HB 1359-FN – AS INTRODUCED
2008 SESSION
01/04
HOUSE BILL 1359-FN
AN ACT relative to fees for public records.
SPONSORS: Rep. Ulery, Hills 27
This bill clarifies the fees which may be charged for viewing public records on the Internet.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Explanation: Matter added to current law appears in bold italics.
Matter removed from current law appears [in brackets and struckthrough.]
Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
08-2110
01/04
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Eight
AN ACT relative to fees for public records.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
1 New Paragraph; Minutes and Records Available for Public Inspection. Amend RSA 91-A:4 by inserting after paragraph IV the following new paragraph:
IV-a. Notwithstanding paragraph IV, if records are made available for access on the Internet or other such service, no fee for registration, access, or viewing shall be charged by any public body or agency. If records are made available for copying, the copied record may be marked to indicate the origin from a web site and that the record may not be a true record. A reasonable per copy fee may be charged for providing electronic access, but no fee shall be charged for merely viewing the record. The reasonable fee standard shall be in accordance with appropriate systems used by the federal government where the cost per page is $0.07 per copy. The use of such Internet copies may be restricted with regard to court and deed filings. No permanent record of persons or entities accessing public records shall be kept by a public body or agency. The billing records of a public body or agency with regard to copy fees are exempt from public disclosure.
2 New Paragraph; Statistical Information. Amend RSA 91-A:10 by inserting after paragraph VI the following new paragraph:
VII. Notwithstanding paragraph VI, if records are made available for access on the Internet or other such service, no fee for registration, access, or viewing shall be charged by any public body or agency. If records are made available for copying, the copied record may be marked to indicate the origin from a web site and that the record may not be a true record. A reasonable per copy fee may be charged for providing electronic access, but no fee shall be charged for merely viewing the record. The reasonable fee standard shall be in accordance with appropriate systems used by the federal government where the cost per page is $0.07 per copy. The use of such Internet copies may be restricted with regard to court and deed filings. No permanent record of persons or entities accessing public records shall be kept in any fashion by a public body or agency. The billing records of a public body or agency with regard to copy fees are exempt from public disclosure.
3 Effective Date. This act shall take effect 60 days after its passage.
LBAO
08-2110
11/21/07
HB 1359-FN - FISCAL NOTE
AN ACT relative to fees for public records
FISCAL IMPACT:
The Department of Administrative Services, the New Hampshire Association of Counties, and the New Hampshire Municipal Association state this bill will have an indeterminable fiscal impact on state, county, and local revenue and may increase state expenditures by indeterminable amount in FY 2008 and each year thereafter. There will be no fiscal impact on county and local expenditures.
METHODOLOGY:
The Department of Administrative Services, the New Hampshire Association of Counties, and the New Hampshire Municipal Association indicate this bill requires fees charged for copies of public records from the Internet follow a reasonable fee standard established by the federal government. The fees charged for copies vary from state agency to state agency, from county to county, and from municipality to municipality. The Department of Administrative Services states it is not able to determine costs that may be associated with making electronic documents available, costs to specify a document may not be a true record, or costs associated with acquiring systems that would enable agencies to charge users a per page cost for electronic access while avoiding charging for merely viewing a document electronically.
The Department of Administrative Services, the New Hampshire Association of Counties, and the New Hampshire Municipal Association are unable to determine the fiscal impact of changing from actual cost to charging a reasonable fee for copies of public records from the Internet on state, county, and local revenue.