Iowa Administrative Code › Agency 193 - Professional Licensing and Regulation Bureau › Chapter 13 - Public Records and Fair Information Practices › Rule 193-13.3 - 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 board which owns or is in physical possession of the record.
			 The request shall be directed to the appropriate board at 200 East Grand
			 Avenue, Suite 350, 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 be made available during all customary office hours, which are 8
			 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday.
(3)
Request for access.
Requests for access to open records may be made in writing, in person, by
			 facsimile, e-mail, or other electronic means or by telephone. Requests shall
			 identify the particular record sought by name or description in order to
			 facilitate the location of the record. Mail, electronic, or telephone requests
			 shall include the name, address, e-mail address, and telephone number of the
			 person requesting the information to facilitate the board's response, unless
			 other arrangements are made to permit production to a person wishing to remain
			 anonymous. 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 sections
				22.8(4)
				 and
				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
				193-13.4
				(17A,22) in this chapter and other applicable provisions of
				law.
(5)
Security of
			 record.
No person may, 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. To the extent permitted by law, a search fee may be charged to the
			 same rate as and under the same conditions as are applicable to supervisory
			 fees.
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 a part of the estimated
			 fee.
(2) When a requester has
			 previously failed to pay a fee chargeable 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 that requester.