Iowa Administrative Code › Agency 111 - Blind, Department for The › Chapter 13 - Public Records and Fair Information Practices › Rule 111-13.3 - Requests for Access to Records

Current through Register Vol. 47, No. 3, July 24, 2024
(1)
Location of record.
A request for access to a record should be
			 directed to the director of the department for the blind or the particular
			 agency office where the record is kept. If the location of the record is not
			 known by the requester, the request shall be directed to the Department for the
			 Blind, 524 Fourth Street, Des Moines, Iowa 50309. If a request for access to a
			 record is misdirected, agency personnel will promptly forward the request to
			 the appropriate person within the agency.
(2)
Office hours
Open
			 records shall bemade available during all customary office hours, which are
			 between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. daily, excluding Saturdays, Sundays and legal
			 holidays.
(3)
Request for
			 access.
Requests for access to open records may be made in writing, in
			 person, by electronic mail, or by telephone. Requests shall identify the
			 particular records sought by name or description in order to facilitate the
			 location of the record. Mail or telephone requests shall include the name,
			 address, and phone number of the person requesting the information. A person
			 shall not be required to give a reason for requesting an open record.
(4)
Response to requests.
Access to an open record shall be provided promptly upon request unless the
			 size or nature of the request makes prompt access infeasible. If the size or
			 nature of the request for access to an open record requires time for
			 compliance, the custodian shall comply with the request as soon as feasible.
			 Access to an open record may be delayed for one of the purposes authorized by
			 Iowa Code section
			 22.8(4)
			  or
			 22.10(4).
			 The custodian shall promptly give notice to the requester of the reason for any
			 delay in access to an open record and an estimate of the length of that delay
			 and, upon request, shall promptly provide that notice to the requester in
			 writing.
The custodian of a record may deny access to the record by
				members of the public only on the grounds that such a denial is warranted under
				Iowa Code section
				22.8(4)
				 or 22.10(4), or that it is a confidential
				record, or that its disclosure is prohibited by a court order. Access by
				members of the public to a confidential record is limited by law and,
				therefore, may generally be provided only in accordance with the provisions of
				rule 13.4(17A,22) and other applicable provisions of law.
(5)
Security of record.
No
			 person shall, without permission from the custodian, search or remove any
			 record from agency files. Examination and copying of agency records shall be
			 supervised by the custodian or a designee of the custodian. Records shall be
			 protected from damage and disorganization.
(6)
Copying.
A reasonable
			 number of copies of an open record may be made in the agency's office. If
			 photocopy equipment is not available in the agency office where an open record
			 is kept, the custodian shall permit its examination in that office and shall
			 arrange to have copies promptly made elsewhere.
(7)
Fees.
a. When charged. The agency may charge fees
			 in connection with the examination or copying of records only if the fees are
			 authorized by law. To the extent permitted by applicable provisions of law, the
			 payment of fees may be waived when the imposition of fees is inequitable or
			 when a waiver is in the public interest.
b. Copying and postage costs. Price schedules
			 for published materials and for photocopies of records supplied by the agency
			 shall be prominently posted in agency offices. Copies of records may be made by
			 or for members of the public on agency photocopy machines or from electronic
			 storage systems at cost as determined and posted in agency offices by the
			 custodian. When the mailing of copies of records is requested, the actual costs
			 of such mailing may also be charged to the requester.
c. Supervisory fee. An hourly fee may be
			 charged for actual agency expenses in supervising the examination and copying
			 of requested records when the supervision time required is in excess of
			 one-half hour The custodian shall prominently post in agency offices the hourly
			 fees to be charged for supervision of records during examination and copying.
			 That hourly fee shall not be in excess of the hourly wage of an agency clerical
			 employee who ordinarily would be appropriate and suitable to perform this
			 supervisory function.
d. Advance
			 deposits.
(1) When the estimated total fee
			 chargeable under this subrule exceeds $25, the custodian may require a
			 requester to make an advance payment to cover all or part of the estimated fee.
(2) When a requester has
			 previously failed to pay a fee charged under this subrule, the custodian may
			 require advance payment of the full amount of any estimated fee before the
			 custodian processes a new request from the requester
e. A client shall not be charged a search and
			 supervisory fee nor a copying fee for access to the client's own case
			 record.