Revision: Nov. 28, 2023, 8:05 a.m.
HB 1002 - AS INTRODUCED
2024 SESSION
24-2001
05/08
HOUSE BILL 1002
AN ACT relative to fees for records under the right-to-know law.
SPONSORS: Rep. Kuttab, Rock. 17; Rep. M. Cahill, Rock. 10; Rep. Ball, Rock. 25; Rep. Maggiore, Rock. 23; Rep. Ankarberg, Straf. 7; Rep. DeSimone, Rock. 18; Rep. Dunn, Rock. 16; Rep. J. Nelson, Rock. 13; Rep. B. Boyd, Hills. 12; Rep. Edwards, Rock. 31; Rep. Grassie, Straf. 8; Sen. Carson, Dist 14; Sen. Gannon, Dist 23; Sen. Watters, Dist 4; Sen. Lang, Dist 2; Sen. Avard, Dist 12
COMMITTEE: Judiciary
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ANALYSIS
This bill establishes parameters for when a public body may charge a fee for records provided under RSA 91-A.
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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Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
24-2001
05/08
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Twenty Four
AN ACT relative to fees for records under the right-to-know law.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
1 Right-to-Know; Fees for Records. Amend RSA 91-A:4, IV to read as follows:
IV.(a) Each public body or agency shall, upon request for any governmental record reasonably described, make available for inspection and copying any such governmental record within its files when such records are immediately available for such release.
(b) If a public body or agency is unable to make a governmental record available for immediate inspection and copying the public body or agency shall, within 5 business days of a request:
(1) Make such record available;
(2) Deny the request; or
(3) Provide a written statement of the time reasonably necessary to determine whether the request shall be granted or denied and the reason for the delay, and an estimate of the cost of making the record available if a charge would be incurred under paragraph VIII.
(c) A public body or agency denying, in whole or part, inspection or copying of any record shall provide a written statement of the specific exemption authorizing the withholding of the record and a brief explanation of how the exemption applies to the record withheld.
(d) If a computer, photocopying machine, or other device maintained for use by a public body or agency is used by the public body or agency to copy the governmental record requested, the person requesting the copy may be charged the actual cost of providing the copy, which cost may be collected by the public body or agency. No cost or fee shall be charged for the inspection or delivery, without copying, of governmental records, whether in paper, electronic, or other form, unless the time to make the record available exceeds 10 hours, as provided in paragraph VIII. Nothing in this section shall exempt any person from paying fees otherwise established by law for obtaining copies of governmental records or documents, but if such fee is established for the copy, no additional costs or fees shall be charged.
(e) A public body or agency may suggest to the requestor a reasonable modification of the scope of the request, if doing so would enable the body or agency to produce records sought more efficiently and affordably.
2 New Paragraph; Fees for Records. Amend RSA 91-A:4 by inserting after paragraph VII the following new paragraph:
VIII. A reasonable charge may be made for the employee time to make the record available to the requestor, including time to search, retrieve, duplicate, redact, and otherwise make the record available for the requestor. However, hourly costs shall not exceed $25 per hour and no costs shall be charged for requests under 10 hours. Multiple requests from any person or entity to the same public body within a 30 day time period shall be considered one request.
3 Effective Date. This act shall take effect 60 days after its passage.