§ 316. Access to public records and documents
(a) Any person may inspect or copy any public record of a public agency, as follows:
(1) For any agency, board, department, commission, committee, branch, instrumentality,
or authority of the State, a person may inspect a public record on any day other than
a Saturday, Sunday, or a legal holiday, between the hours of nine o’clock and 12 o’clock
in the forenoon and between one o’clock and four o’clock in the afternoon.
(2) For any agency, board, committee, department, instrumentality, commission, or authority
of a political subdivision of the State, a person may inspect a public record during
customary business hours.
(b) If copying equipment maintained for use by a public agency is used by the agency to
copy the public record or document requested, the agency may charge and collect from
the person requesting the copy the actual cost of providing the copy. The agency may
also charge and collect from the person making the request, the costs associated with
mailing or transmitting the record by facsimile or other electronic means. Nothing
in this section shall exempt any person from paying fees otherwise established by
law for obtaining copies of public records or documents, but if such fee is established
for the copy, no additional costs or fees shall be charged.
(c) Unless otherwise provided by law, in the following instances an agency may also charge
and collect the cost of staff time associated with complying with a request for a
copy of a public record: (1) the time directly involved in complying with the request
exceeds 30 minutes; (2) the agency agrees to create a public record; or (3) the agency
agrees to provide the public record in a nonstandard format and the time directly
involved in complying with the request exceeds 30 minutes. The agency may require
that requests subject to staff time charges under this subsection be made in writing
and that all charges be paid, in whole or in part, prior to delivery of the copies.
Upon request, the agency shall provide an estimate of the charge.
(d) The Secretary of State, after consultation with the Secretary of Administration, shall
establish the actual cost of providing a copy of a public record that may be charged
by State agencies. The Secretary shall also establish the amount that may be charged
for staff time, when such a charge is authorized under this section. To determine
“actual cost,” the Secretary shall consider the following only: the cost of the paper
or the electronic media onto which a public record is copied, a prorated amount for
maintenance and replacement of the machine or equipment used to copy the record, and
any utility charges directly associated with copying a record. The Secretary of State
shall adopt, by rule, a uniform schedule of public record charges for State agencies.
(e) After public hearing, the legislative body of a political subdivision shall establish
actual cost charges for copies of public records. The legislative body shall also
establish the amount that may be charged for staff time, when such a charge is authorized
under this section. To determine actual cost charges, the legislative body shall use
the same factors used by the Secretary of State. If a legislative body fails to establish
a uniform schedule of charges, the charges for that political subdivision shall be
the uniform schedule of charges established by the Secretary of State until the local
legislative body establishes such a schedule. A schedule of public records charges
shall be posted in prominent locations in the town offices.
(f) State agencies shall provide receipts for all monies received under this section.
Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, a State agency may retain monies
collected under this section to the extent such charges represent the actual cost
incurred to provide copies under this subchapter. Amounts collected by a State agency
under this section for the cost of staff time associated with providing copies shall
be deposited in the General Fund, unless another disposition or use of revenues received
by that agency is specifically authorized by law. Charges collected under this section
shall be deposited in the agency’s operating account or the General Fund, as appropriate,
on a monthly basis or whenever the amount totals $100.00, whichever occurs first.
(g) A public agency having the equipment necessary to copy its public records shall utilize
its equipment to produce copies. If the public agency does not have such equipment,
nothing in this section shall be construed to require the public agency to provide
or arrange for copying service, to use or permit the use of copying equipment other
than its own, to permit operation of its copying equipment by other than its own personnel,
to permit removal of the public record by the requesting person for purposes of copying,
or to make its own personnel available for making handwritten or typed copies of the
public record or document requested.
(h) Standard formats for copies of public records shall be as follows: for copies in paper
form, a photocopy of a paper public record or a hard copy print-out of a public record
maintained in electronic form; for copies in electronic form, the format in which
the record is maintained. Any format other than the formats described in this subsection
is a nonstandard format.
(i) If an agency maintains public records in an electronic format, nonexempt public records
shall be available for copying in either the standard electronic format or the standard
paper format, as designated by the party requesting the records. If requested by the
party requesting the records, an agency may, but is not required to, provide copies
of public records in a nonstandard format, create a public record, or convert paper
public records to electronic format.
(j) A public agency may make reasonable rules to prevent disruption of operations, to
preserve the security of public records or documents, and to protect them from damage.
(k) Information concerning facilities and sites for the treatment, storage, and disposal
of hazardous waste shall be made available to the public under this subchapter in
substantially the same manner and to the same degree as such information is made available
under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act of 1976, as amended, 42 U.S.C. chapter
82, subchapter 3, and the Federal Freedom of Information Act, 5 U.S.C. section 552 et seq. In the event of a conflict between the provisions of this subchapter and
the cited federal laws, federal law shall govern. (Added 1975, No. 231 (Adj. Sess.), § 1; amended 1987, No. 85, § 5, eff. June 9, 1987; 1995, No. 159 (Adj. Sess.), § 1; 2003, No. 158 (Adj. Sess.), § 4; 2011, No. 59, § 2; 2021, No. 157 (Adj. Sess.), § 12a, eff. July 1, 2022.)