Granted: Access for requester to inspect and copy
April 13, 2009 Filed in: Granted
| Denied
| Appealed to
court | Dept. of
Corrections | Fees | Record
format | Retrieval
costs | Media
request
Granted in part and denied in
part: A request to the Department of
Corrections for records about claims and
settlements, which the DOC granted but required
prepayment of an estimated $8,750.
From
the Pennsylvania Freedom of Information
Coalition
Granted in part and denied in part: A request to the Department of Corrections for records about claims and settlements, which the DOC granted but required prepayment of an estimated $8,750.
The requester, on behalf of the non-profit publication Prison Legal News, had requested the documents be provided electronically and requested a waiver of fees "as the information being sought will further the advancement of public understanding of DOC operations."
The department granted the request for the records but estimated the cost of fulfilling it, at 25 cents a page, at $8,750, and required prepayment as the cost of copies exceeded $100, as provided for in the Right to Know Law.
The requester, in responding to the request for prepayment, stated that his request for documents in electronic format was not addressed, and would reduce the quoted cost. He further asked that the DOC prepare a spreadsheet listing all claims and verdicts during the time period of his request so that he could narrow his request for documents.
The DOC reponded that the requested records did not exist in electronic format, and that the agency was not required to either create them in that format or create the requested spreadsheet, since it was not a record the DOC maintains, and denied the request for a waiver of the fees.
The requester objected to the cost, and appealed to the Office of Open Records on that basis.
In its ruling, the Office of Open Records said:
-- The DOC is not required to waive copying costs. The requester had cited a federal case about the federal Freedom of Information Act, which states documents shall be furnished without charged or reduced charge if disclosure of the information is in the public interest. But the FOIA does not apply, and the RTKL says only that an agency may waive fees.
-- Twenty-five cents per page is reasonable. The OOR noted that the DOC cited facts and figures for the number of pages involved in the request, and that 25 cents per page has been established by the OOR.
-- Records not available electroncially are not required to be converted. The DOC stated if any of the documents were found to be in electronic format, it would provide them that way. "However, as a general matter, the requested records are available only in paper format and will be produced in that format," in accordance with the provisions of the Right to Know Law.
However, the OOR also said.
-- Archive and handling charges are not permissable. The DOC had estimated an additional cost of $6,636 for access to cancelled check files from its archive vendor and "handling charges" of $1,044 and submitted a pricing schedule from the Iron Mountain storage company. DOC claimed this surchage as a necessarily incurred cost.
"It is the view of the Office of Open Records that this is not a proper charge to pass along to a requester in accordance with the RTKL," the ruling said. It cited a prior case, under the old law, where the court determined that is is not proper to charge overtime for an employee to search and retrieve documents. "Similiarly so, it is therefore not appropriate to levy those fees, paying a third party for the same services," the OOR noted. "To do so would circumvent the purpose of the RTLK, and limit public access."
-- The DOC must permit inspection and copying. "There is no requirement that [the requester] agree to incur an expense for archived documents when they are required to be accessible for inspection and copying," the OOR said. "... The parties agreed that [the requester] would be permitted to bring his own copier or scanner, and therefore the DOC must honor that agreement.
Wright vs. Department of Corrections -- AP 2009-0174
APPEALED TO COMMONWEALTH COURT: May 13, 2009
Granted in part and denied in part: A request to the Department of Corrections for records about claims and settlements, which the DOC granted but required prepayment of an estimated $8,750.
The requester, on behalf of the non-profit publication Prison Legal News, had requested the documents be provided electronically and requested a waiver of fees "as the information being sought will further the advancement of public understanding of DOC operations."
The department granted the request for the records but estimated the cost of fulfilling it, at 25 cents a page, at $8,750, and required prepayment as the cost of copies exceeded $100, as provided for in the Right to Know Law.
The requester, in responding to the request for prepayment, stated that his request for documents in electronic format was not addressed, and would reduce the quoted cost. He further asked that the DOC prepare a spreadsheet listing all claims and verdicts during the time period of his request so that he could narrow his request for documents.
The DOC reponded that the requested records did not exist in electronic format, and that the agency was not required to either create them in that format or create the requested spreadsheet, since it was not a record the DOC maintains, and denied the request for a waiver of the fees.
The requester objected to the cost, and appealed to the Office of Open Records on that basis.
In its ruling, the Office of Open Records said:
-- The DOC is not required to waive copying costs. The requester had cited a federal case about the federal Freedom of Information Act, which states documents shall be furnished without charged or reduced charge if disclosure of the information is in the public interest. But the FOIA does not apply, and the RTKL says only that an agency may waive fees.
-- Twenty-five cents per page is reasonable. The OOR noted that the DOC cited facts and figures for the number of pages involved in the request, and that 25 cents per page has been established by the OOR.
-- Records not available electroncially are not required to be converted. The DOC stated if any of the documents were found to be in electronic format, it would provide them that way. "However, as a general matter, the requested records are available only in paper format and will be produced in that format," in accordance with the provisions of the Right to Know Law.
However, the OOR also said.
-- Archive and handling charges are not permissable. The DOC had estimated an additional cost of $6,636 for access to cancelled check files from its archive vendor and "handling charges" of $1,044 and submitted a pricing schedule from the Iron Mountain storage company. DOC claimed this surchage as a necessarily incurred cost.
"It is the view of the Office of Open Records that this is not a proper charge to pass along to a requester in accordance with the RTKL," the ruling said. It cited a prior case, under the old law, where the court determined that is is not proper to charge overtime for an employee to search and retrieve documents. "Similiarly so, it is therefore not appropriate to levy those fees, paying a third party for the same services," the OOR noted. "To do so would circumvent the purpose of the RTLK, and limit public access."
-- The DOC must permit inspection and copying. "There is no requirement that [the requester] agree to incur an expense for archived documents when they are required to be accessible for inspection and copying," the OOR said. "... The parties agreed that [the requester] would be permitted to bring his own copier or scanner, and therefore the DOC must honor that agreement.
Wright vs. Department of Corrections -- AP 2009-0174
APPEALED TO COMMONWEALTH COURT: May 13, 2009