Pennsylvania sets fee for copying public records
By Amy Worden | Philadelphia
Inquirer Harrisburg Bureau
HARRISBURG — People seeking most government records will soon pay no more than 25 cents a page under a new state policy.
The fee system, set by the newly created Office of Open Records, will apply to all state agencies and municipal governments when the state's Right to Know Law takes effect Jan. 1.
"High fees translate to no access," said Terry Mutchler, executive director of the Office of Open Records. "Nationally, duplication fees are one of the most abused areas of access laws."
In Pennsylvania, fees vary widely across government offices, from 10 cents to $1 a page, said Mutchler, whose office was created as part of the new open-records law.
Under the new system, government entities can charge between 10 cents and 25 cents a page. They may charge more for copying oversize documents such as blueprints, but only a fee equal to the actual cost, Mutchler said.
The state House and Senate and the judicial branch (where fees are as high as $1 a page for appellate courts) are exempt from the law.
But House officials said yesterday that they had agreed to lower their fees from 50 cents to 25 cents a page, while the Senate has decided to reduce its fee from 35 cents to 25 cents to align with the new policy on Jan. 1.
Elam Herr, assistant executive director of the Pennsylvania State Association of Townships, said the fees are in line with the Right to Know legislation signed into law by Gov. Rendell in February.
"It's reasonable and fair," said Herr.
He said the majority of the 1,455 townships the association represents charge fees that fall into the 10-cent-to-25-cent range.
Emily Leader, deputy chief counsel with the Pennsylvania School Boards Association, said her group had "no disagreement" with the 10-to-25-cent-fee range.
Most state departments and agencies currently provide the first 10 pages free, then charge 15 cents a copy for more than that.
Other policies will prohibit government entities from charging for redaction or for research time to determine whether a document is public or not.
Teri Henning, general counsel for the Pennsylvania Newspaper Association, said the group, which fields 2,000 open-records complaints a year on its legal hotline, is pleased with those provisions.
"Frequently, agencies attempt to charge search fees," she said.
Mutchler said government entities have to understand that responding to right-to-know requests is part of their job, not something that should require an additional fee.
Henning said the newspaper group would have liked to see a 10- or 15-cents-per-page duplication fee, but recognized a 2005 Commonwealth Court ruling that found that 25 cents per page was a reasonable fee.
"Twenty-five cents a page can add up very quickly when you're talking about hundreds of pages," Henning said.
HARRISBURG — People seeking most government records will soon pay no more than 25 cents a page under a new state policy.
The fee system, set by the newly created Office of Open Records, will apply to all state agencies and municipal governments when the state's Right to Know Law takes effect Jan. 1.
"High fees translate to no access," said Terry Mutchler, executive director of the Office of Open Records. "Nationally, duplication fees are one of the most abused areas of access laws."
In Pennsylvania, fees vary widely across government offices, from 10 cents to $1 a page, said Mutchler, whose office was created as part of the new open-records law.
Under the new system, government entities can charge between 10 cents and 25 cents a page. They may charge more for copying oversize documents such as blueprints, but only a fee equal to the actual cost, Mutchler said.
The state House and Senate and the judicial branch (where fees are as high as $1 a page for appellate courts) are exempt from the law.
But House officials said yesterday that they had agreed to lower their fees from 50 cents to 25 cents a page, while the Senate has decided to reduce its fee from 35 cents to 25 cents to align with the new policy on Jan. 1.
Elam Herr, assistant executive director of the Pennsylvania State Association of Townships, said the fees are in line with the Right to Know legislation signed into law by Gov. Rendell in February.
"It's reasonable and fair," said Herr.
He said the majority of the 1,455 townships the association represents charge fees that fall into the 10-cent-to-25-cent range.
Emily Leader, deputy chief counsel with the Pennsylvania School Boards Association, said her group had "no disagreement" with the 10-to-25-cent-fee range.
Most state departments and agencies currently provide the first 10 pages free, then charge 15 cents a copy for more than that.
Other policies will prohibit government entities from charging for redaction or for research time to determine whether a document is public or not.
Teri Henning, general counsel for the Pennsylvania Newspaper Association, said the group, which fields 2,000 open-records complaints a year on its legal hotline, is pleased with those provisions.
"Frequently, agencies attempt to charge search fees," she said.
Mutchler said government entities have to understand that responding to right-to-know requests is part of their job, not something that should require an additional fee.
Henning said the newspaper group would have liked to see a 10- or 15-cents-per-page duplication fee, but recognized a 2005 Commonwealth Court ruling that found that 25 cents per page was a reasonable fee.
"Twenty-five cents a page can add up very quickly when you're talking about hundreds of pages," Henning said.