The state's new Office of Open Records has set a fee cap for copies of government documents. Citizens will now pay between 10 cents and 25 cents per page for any requested documents from state agencies or municipalities.
State agencies and local governments are directed to charge only for the actual cost of reproduction. It was not uncommon in the past for government entities to charge as much as $1 a page for copying.
Here's what agencies can't do:
Charge citizens for the time it takes to determine whether the record is a public record.
Charge for searching or retrieving the documents.
Charge staff time or salary for complying with a right-to-know request, nor can they charge fees to redact or black out information that is exempt under the law.
“The fee structure established by our office is a reasonable way to ensure citizens have meaningful access to the records of their government and that public bodies are able to recoup the actual cost of the copies,” said Terry Mutchler, executive director of the Office of Open Records.
Mutchler said that nationally duplication fees are one of the most abused areas of government access law and have been routinely used to deny the public access to documents. It was not uncommon in the past for government entities in Pennsylvania to charge as much as $1 a page for copying.
Mutchler encouraged courts and legislative agencies, which can set their own fees, to adopt the fee structure set by the Office of Open Records to promote uniformity throughout the Commonwealth.
The fee structure was set in advance of the implementation of the state's new Right to Know law which goes into effect Jan. 1.
The complete fee structure and information related to the Office of Open Records and the new law can be found at http://openrecords.state.pa.us.
Click here for Philly.com's politics page.
