only the following:
(1) An amount equal to the hourly salary attributed to the lowest paid
employee who has the necessary skill required to prepare a copy of
the requested record, but only when more than two hours of the employee's
time is necessary to do so; and
(2) The actual cost of the storage devices or media provided to the person
making the request in complying with such request; or
(3) The actual cost to the agency of engaging an outside professional
service to prepare a copy of a record, but only when an agency's information
technology equipment is inadequate to prepare a copy, and if such
service is used to prepare the copy.
E. When an agency has the ability to retrieve or extract a record or data maintained in a computer storage system with reasonable effort, or when doing so requires less employee time than engaging in manual retrieval or redactions from nonelectronic records, the agency shall be required to retrieve or extract such record or data electronically. In such case, the agency may charge a fee in accordance with Subsection
D(1) and
(2) above.
F. An agency
shall inform a person requesting a record of the estimated cost of
preparing a copy of the record if more than two hours of an agency
employee's time is needed, or if it is necessary to retain an outside
professional service to prepare a copy of the record.
G. An agency
may require that the fee for copying or reproducing a record be paid
in advance of the preparation of such copy.
H. An agency
may waive a fee in whole or in part when making copies of records
available.
Each agency shall publicize by posting in a conspicuous location
and/or by publishing in a local newspaper of general circulation:
A. The location where records shall be made available for inspection
and copying.
B. The name, title, business address and business telephone number of
the designated records access officer.
C. The right to appeal by any person denied access to a record and the
name and business address of the person or body to whom an appeal
is to be directed.