(1) Fees and charges for copies of public
records should not be used to hinder access to public records. No charges will
be assessed for copies and duplicates unless the production costs exceed fifty
dollars ($50).
(2) Records
custodians shall provide requestors with an itemized estimate of the charges,
using the appropriate form, prior to producing copies of records and may
require pre-payment of such charges before producing requested
records.
(3) When fees for copies
and labor do not exceed one hundred dollars ($100), the fees may be
waived.
(4) Requests for waivers
for fees above $50 must be presented to the Institution's chief finance
officer, who is authorized to determine if such waiver is in the best interest
of the institution and for the public good. Fees associated with aggregated
records requests will not be waived.
(5) Fees and charges for copies are as
follows:
(a) $0.15 per page for 8 1/2" x
11" and 8 1/2" x 14" black and white copies.
(b) $0.50 per page for 8 1/2" x 11" and
8 1/2" x 14" color copies. Prior to copying records in color, the
requestor must be advised that the record can be produced in color for the
higher cost and consent to paying for color copies.
(c) The charge for a duplex copy must be the
same as the charge for two (2) separate copies.
(d) If a copy of a public record is produced
on a medium other than for 81/2" x 11" or 8 1/2" x 14" paper, then
the PRRC must assess a copy charge equal to the actual cost of producing a copy
of the public record, taking into consideration the amount of material,
equipment costs and the cost of the alternative medium.
(e) If the requested records exist
electronically, but not in the format requested or a new or modified computer
program of application is necessary to put the records in a readable and
reproducible format, or it is necessary to access backup files, the PRRC must
charge the requestor the actual costs incurred in producing the records in the
format requested, or in creating or modifying a computer program or application
necessary to put the records in a readable and reproducible format, or in
accessing backup files.
(f) The
TPRA does not require the Institution to provide public records to a requestor
in the format requested by the requestor if the record does not already exist
in that format (e.g., a format that can be manipulated; paper instead of
electronic).
(g) When providing
electronic copies of public records, the PRRC may charge per-page copying costs
only when paper copies that did not already exist were required to be produced
in responding to the request, such as when an electronic public record must be
printed and redacted.
(h) The PRRC
may charge the actual costs for flash drives or similar storage devices on
which electronic copies are provided.
(i) If an outside vendor is used, the actual
costs assessed by the vendor must be charged to the requestor.
(6) Fees and Labor Costs
(a) The PRRC must charge the requestor the
hourly wage of the employee(s) reasonably necessary to produce the requested
records above the labor threshold.
1. The
"labor threshold" is the labor of the employee(s) reasonably necessary to
produce requested records for the first hour incurred by the Institution in
producing the records.
2. "Labor"
means the employee time reasonably necessary to produce the requested records
and includes the time spent locating, retrieving, reviewing, redacting, and
reproducing the records.
3. The
"hourly wage" is based upon the employee(s) base salary and does not include
benefits.
(b) In
calculating the labor costs to be charged to the requestor:
1. First, determine the number of hours each
employee spent producing the requested public records;
2. Second, subtract the one (1) hour labor
threshold from the number of hours the highest paid employee spent producing
the request;
3. Third, multiply the
total number of hours to be charged for the labor of each employee by that
employee's hourly wage; and
4.
Fourth, add together the totals for all the employees involved in the request
to determine the total amount of the labor costs to be charged to the
requestor.
(c) Labor
costs should be tracked based on tenths of an hour, rounded down.
(d) The PRRC should strive to ensure that
current employees with the lowest practicable hourly wage be used to fulfill
public records requests. However, the PRRC has the discretion to determine that
is more cost effective to utilize a higher-compensated employee if he/she can
accomplish the task more efficiently, which may result in lower total labor
costs.
(7) The PRRC has
the discretion to determine how payment for production costs must be made
(e.g., cash, check credit/debit card).
(8) Payment in advance will be required when
costs are estimated to exceed fifty dollars ($50).
