Source: https://www.rcfp.org/open-government-sections/4-requirements-or-prohibitions-regarding-advance-payment/
Timestamp: 2019-04-24 12:34:49+00:00

Document:
Unless fees are waived, the requester must pay before the records are disclosed, and may be required to pay in advance of a search. AS 40.25.110(c). Regulations governing records requests made to state agencies address the matter of advance payment in more detail. Except in the case of news organizations, fees must be paid before the records are disclosed. A public agency may require payment in advance of a search for a public record if the agency reasonably believes that the search will generate a fee under AS 40.25.110 (which allows charges for production of records only to the extent that the personnel costs required to complete the search and copying tasks for any one requester in a calendar month exceeds five person hours). If the request is from a news organization or an employee or agent of a news organization and the state agency reasonably believes that the requested records search will require more than five hours to complete, the agency head may require payment in advance of the search by the news organization only when the request is unreasonable or in bad faith, the news organization has failed to pay for previous requests, or the request requires extraordinary expenditures of state resources. 2 AAC 96.360(c). Any estimate of anticipated costs for search and copying cannot include time likely to be spent reviewing the documents to see if they can or should be withheld due to a claim of privilege. Fuller v. City of Homer, 113 P.3d. 659, 666 (Alaska 2005).
“If the estimated fee exceeds twenty-five dollars ($25.00), the custodian may require the requester to pay that fee in advance.” Ark. Code Ann. § 25-19-105(d)(3)(A)(iii) (added by Act 1653 of 2001).
Section 6253(b) of the CPRA provides that unless otherwise statutorily exempt, an agency shall make public records promptly available to any person "upon payment of fees" covering the direct costs of duplication. Thus, once an agency determines how many pages are requested to be copied, it calculates the total amount due and payment is to be made prior to actual receipt of the copies. Cal. Gov't Code § 6253(b).
Prepayment can be required by the public agency if the fee is estimated to be ten dollars or more. Conn. Gen. Stat. §1-212(c).
No agency public body may require advance payment of any fee unless the requester has previously failed to pay fees in a timely fashion, or the agency or public body has determined that the fee will exceed $250. D.C. Code. Ann. § 2-532(b-3).
In any case in which an agency intends to seek costs in excess of $25 for responding to a request, the agency is required to notify the requester and provide an estimate within a reasonable period of time, not to exceed three business days. Unless the request made clear that the requester was willing to pay more than the estimated amount, the agency is entitled to defer search and retrieval of the requested records until the requester agrees to pay. O.C.G.A. § 50-18-71(d).
If a requester agrees to pay the agency’s estimated costs of production and fails to do so, and the agency then incurs the costs, the agency is authorized to “collect such charges in any manner authorized by law for the collection of taxes, fees, or assessments by such agency.” § 50-18-71(c)(3). The agency may also “require prepayment for compliance with all future requests for production of records from that person until the costs for the prior production of records have been paid or the dispute regarding payment resolved.” § 50-18-71(d).
In any case in which the estimated costs of production exceed $500, the agency is entitled to require prepayment. Id.
The OIP Rules allow agencies to require advance payments. Haw. Code R. § 2-71-19. An agency may require prepayment of fifty percent of the estimated fees that exceed $30 for searching for, reviewing and segregating government records. Id. § 2-71-19(b)(1). An agency may require prepayment of one hundred percent of estimated fees for other services to prepare and or transmit the government record and outstanding fees from previous requests. Id. § 2-71-19(b)(2), (3).
The Sunshine Law implicitly requires advance payment. Haw. Rev. Stat. § 92-21 (requiring agency to furnish copies "upon the payment of the reasonable cost[s] of reproduc[tion]"). Section 91-2 (HAPA) allows agencies to make their own rules regarding fees and collection thereof.
The custodian of the requested public records may require advance payment of authorized fees. Idaho Code § 74-102(12). Any portion of an advance payment in excess of the actual costs of labor and copying incurred by the agency in responding to the request shall be returned to the requester. Id.
There is no specific provision with respect to whether fees must be paid in advance. Presumably this will be according to the agency's policy.
The law allows a public agency to request advance payment of copying costs. Ind. Code § 5-14-3-8(e).
The statute is silent on the subject of advance payment. It does provide, however, that the lawful custodian "may adopt . . . reasonable rules regarding such work" and that the custodian shall provide a reasonable number of copies "upon payment of a fee." Iowa Code § 22.3 (emphasis added). The freedom to impose reasonable fees probably includes the freedom to require payment in advance.
A public agency "may" require advance payment. K.S.A. 45-218(f); K.S.A. 45-219(a). See State ex rel. Stephen v. Harder, 641 P.2d 366, 230 Kan. 573 (1982).
Public agencies may demand advance payment for providing copies: "When copies are requested, the custodian may require a written request and advance payment of the prescribed fee, including postage where appropriate." Ky. Rev. Stat. 61.874(1). An administrative regulation directs state agencies to produce copies "on payment" of the fee. See 200 KAR 1:020 § 3(1).
The PIA does not address the agency's ability to demand or require prepayment of fees. However, several agency regulations do so. See PIA Manual, at 7-2 (citing the Code of Maryland Regulations ("COMAR") 08.01.06.11D(2) (Department of Natural Resources); and COMAR 09.01.04.14D (Department of Licensing and Regulation)).
Mich. Comp. Laws Ann. § 15.234(11).
However, a full deposit cannot be required if the requestor shows proof of prior payment made in full, the public body was paid, or 365 days have passed since the individual made the written request. Id. at (12).
If a public body responded to a FOIA request by stating that the “request is granted as to existing, non-exempt records in the possession of the [public body] that fall within the scope of the request,” and requests a deposit based on the estimated labor costs for separating exempt from nonexempt material, then the response is considered a “denial in part” for the purpose of a FOIA appeal. See Arabo v. Michigan Gaming Control Bd., 310 Mich. App. 370, 384–85, 872 N.W.2d 223, 232 (2015). However, “a final determination is not required until plaintiff has paid the deposit required by the Board.” Id. at 388 (“The deposit required ‘at the time the request is made’ must therefore be made before the public body becomes obligated to process the request to enable it to formally respond with a final determination.”). Accordingly, the court will dismiss a FOIA appeal where the plaintiff has failed to pay the good faith deposit. Id. at 388-389.
Mont. Code Ann. § 2-6-1006(4) permits the agency to require advance payment before it undertakes any gathering of records.
If the cost of reproducing the records is estimated to exceed $50, the custodian may require the requester to furnish a deposit before fulfilling the request. Neb. Rev. Stat. §84-712(3)(f).
An agency may request payment of the fees prior to releasing the records. Additionally, an agency may require the requester to pay a deposit of not more than the estimate of the actual cost of providing the copy. NAC 239.864.
OPRA provides that the custodian may require a deposit against costs for reproducing documents sought through an anonymous request, whenever the custodian anticipates that the information requested will cost in excess of $5 to reproduce. (See, N.J.S.A. 47:1A-f(f)).
A public body "may require advance payment of the fees." NMSA 1978 § 14-2-9(C)(5) (2013).
There are no requirements or prohibitions regarding advance payment for copies.
A public entity may require payment before locating, redacting, making, or mailing a copy. N.D.C.C. § 44-04-18(2).
The statute allows the public office or person responsible for the public record to require advance payment for the cost involved in producing and mailing or transmitting the copy. Ohio Rev. Code § 149.43(B)(6),(7); State ex rel. Dehler v. Spatny, 127 Ohio St.3d 312, 939 N.E.2d 831, 2010-Ohio-5711.
As a practical matter, public offices usually do not require advance payment.
There are no provisions requiring advance payment.
A public body may require prepayment of its estimated charges before beginning to compile records. Attorney General Manual § 1.D.6.b. If actual charges prove to be less, a refund must be made. Id.
There are no such provisions in the APRA.
A public body may require a deposit not to exceed twenty-five percent of the total reasonably anticipated cost for reproduction before the public body starts searching or duplicating the records. S.C. Code Ann. § 30-4-30(B).
Law authorizes advance payment or promise to pay. SDCL §1-27-35, 36. Although not expressly applicable to record production, SDCL §4-3-1 authorizes public officers to require advance payment from persons for whom they perform any service.
There are no requirements or prohibitions regarding advance fees, and the Schedule of Charges permits this.
Section 552.263(a) permits governmental bodies to require a deposit or bond for payment of anticipated costs for the preparation of a copy of public information if the officer for public information or the officer’s agent has provided the requestor with the required written itemized statement detailing the estimated charge for providing the copy and if the charge for providing the copy of the public information specifically requested by the requestor is estimated by the governmental body to exceed: (1) $100, if the governmental body has more than 15 full-time employees; or (2) $50, if the governmental body has fewer than 16 full-time employees.
Prior to this language, which was added by the 1995 amendments and revised substantially in 1999, the Texas Supreme Court had already held that the requestor may be required to post a bond before the governmental body’s preparation of the records. See Indus. Found. of the South., 540 S.W.2d at 687-88. “These anticipated costs should of course include the expenses which may be incurred incident to the redaction of the records for the protection of individual claimants’ privacy interests.” Id. at 688; see also A & T Consultants, Inc., 904 S.W.2d at 676-77.
“A governmental entity may require payment of past fees and future estimated fees before beginning to process a records request if: (i) the fees are expected to exceed $50; or (ii) the requester has not paid fees from previous requests.” Utah Code § 63G-2-203(8)(a). “Any prepaid amount in excess of fees due shall be returned to the requester.” Id. § 63G-2-203(8)(b).
The Public Records Act provides that a public “agency may require that requests subject to staff time charges . . . be made in writing and that all charges be paid, in whole or in part, prior to delivery of the copies.” 1 V.S.A. § 316(c). The statute also provides that “[u]pon request, the agency shall provide an estimate of the charge.” Id.
If the public body determines in advance that search and copying charges are likely to exceed $200.00, the public body may require the citizen to pay, before processing the request, a deposit not to exceed the amount of the advance determination. The deposit shall be credited toward the final cost of supplying the records. The period for response to a request is tolled until the requester responds to the advance payment demand. Va. Code Ann.§ 2.2-3704.H. Before processing a request for records, a public body may require the requester to pay any amounts owed to the public body for previous requests for records that remain unpaid 30 days or more after billing. Va. Code Ann. § 2.2-3704.I.
An agency may require a deposit in an amount not to exceed 10% of the estimated cost of providing copies for a request. RCW 42.56.120. If an agency makes a request available in a partial or installment basis, the agency may charge for each part of the request as it is provided. Id.
The Freedom of Information Act neither requires nor specifically prohibits a public body requirement of payment of fees in advance of disclosure.
Governmental entities have policies that require advance payment. The legality of doing so has not been tested in court.

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