open records fees – National Freedom of Information Coalition

Indiana Senate Passes Hourly Fee for Public Records Searches

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he Indiana Senate has approved a bill allowing government agencies to charge $20 per hour for public records requests that take more than two hours to complete.

The measure by Republican Rep. Kathy Richardson of Noblesville passed the Senate on a 44-3 vote Wednesday.

Under the proposal, the first two hours would not be billed. After that, hours spent working to complete the request would come with a bill that's the lesser of $20 per hour or the hourly wage of the employee completing the search.

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Kansas Senate to consider effort to block excessive fees for open records

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The Senate may take up a bill soon meant to prevent public agencies from deterring open records requests or using them as a revenue source by charging excessive fees.

The bill was scheduled for debate Wednesday afternoon, but was postponed.

Public agencies that testified against the bill have expressed concern it goes too far. But Sen. Jacob LaTurner, R-Pittsburg, has been pursuing such limits to what government can charge for a few years.

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What it’s like to sue the government for data

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It started out simply: Quartz's David Yanofsky was reporting a story about the number of Brazilians who visit Disney World each year. He needed data about who was entering the United States, and when, where, and why. When he found the information he was looking for, he got some bad news: he'd have to buy it.

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South Carolina DOT reducing open records fees

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The South Carolina Department of Transportation is reducing the fees it charges for public information requests in an effort to be more transparent.

The state’s transportation agency will no longer charge for staff time in fulfilling requests that take less than two hours to complete. That includes time researching, retrieving and copying information or documents.

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